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The Upbeat Most third-generation So Cal ska borrows at least as much from the fertile punk scene that's been around the last twenty years in the area as it does from the Two-Tone scene of the late 1970's or the Jamacian ska of the 1960's. The Upbeat, however, on their self-titled release, beg to differ, borrowing largely from Two-Tone groups like The Selecter, The Specials, or The English Beat. On the opening cut "Government Lunacy", they make their influences clear. Nathan Dowdell's heavy organ riffs, when meshed with Grant Cox's sax and the fat trumpet action of Mike Honeyman will have you skankin' around the room and pricing Vespas, while elsewhere you feel the jumping ryhthms and the Dave/Ranking Roger vibe of singers Alfredo Perallta and Mike Organista over political songs like "White Opressor" and "Political Caper". The members of The Upbeat may not wear fedoras, or two-tone suits, but they play with a respect and a fondness for the older stuff, while still sounding young and exciting at the same time.
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