Airwaves

by Brian Golslow

While the Mighty Mighty Bosstones continue their climb up the Billboard charts with Let's Face It (currently at #53), area ska fans are equally excited about the return of the blaring horns of Bim Skala Bim, who are back on the airwaves with Universal (BIB) and back in Worcester at the Espresso Bar on April 19. They've also re-released two of their earlier albums, the 1986 self-titled debut and much-bootlegged Tuba City on their own BIB label, and licensed their music for upcoming episodes of MTV's Road Rules and The Real World. The Espresso Bar show is sponsored by WCHC (88.1 FM), which has been playing plenty of Universal, especially on the Thursday Night Ska Show, aired Thursdays from 8 to 10 p.m. Catch it before the station disappears for the summer.

Hosts Charlie Proznowski and Joe Gagne continue to campaign for nothing less than world domination for Less Than Jake's Losing Streak (Capital) and its diabolical "Sugar in Your Tank." Although most of the country has yet to hear any ska besides No Doubt and the Bosstones, the pie-hatted duo have spotlighted two groups whose music suggests a glimpse of its future direction. Rue of the New mix in gospel on "Time Will Tell On You," and the Pacers' "Ye Old House of Mutton" could easily move into the rave halls with the proper DJ mix of its already magnetic snare drums and time-traveling sax sounds. It should be a fun summer.

SKA FANS IN NORTH WORCESTER County who can't pick up 'CHC but still want to hear the nutty beat can tune in the Ska XPLosion every Thursday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Fitchburg State College's WXPL (91.3 FM). Host Andy Gutherie, who also plays bass for Slow Children (not to be confused with the cover act currently playing in the Fitchburg area or the early '80s Boston group), has been playing lots of tracks from Skarmageddon 3 (including Hi-Ball Holiday's "Poetry In Motion" and a live version of Spider Nick and the Maddogs' "Rude Boys Rule"), along with Easy Big Fella's "Eat At Joeys," and the Suspects' "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ska." He's also been sampling the ever-growing slew of ska comps hitting the streets, including It's a Ska Luncheon, The Ska Set, and Latin Ska 2.

WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING about ways to bring local music to more people, and the talk-filled AM band seems ripe for picking. Steve Gaetz and Jack Greenstreet may turn out to be trendsetters with Totally Local Radio, which can be heard Tuesday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to midnight (when the Red Sox aren't playing) on WEIM (1280 AM), in Fitchburg (and it can be heard in Worcester with the right turn of the radio), and WGAW (1340 AM), in Gardner. Since the show debuted on March 18, it's featured Dell Smart and Exit In, Get High, Transit, Moonstruck, Badger, Marc Marquis, Scott Babineau, and the Charley Dee Blues Band. "We go from chamber music to country to hardcore to heavy metal," Gaetz says. "And it's all local."

LATE-NIGHT LISTENING options have expanded with the arrival of The B-Side, which follows Hullabaloo, Double Dare Ya, and the Musical Litterbox in the Wednesday-night line-up at WCUW (91.3 FM), airing from midnight to 2 a.m. "I like to play songs you don't hear everyday -- artists you may know, songs you may not, or the other way around," host Sean Duffy told listeners last week. The show's heavy on groove rock, spotlighting the likes of Phish, the Ominous Seapods, and Toad the Wet Sprocket, along with longtime warriors Neil Young, Frank Zappa, and David Lindley.