Two Tone

A Song in a second

Two Tone, our latest release, is also one of the oldest songs of the bunch. It has been played with many people in many places since its inception but none have felt as powerful as this. I think on the surface most of our songs are happy, fun and a good reason to dance but there is definitely a deeper level to everything. Although this song was written nearly 5 years ago the idea from which it was born and the weight it holds rings true now more than ever.

2020…

I had recently gotten sober after hitting a real stopping point in my life and was looking for something to distract me (weren’t we all?). My band, prior to covid, broke up and I was just playing solo gigs to get by. I managed to fall into a group that played constantly and it was an incredible relief to feel some type of purpose again. Not only was I playing again but I was writing again. The band “Leader” saw the potential and did something I will commend him for. He knew I wanted to write and I had good ideas, so he would give me assignments. “I want a song that sounds like this”, “I want a song with a soca beat” etc. This got the ball rolling and I was firing on all cylinders. In this time I wrote Run Fast, Im In Love With You, Out There and the beginning of many more. In the midst of this run of songs I veered from my assignment because of a short documentary I came across on YouTube. “Under The Influence: Two Tone Ska”. After watching I grabbed my phone and within minutes Two Tone was done…

Now being a Ska fan and being in Ska bands my whole life I knew the genre and I knew the bands of the Two Tone era. Bands like Selector, Madness and of course The Specials. These bands were major influences on my favorite genre and my favorite bands. But what I was unaware of was the actual history behind the formation of Two Tone and THAT was what got me. Long story short; Two Tone was a cultural battle cry during extreme political unrest in the UK. This form of Ska born from the mix of early Jamaican Ska artist such as Prince Buster and a more Punk Rock mentality took over the scene and blended people, cultures and ideals into something that would change the landscape of music for many years. This genre contained bands of different ethnicities, different genders, different everything but the one thing that held it together like a sonic glue was UNITY. It unified people, who ever you were, whatever you looked like if you cared about being a good person and enjoying life you were in.

Now, since Two Tone the Ska genre took a big turn in bands you may know now like Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake who are considered the 3rd wave of Ska. Even tho they jumped away from the Two Tone roots to forge their own path one thing was still very present, UNITY. No matter your age, gender, ethnicity, style or social status there was always room on the dance floor. That message has stuck with me my whole life and now is omnipresent at any More Better Band show.

Two Tone to me is not just an ode to the genre and bands that pioneered it, but a message, a battle cry, a flare looming in the sky that lets you know It’s ok. We are all having a tough time in one way or another but maybe, just maybe, for a moment we can take a break from reality and get lost on the dance floor.