Mark Foggo Mark Foggo

Mark Foggo's Skasters

Members and the instruments they play:
1 Mark Foggo-Lead vocals and guitar

2 Gerben Rienk Visser a.k.a. Mr. Fish- Guitar

3 Lasa Jonker-bass

4 Paul Berding- Saxofoon

5 Rene Beaart-drums

6 Vincent van Lent-Trumpet

7 Rainer Muller- Trombone

Average Age: 40


Year band formed: 1987

Home town: Mark Foggo; originaly from Liverpool but has been living for years in Eindhoven (Holland). The rest of the band lives in or around Amsterdam and Utrecht.


Homepage:
www.markfoggo.com


CD's (Year of release):
NEW SHOES" Polydor - 1979 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"SPEEDING MY LIFE AWAY" Polydor - 1980 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"ADVERTISING" Chateau Records - 1982 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"MISS UNDERSTANDING" Boni - 1983 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"CARIBBEAN ISLAND" Boni - 1984 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"STATE OF MIND" Boni - 1984 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"WEAPONS & GUITARS" EMI - 1985 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"I NEVER PROMISED YOU ANYTHING" EMI - 1985 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"TAKING THINGS TOO FAR" EMI - 1985 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"SKA PIG" Skanky' Lil - 1989 (Released on Link music in 1987)

"CAPTAIN SKARLET" Skanky' Lil - 1990

"COULDN'T PLAY SKA" Skanky' Lil - 1992

"LUCKY TO BE ALIVE" Universe - 1994

"HAIRCUT" Skanky' Lil - 1995

"ST. VALENTINES DAY MASSACRE" Skanky' Lil - 1998

"HASHISH UIT AMSTERDAM" Skanky' Lil - 1998

"SPEEDING MY LIFE AWAY/ STATE OF MIND" Skanky' Lil - 1999

"SHAKE THE BABY" Skanky' Lil - 2000

"BEST OF MARK FOGGO" Skanky' Lil - 2001

"MISSIONARIES OF SKA" Skanky' Lil - 2002


Date of interview: 25-02-2003



Questions directly relating to you: (answered by Mark Foggo)



How did you come up with your band name? Does it have a background??
Mark Brennan from Link Music (an English record label) heard Mark Foggo play in 1987 and offered him and his new formed band a (Mark Foggo had been working as a solo artist and with different bands untill then) record deal. Because the band didn't have a name yet Mark Brennan suggested to promote the band as Mark Foggo's Skasters. In this way it was immediately clear to everybody what kind of music the band played. The first album Mark Foggo's Skasters released was "Ska Pig". Ska pig was a huge hit with the ska public.


How would you specify your style as a ska band?
The music of the band is best described as modern, bizarre, non-influenced, up tempo ska.


Which song would you suggest someone to listen to in order to get to know your music best?
Ska Pig!!


Which ska band/personality influenced you the most?
The Beat

Apart from ska, what music style influenced you the most?

Punk and Rock 'n' Roll


What message are you trying to get across to people with your music?
No message, I want to entertain people .and I want to see everybody having a good time.


Does ska have a political meaning for you, and if so what is it?
None at all!!



Concerts:



What were the best and worst venues you've played?
Fabriek - Hamburg is one of the best, I don't recall any bad gigs.

How would you describe your audience?

I find the audiences great because they are usually very enthousiastic, ska minded people!


Which song do you usually play as an encore?
It's you, Lucky to be alive, Hashish from Amsterdam


Have you got any weird touring experiences worth a mention?

I have attached a tour review I wrote for the internet site lately. Lots of weird things happened!! (look at the end of the interview, DerDUDE)

Which band would you most like to play with?
The Skasters!


I've always been interested to know how you deal with Nazi-Skins at your gigs.
We very rarely see any nazi-skins on our gigs.



Ska History:



There's a lot of talk about 3 ska waves. How far can you identify yourselves with those? What do you think is going to come after the 3rd wave? What's the future of ska?

I identify myself with the second wave of ska which is two tone ska.
Ø I think as in all forms of music ska needs to develop and as long as there are new ska bands creating original songs then ska will have a future.

Why do you think it is that most young bands either play traditional ska or ska-punk?

