Photo Album: Regatta 69

Regatta 69 came through Huntington a bunch of times in the latter part of the 90s. During a ska radio show got me in to see them plenty of times and allowed me to hang out and take pictures. This one is from the floor of the drop shop. They were always a lot of fun.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat 2nd Anniversary Show Tape

This is the tape from the Ska Beat 2nd anniversary show. At the end the sports team came in without any advance notice for a promo before allowing me to end the show. What can I say, that's how things went at WMUL. Sports were king and music was an afterthought. Such is life. Click here to jump to the Internet Archive and listen or download.

Yardbeat - Push Wood
Dave Hillyard & The Rocksteady 7 - Hillyard Street
Stubborn AllStars - Take Your Chances
Gondwana - Irie
Alpheus - Nothing Can Stop You
Aswad - Freedom Street
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes - Teach The Youth
Hepcat - Riding The Region
The Skalars - After The Show
Long Beach Dub AllStars - Pass It On
The Inspector - Spanish Galleon
The Equators - Softly Softly
Bim Skala Bim - Set Me Up
The Dominant Seven - Stranded
Dave's Big Deluxe - Time After Time
The Robustos - Don't Be Down   cuts off
Laurel Aitken & The Skatalites - Come Down
Filibuster - Pale Writer
Pilfers - Agua
The Donkey Show - Mr. Brown
Inspecter 7 - Now
Skavoovie & The Epitones - Boyo
The Chinkies - Run Away
Notchoma - Rudeboy
Freetown - She's A Natural
The Radiation Kings - Come Down
Jimmy Skaffa - Magic City
Boitovision w/Greg Lee - Big Bamboo
Macka B - Malcolm X
Edna's Goldfish - I'm Your Density
Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero

Ska Beat was a show I did in the latter part of the 90s as a community volunteer for 88.1 WMUL, Marshall University's radio station, in Huntington, WV. The show ran for almost three years, mostly in the Sunday noon to 2PM timeslot before shifting to a Thursday evening 8-10PM shift. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else.

Be forewarned, I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I am that lazy. Also, these shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for all of these years. Additionally, WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away when the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I have tried to annotate when that happened.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat Tape 2-21-99 WMUL, Marshall University

The tape from the 2/21/99 Ska Beat show has been uploaded to the Internet Archive. To listen or download click on the link here.

Franceska - Get Up
The Insteps - The Sufferer
Dunita & Django - Come To My Rescue
Laurel Aitken & The Skatalites - Bad Minded Woman
Israel Vibration - Pay The Piper
Yardbeat - Dance Crasher
Jump With Joey - Ska Cha Cha
Skinnerbox - Heat
Radiation Kings - Can't Find A Way
The Slackers - Manuel
The Agents - Two Men Gone
The Inspector - Ingred
Deals Gone Bad - Pirates
Inspecter 7 - Regret II
The Skoidats - Granted
The Royalties - Jabberwocky
Punch The Clown - Crackerjack
The Scofflaws - In The Basement
Rocker T & The Version City Rockers - Do You Wanna
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Top Secret
Blue Beat Players - This Girl Of Mine
Checkmate - Jericho
The Skatalites - Latin Goes Ska
Selika Drake - Baby
Yeska - Greyhound To Chiapas
Easy Big Fella - Locked In The Chapel Of Love
Eastern Standard Time - Be-Bop
The Chinkees - Hana
Hepcat - I Can't Wait
Bim Skala Bim - Set Me Up
Laurel Aitken - Rudi Got Married

Ska Beat was a show I did in the latter part of the 90s as a community volunteer for 88.1 WMUL, Marshall University's radio station, in Huntington, WV. The show ran for almost three years, mostly in the Sunday noon to 2PM timeslot before shifting to a Thursday evening 8-10PM shift. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else.

Be forewarned, I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I am that lazy. Also, these shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for all of these years. Additionally, WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away when the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I have tried to annotate when that happened..

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

WMUL Tape 12-2-98 Marshall University

This is a tape from a fill spot that I did on WMUL on 12-2-98. It's about 60 minutes long and showcases swing, ska, punk and rockabilly music. There is a serious buzz going on so be aware. Check it out by clicking on the link for the Internet Archive and enjoy. 

New Morty Show - Out Of Control
Dem Brooklyn Bums - Boozin' And Cruisin'
Skinnerbox - Uno Dos Tres
The Agents - Gratidao
Inspecter 7 - Now
Amazing Royal Crowns - Little Demon
The Cranktones - Pink Cadillac
Hipster Daddy-O & The Handgrenades - Daddy-O
Colin James & The Little Big Band II - Let's Shout (Baby Work It Out)
Los Mocosos - Somos Los Mocosos  (tape switches)
Screeching Weasel - Dummy Up
Dropkick Murphys - Going Strong
The Slackers - Manuel
The Checkered Cabs - Honor Your Mother And Father
The Scofflaws - In The Basement
Slimer - Raised On The Raydio
The Graduates - Badsville
The Cuffs - Too Much Confusion
Bluebeat Stompers - I Need Your Loving

This audio comes from an old cassette tape I recorded as I did a fill in slot on WMUL, Marshall University in Huntington, WV. It may suffer from the effects of time. I have done nothing special to enhance the sound or fix any bugs suffered by the equipment of the radio station. I have also chosen to keep everything including station i.d.s and PSAs. It is what it is.

email : notmovingpictures@gmail.com
twitter: @notmovingpics
blog: notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat Tape 11-22-98 WMUL, Marshall University

This is tape from the show one week after the one year anniversary show. The ever present hum is there in full force while I talk and a few songs skip. I doubt they ever got those things worked out. It is what it is though. Click on the link to the Internet Archive to stream or download.

