In our series HOT MIC we talk to podcasters and internet radio guys about their shows.
Your name … Bryan J Polk AKA RJ Phoenix
Name of the show… 23min of Ska and the Ska After Party
How can we listen to it?… Both shows can be found at 23ska.com, the Ska After Party also has a dedicated site at SkaAfterParty.com and can be streamed on Spotify.
Country, language, The United States of America. 23min of Ska is usually songs sung in English, but not always, there’s been plenty of Spanish, German, French and Japanese bands represented singing in their native language. The Ska After Party is an interview show and is all in English.
Since when, how many shows? 23min of Ska started in January of 2010 and has 380 regular episodes as well couple dozen special episodes. The Ska After Party started in April of 2019 and currently has 22 episodes
Which musical styles do you play Any kind of ska, usually from the last 10 years, trying to keep it modern. It is mostly ska and ska/punk with a bit of ska/pop and rocksteady mixed in.
Do you play new / old /both I try to keep it modern as possible to promote the current and up and coming bands keeping ska alive, but I do dip into the past to remember the roots of the sound
What formats do you use (vinyl, mp3, cd, streams)? I use CDs, MP3s and WAVs as my sources, and distribute the show via MP3.
How do you get your records? Usually combing sites like bandcamp.com or looking for ska bands on facebook. I also visit records shops and go to local shows to find bands and their music.
What formats do you prefer for the show? I’d prefer MP3s, because it doesn’t cost a band anything to send them to me. Some bands insist on sending me a CD, but I feel they are spending money sending it and it makes me feel bad.
How to reach you? Get at me on twitter or instagram @23minofSka If you have a question for me email me at podcast@23ska.com if you want to submit your band for the show email me at submissions@23ska.com
How do you promote your records? I promote using twitter, instagram, facebook and reddit
If you like, post a short info text about the show 23min of Ska is a weekly ska, ska/punk, rocksteady playing the best is modern ska every Thursday in small 23min chunks. The Ska After Party is a weekly show interviewing ska bands about how they got into ska and asking them the stories behind their songs.
5 all-time favourite albums
- The Specials – The Specials
- The Toasters – New York Fever
- Johnny Socko – Full Trucker Effect
- MU330 – Chumps on Parade
- The Smooths – No Breaks
5 all-time favourite tunes
- Madness – House of Fun
- The Steady 45’s – So Long
- King Kong 4 – Breaking My Heart Again
- The Specials – Gangsters
- The Pomps – Alternate America
What’s your no-1 challenge concerning the show? Getting the word of the show out to people! I spend so much time doing the shows, finding new music, finding bands to interview, editing it all together that I burn myself out. I never figure in time for promotion. Also the cost, it costs to keep the web and server space, something I’m trying to alleviate w/ my work on the Ska After Party over at SkaAfterParty.com
Other ska-related activities? made some records back in 2012 w/ some great bands on the Grandpa’s Casino label. It was a lot of fun, and there’s still plenty up for purchase over at GrandpasCasino.com! Other than that just getting out a new episode of 23min of Ska every Thursday, a new Ska After Party on Mondays and making time to get out to some live shows!