Traditional ska, is popular to play because it usually involves playing covers. Many young people are into punk and harcore so you find many skapunk and skacore bands now

Why do you think it's so difficult for ska to establish itself? Do you think ska is doomed to continue to play a minor role in the music scene?

Partly because ska music is often associated with nazi-skinheads and right-winged ideas. and Partly because there maybe aren't enough original ska-bands to interest the media and major record labels


General:



Which band or ska CD do you recommend (apart from your own) to the people out there?

The Rough Kutz and Smoke like a fish.

Who, in your eyes is the "Godfather of Ska"?

Jerry Dammers


Which ska site do you particularly recommend? What are your favourites?

www.ska-pics.de


What's going to be coming up in terms of gigs or any other projects? Is there a new CD coming out?
Planning a new cd for the end of the year, we always try to play as much gigs as possible, never enough gigs.


When is it going to be out and what should we be expecting?
We hope october time and it will be harder and faster, more guitar based.


A bit of space for your own comments and anything else you want to add!!!...
Keep spreading the word of ska!


Thanks Mark for the interesting interview!

___________________________________________________________________

Mark Foggo Mark Foggo

Mark Foggo's Skasters

Members and the instruments they play:
1 Mark Foggo-Lead vocals and guitar

2 Gerben Rienk Visser a.k.a. Mr. Fish- Guitar

3 Lasa Jonker-bass

4 Paul Berding- Saxofoon

5 Rene Beaart-drums

6 Vincent van Lent-Trumpet

7 Rainer Muller- Trombone

Average Age: 40


Year band formed: 1987

Home town: Mark Foggo; originaly from Liverpool but has been living for years in Eindhoven (Holland). The rest of the band lives in or around Amsterdam and Utrecht.


Homepage:
www.markfoggo.com


CD's (Year of release):
NEW SHOES" Polydor - 1979 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"SPEEDING MY LIFE AWAY" Polydor - 1980 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"ADVERTISING" Chateau Records - 1982 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"MISS UNDERSTANDING" Boni - 1983 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"CARIBBEAN ISLAND" Boni - 1984 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"STATE OF MIND" Boni - 1984 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"WEAPONS & GUITARS" EMI - 1985 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"I NEVER PROMISED YOU ANYTHING" EMI - 1985 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"TAKING THINGS TOO FAR" EMI - 1985 (Mark Foggo without skasters)

"SKA PIG" Skanky' Lil - 1989 (Released on Link music in 1987)

"CAPTAIN SKARLET" Skanky' Lil - 1990

"COULDN'T PLAY SKA" Skanky' Lil - 1992

"LUCKY TO BE ALIVE" Universe - 1994

"HAIRCUT" Skanky' Lil - 1995

"ST. VALENTINES DAY MASSACRE" Skanky' Lil - 1998

"HASHISH UIT AMSTERDAM" Skanky' Lil - 1998

"SPEEDING MY LIFE AWAY/ STATE OF MIND" Skanky' Lil - 1999

"SHAKE THE BABY" Skanky' Lil - 2000

"BEST OF MARK FOGGO" Skanky' Lil - 2001

"MISSIONARIES OF SKA" Skanky' Lil - 2002


Date of interview: 25-02-2003



Questions directly relating to you: (answered by Mark Foggo)



How did you come up with your band name? Does it have a background??
Mark Brennan from Link Music (an English record label) heard Mark Foggo play in 1987 and offered him and his new formed band a (Mark Foggo had been working as a solo artist and with different bands untill then) record deal. Because the band didn't have a name yet Mark Brennan suggested to promote the band as Mark Foggo's Skasters. In this way it was immediately clear to everybody what kind of music the band played. The first album Mark Foggo's Skasters released was "Ska Pig". Ska pig was a huge hit with the ska public.


How would you specify your style as a ska band?
The music of the band is best described as modern, bizarre, non-influenced, up tempo ska.


Which song would you suggest someone to listen to in order to get to know your music best?
Ska Pig!!


Which ska band/personality influenced you the most?
The Beat

Apart from ska, what music style influenced you the most?

Punk and Rock 'n' Roll


What message are you trying to get across to people with your music?
No message, I want to entertain people .and I want to see everybody having a good time.


