Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans

I was depressed as hell to hear that the seemingly indestructible Los Skarnales had finally called it a day, but I have to admit that I’m damn happy to see what’s come out of the wreckage. It seems like nearly every member of the band has gone on to form another band; it’s like they’re the Rodan of Houston ska, seriously.

Case in point: Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans. Frontman/keyboardist/singer Scroggins and drummer Pat “Beans” Kelly were once upon a time in a ska band called Secret Agent 8, and when that band faded away the two jumped to the ever-popular Los Skarnales. After the LS breakup, the duo started a new outfit, incorporating Jeremy Pena on guitars, Nathan Smith on sax, and Thomas Dowda on bass, and proceeded to wander back towards their ska roots.

Which is a good thing, of course. Sometimes I long for the days when dozens of ska bands seemingly stomped and skanked across the stage at Fitz and The Abyss, drawing in not only great local bands but high-flying out-of-towners. The Trenchtown Texans hark back to those days in the best possible way, pulling together all those trad-ska influences like Toots and the Maytals, The Scofflaws, and The Skatalites into a cool new whole. Oh, and there’s a fair amount of soul-ska going on, too (especially in the vocals), with hints of The Pietasters, Chris Murray, and my personal faves The Adjusters.

Anyway, these guys do some good, good, good stuff. They’ve got a self-titled full-length out on Megalith Recs(!), and I’d highly recommend checking it — and the band — out.


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Band writeup by . Band writeup posted Sunday, May 15th, 2011. Filed under Posts.

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