The Toasters

Unless you have a particular passion for Ska music, the genre is almost a little vacant in our daily lives. Radio play is limited to niche night-time air play, and entire shows dedicated to it are few and far between. This is by no means discouraging for Third-Wave Ska greats The Toasters, who take pride and joy out of the fact the cold, commercial clutches of the music industry have not touched the cultured, enigmatic genre they love. After announcing their first tour of Australia after 30 years, we spoke to Robert ‘Bucket’ Hingley, aka Buck, about his craziest and fondest memories of Ska life.

Hey Buck, are you looking forward to bringing your tour to Australia?

Hell yeah! We are completely stoked about this trip, not only because we have never been to Oz before, but also because all of our friends down there are super-excited. We are looking forward to rocking these gigs as well as take some time on the off days to do some exploring and hang out. We have a pretty good spread of dates although it wasn’t possible this time round to get all the way over to the west, but I am confident that we will want to come back soon for a reprise.

You’ve been all over the world with The Toasters, do you enjoy the travelling side of the touring? Or do you miss the comforts of home?

Touring extensively is an art form in itself. People looking from the outside don’t take into account that the greater part of playing a gig is not the actual stage time but the getting there and back. You have to be physically and mentally fit to withstand the pressures of long tours, with the patience of a saint and thicker skin than an elephant. You have to make sure you get as much sleep as you can and try to eat well though that’s not always possible. But over the years we have put together a crew of road dogs for whom the travelling component is as attractive as the musical one. The chemistry within the extended group (I have about thirty players that revolve in the band right now) is great but guys who are not ready to take the rough with the smooth don’t last very long. The itineraries are often very challenging but that’s all part of the package. So on the road we hit it very hard, but of course it’s always good to go home at the end of each tour. Being away from my family is difficult but I try to balance the schedule as much as possible.

Where’s the most exciting place your tours have taken you?

Depends what you mean by exciting, as exciting is not always good! But some of the strangest places we have been include the jungles of Brazil and Lake Baykal at Irkutsk in Russia, just above Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Touring in the Balkans is also a lot of fun as you never know quite what you are going to get down there in Bosnia/Albania/Bulgaria/Romania. The prize for the craziest audiences definitely goes to South America though as those kids love their music. Touring in Mexico is great, for example, as everything is flown by the seat of your pants.

Where have you found the best crowds?

Recently in Eastern Europe and South America. These are relatively “new” markets where many bands can’t (or rather won’t) go and so the kids get really excited to have us there. One of the most rewarding aspects of the whole touring experience is to have people thank you for coming to play for them in their country. On the contrary the thanks should be ours for the honour of having been invited.

What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to The Toasters?

How much room do I have? Getting in fist fights with drunk East Germans at 4am in subzero temperatures as they tried to steal our equipment: going down an escarpment in Mexico with the brakes on fire: death factor turbulence flying over the Andes from Argentina to Chile in a lightening storm: smuggling guys who lost their passports out of Communist Czechoslovakia: being told by KKK skinheads in Florida who want to come see the (multiracial) show that they aren’t “racists” but only “bigots”: after show party with Murphy’s Law and a bathtub full of beer. That could be quite a long chapter in the Toaster’s History Book…

Has the tour met your expectations so far, or has it been fairly unpredictable?

Ask me when it’s finished! On the road you never really know what’s going to happen. The unpredictable factor is always people because at the end of the day you can never plan for strange behavior. Everything else can be fixed, rented, borrowed, bought, replaced, held together with duct tape, but with people you can never be 100% sure of what they are going to do.

So when it all first began, what was it that triggered the name ‘The Toasters’?

Originally the band was called Not Bob Marley for a spell when the first demos were recorded in 1981. Then we thought about The Bouncers. Finally The Toasters was mooted, having nothing to do with the breakfast implement and everything to do with the original Jamaican MC’s (rappers) whose free-styling over dub-plates (backing tracks on vinyl) was called “toasting”. Hence, The Toasters. Not to mention that we are known to be quick to raise a glass in toast for all and sundry.

What was it about Ska music back then that made the original Toasters want to be part of it?

I had bought my first Ska record (My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small) in 1964. Growing up in England I was exposed to consecutive versions of the genre ranging from original, Trjan Reggae, Rocksteady and 2- tone. By the time I moved to NYC in 1980, 2-tone was moving past its zenith so it was natural for me to want to play in that style. The problem was at that time in New York, finding people who knew what it was.

Who were you influenced by?

2-tone bands like the Selecter, specials and The Beat. But also bands like Joe Jackson (who is a longtime friend of the band) and Elvis Costello. Going back further Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Eddie Cochrane and Gene Vincent.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Going to see African drumming with my father outside Nairobi, Kenya in the early sixties.

What do you get out of Ska music that other genres of music don’t give you?

50 years of roots and culture, socially conscious lyrics and a sub-culture that fights against racism, right wing politics, big brother government and one of the last genres that has not been totally ruined by the so-called music business.

There have been a many members of The Toasters, do you think this had contributed to the longevity of the band?

Yes, and in more ways than one. Each different set of musicians plays the catalogue in subtly different ways. At the same time as working in new material that is influenced by severally different musical backgrounds the basic set remains fresh. Besides since two of the original members have passed on to the great stage in the sky, one is in an Ashram in California, and the last one disappeared then it’s impossible to put the original line up back together. One of the great things is being able to invite former members back onto the stage whenever we pass through wherever they are now living.

What will you do when the tour is over?

After Australia we go on to Indonesia, China and then the USA. When the USA leg finishes, I get to go to Arizona to work on craft beer event, Brewdown with Warped Tour’s Kevin Lyman. After that’s all done I’ll go back home to Valencia, in Spain for a few weeks off.

What can we expect from The Toasters in 2013?

Lots more touring and some more releases in the shape of 7 inch singles to eventually compile an album.

What message would you like to put out to all your fans?

Please support your local Ska band. We’d love to see all of your mugs on our tour down there. If people want some more info on the band then hit us up on www.toasters.org or on the Facebook page.

P.S. What are you wearing right now?

Black Ska brewing t-shirt, black army shorts, black Airwalk sneakers, black sunglasses. I am actually writing this on the high-speed train up to Madrid on my way to the China embassy to get my visa for Beijing!

By Alexandra Macleod