Does ska have a political meaning for you, and if so what is it?
None at all!!



Concerts:



What were the best and worst venues you've played?
Fabriek - Hamburg is one of the best, I don't recall any bad gigs.

How would you describe your audience?

I find the audiences great because they are usually very enthousiastic, ska minded people!


Which song do you usually play as an encore?
It's you, Lucky to be alive, Hashish from Amsterdam


Have you got any weird touring experiences worth a mention?

I have attached a tour review I wrote for the internet site lately. Lots of weird things happened!! (look at the end of the interview, DerDUDE)

Which band would you most like to play with?
The Skasters!


I've always been interested to know how you deal with Nazi-Skins at your gigs.
We very rarely see any nazi-skins on our gigs.



Ska History:



There's a lot of talk about 3 ska waves. How far can you identify yourselves with those? What do you think is going to come after the 3rd wave? What's the future of ska?

I identify myself with the second wave of ska which is two tone ska.
Ø I think as in all forms of music ska needs to develop and as long as there are new ska bands creating original songs then ska will have a future.

Why do you think it is that most young bands either play traditional ska or ska-punk?

Traditional ska, is popular to play because it usually involves playing covers. Many young people are into punk and harcore so you find many skapunk and skacore bands now

Why do you think it's so difficult for ska to establish itself? Do you think ska is doomed to continue to play a minor role in the music scene?

Partly because ska music is often associated with nazi-skinheads and right-winged ideas. and Partly because there maybe aren't enough original ska-bands to interest the media and major record labels


General:



Which band or ska CD do you recommend (apart from your own) to the people out there?

The Rough Kutz and Smoke like a fish.

Who, in your eyes is the "Godfather of Ska"?

Jerry Dammers


Which ska site do you particularly recommend? What are your favourites?

www.ska-pics.de


What's going to be coming up in terms of gigs or any other projects? Is there a new CD coming out?
Planning a new cd for the end of the year, we always try to play as much gigs as possible, never enough gigs.


When is it going to be out and what should we be expecting?
We hope october time and it will be harder and faster, more guitar based.


A bit of space for your own comments and anything else you want to add!!!...
Keep spreading the word of ska!


Thanks Mark for the interesting interview!

___________________________________________________________________

Mark Foggo Mark Foggo

Mark Foggo's Skasters October tour 2002

 

You know things can go wrong when you tour, but this time things went wrong before we got started. Arriving in Dover with the bus we were stopped by customs. Now being the honest kinda bloke that I am, when asked the question "What is the purpose of your visit, " I of course replied, "we're a band and we're gonna play some gigs". Our keyboard player at the time,through no fault of her own, was born Australian and needed a work permit, something of course she didn't have. She was arrested by immigration for trying to enter the country illegally and sent back to Calais. Great start !

 

Having waited for hours in Dover for the result of all this nonsense we drove with all speed to Cambridge for the first gig (minus keyboard player).The next day we had off because of a cancellation, so this gave us time to review the situation. Tony (Rebelation) very kindly offered to help us out on keyboards but unfortunately went down with a serious toothache before we could organise it. Anyway off to Swindon with a slightly smaller than usual Skasters but still skankin away 100%. The next day (Sunday) it was a long long drive, all the way to Edinburgh, where amazingly enough we arrived in time. In a venue called "The Venue" we met up with "Bombscare", a great bunch of ska loonies who we were to play more gigs with us on the tour.From Edinburgh it was down to Newcastle on Monday, and guess what, Chriss our keyboard player is back having arranged a quick solution with the British embassy in Amsterdam. Now Newcastle on Monday is just not a good night. As was explained by the owner of the gig, "everybody's drunk all there money up over the weekend, nobody comes out on a Monday". He was dead right, there was us, Bombscare, a doorman, a cash desk girl, 2 barman and a couple of guys from Middlesborough who I'd like to say hello to. If I've left anyone out I do apologise.

 

We then visited Sheffield and met the Splitters (an excellent ska band) , Southend (great fish and chips) and then up to Birmingham. Now, had a chat with some great Ska people up there. First time I'd seen "Smoke like a fish", I was well impressed. Got to get back there sometime soon. Next to Gillingham for the Kent Ska festival, Porky's annuals Ska bash. Too Many Crooks we're on the menu and believe it or not Bombscare made it all the way from Edinburgh, now that's ska dedication. Sunday morning early and I mean early, especially after a night out at the Kent ska festival, off to Stansted airport for the early flight to Dublin. Got up, got to the airport, got the car parked (bloody miles from the airport), got back to the check in 15 seconds too late. The unsociable Ryanair check in trollop says "You'll have to buy another ticket". The rest of the band are still standing there waiting for myself and Mr Fish (or is that Mr Fish and myself), so we are not exactly too late to check in. Anyway, The rest of the Skasters fly off to Dublin while (Fish and I) ? book on to the next flight on TBA (Thieving Bastard Airlines).

 

Finally arriving in Dublin, it's straight off to The Auld Dub, where with terrific Irish hospiality, my friend Jero introduces me to the finest guiness in the world and later we're joined by Joe Behan (Ska Patrol) who wants to test it too. Well one leads to another and another to another etc…… The Splitters have arrived and The Gangsters have set the whole thing up (many thanks to them) and so it's into the Eamon Dorint (probably spelt wrong) for an afternoon skankin session. Thanks again to the Splitters who were very kind to let us borrow their equipment which they had brought over with them from England.

 

After the gig it was back to the Auld Dub just to check that the guiness was as good as I thought it was, It was! That evening was another gig in the Voodoo Bar, great fun and I just wanted to keep playing all night. (Must be the Guiness).Great time and great people in Dublin and a couple of days later it's back to the airport to fly TBA (Ryanair) back to London. Guess what! There at it again. This time our luggage is overweight (even though it's the same luggage as we arrived with. Only I may have been heavier by about 30 pints) so it's a surcharge of 60 euros. Now you see how they inherited the title, TBA. Ok back in England and it's up to Crewe to meet up with my old mates the "Rough Kutz". With me I've got the first pressing of their new cd "Welcome to our world" on Skanky'Lil Records. (have you got that one yet)? This night and the night after in Newcastle under Lyme are great gigs and well supported by the ever faithful Rough Kutz fans.It's time to head south, so next Worcester, a terrific night once again with "Smoke like a fish" and then to the seaside in Brighton for a re-union with my personal favourites, yes you guessed it, "The Hotknives". I think we've been playing gigs together on and off for 15 years now.But hey wait a moment things are going a bit too well here aren't they? Tunbridge Wells! Now if you think you can trust anyone anywhere, you'd reckon Tunbridge Wells. Don't be fooled one moment by that quiet country town attitude. The van was broken into outside the gig and they smashed the drivers window to get in. Who's the driver, yes that's me! Is it the coldest night of the year in Tunbridge Wells, yes it is! Have I got to drive back to London, Yes I have! And for what? All that was stolen was a bag of dirty washing belonging to René. Not that Rene's dirty washing is not valuable of course, but it could have been worse.Next morning the window is fixed and René has done his shopping for new socks and pants etc…. and it's off to Frome in Somerset.

 

My first meeting with "Ska'd for life", heard about them for years but never had the opportunity to see them before. I was well impressed, great songs and great band. Next night London (Rayners Lane). A real treat, Arthur Kay is there, with the original line up and Ska'd for life too. Finally, feeling pretty knackered, we arrive in Croydon for the grand finale. It seems everybody is there and it's a great farewell party. EpilogueIt's late, we're on our way back to Holland and the weather is terrible. We stop at a motorway petrol station to get some coffee to stay awake and someone says they don't think the Ferries are running to Calais, the wind is too strong. At Dover, they're still not certain the ferry will go, so we queue up and wait and see. After half an hours wait, it's all systems go and we're onto the boat. To cut a long story short we arrived in Calais 15 hours later because the force 11 winds wouldn't allow the ship the dock.

 

Still it's all in the name of SKA. Many thanks to Porky who's tremendous efforts made the tour possible. To Nick and Kev (Porky's mates). To Kevin Flowerdew. To Joe Behan and Jero. To Bombscare, The Splitters, Rebelation, Smoke like a Fish, The Roughkutz, Ska'd for Life, The Gangsters, Too Many Crooks and everybody else I've forgotten to mention.

 

Mark Foggo