11/22/98 Setlist

The Agents - Gratidao (song skips)
Checkered Cabs - Walk Right In
Bluebeat Stompers - I Won't Cry For You
Isaac Green & The Skalars - High School
Stubborn AllStars - Back With A New Batch
Mobtown - Coming To Get You
Neville Staples - Simmer Down
Ian Hearn & Strange Tennants - Washington Via Kingston (song skips)
Prince Buster - Blackhead Chinaman
Adrian Miller - Rude Boy On The Bus
Los Hooligans - Wrong Side Of The Tracks
Deals Gone Bad - Pirates
Magadog - Pipeline
Undercover S.K.A. - March Slob
Punch The Clown - Sweaty Betty
Hepcat - Bobby And Joe
The Incredible Casuals - Let's Do Better
tape switches
Laurel Aitken - Mad About You
The Skoidats - Skinhead Hop
Inspecter 7 - Agent 86
Voodoo Glow Skulls - Los Hombres No Lloran
The Pilfers - Dr Kervorkian
Spider Nick And The Madddogs - Spider On My Bed
Spring Heeled Jack - Running Man (Lookin' Thru The Mirror)
 Fishbone - Ugly
The Slackers - Have The Time
Skinnerbox - Hepcat Season
The Rudies - Forget It
The Jumpstarts - This Is What I Do
Dion Knibb & The Agitators - Turn Your Lamps Down Low
Dance Hall Crashers - He Wants Me Back
Kampo Viejo - Libre
The Offbeatniks - Superhero
The Specials - Guns Of Navarone
The Pietasters & The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Ocean (cuts off)

Ska Beat was a show I did in the latter part of the 90s as a community volunteer for 88.1 WMUL, Marshall University's radio station, in Huntington, WV. The show ran for almost three years, mostly in the Sunday noon to 2PM timeslot before shifting to a Thursday evening 8-10PM shift. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else.

Be forewarned, I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I am that lazy. Also, these shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for all of these years. Additionally, WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away when the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I have tried to annotate when that happened.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat 1st Anniversary Show 11-15-98 WMUL

This is the tape from the One Year Anniversary of the Ska Beat Show. It aired live on 11/15/98 on WMUL, Marshall University, Huntington, WV. At the very beginning you cannot hear me talking and the show is plagued by the seemingly constant buzzing sound when talking. Other than that the music is great and you hear lot's of show i.d.s from a lot of great bands. Click on the link here to listen to the show.

setlist:

Hepcat - I Can't Wait
Ocean 11 - Stop That Train
Laurel Aitken - Rudy Got Married
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Simmer Down
Checkmate - Jericho
The Allentons - Fallen
SeeSpot - Man Smart, Woman Smarter
The Silvertones - True Confessions
New York Ska Jazz Ensemble - Love And Affection
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes - True Confessions
Dr Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - My Sound
Deals Gone Bad - The Elephants
The English Beat - Ranking Full Stop
The Selector - Too Much Pressure
The Specials - Gangsters
Madness - One Step Beyond

tape change

Bim Skala Bim - Wandering Soul
The Skoidats - Rootsawalkin
Inspecter 7 - Brother Vs Brother
The Checkered Cabs - Honor Your Mother And Father
The Stubborn Allstars - Friend
Dion Knibbs & The Agitators - Welcome You Back Home
Bluebeat Stompers - I Need Your Loving
The Slackers - Manuel
Doreen Shaffer - Holding On
Mobtown - Jump Up
The Pietasters - Without You
The Agents - Scully
Let's Go Bowling - Spy Market
The Scofflaws - Nude Beach


Ska Beat was a show I did in the latter part of the 90s as a community volunteer for 88.1 WMUL, Marshall University's radio station, in Huntington, WV. The show ran for almost three years, mostly in the Sunday noon to 2PM timeslot before shifting to a Thursday evening 8-10PM shift. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else.

Be forewarned, I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I am that lazy. Also, these shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for all of these years. Additionally, WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away when the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I have tried to annotate when that happened.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat tape from 12/14/97, WMUL, Marshall University

I've uploaded the tape from the 12/14/97 Ska Beat radio show on the Internet Archive so just click here for the link. Almost two hours of great ska music from the latter part of the 90s, what more can you ask for?

Ska Beat setlist 12/14/97

Let's Quit - Ennio Ska
The Kingpins - The 10 Commandments Of Ska
The Specials - Guns Of Navarone
Save Ferris - The World Is New
Reel Big Fish - Hungry Like The Wolf
Unknown - Simmer Down
Voodoo Glow Skulls - Feliz Navidad
The Mad Caddies - Distress
Skavoovie & The Epitones - Sonic Boom
The Scofflaws - Nude Beach (live)
The Pietasters - Out All Night
Los Hooligans - Swing Right Rudy
Dr Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Big Man
Isaac Green & The Skalars - Bloodshot Eyes
The Aquabats - Superrad
Doreen Shaffer & The Skatalites - Have A Good Time
The Slackers - Fried Chicken/Mary Mary
The Blue Meanies - It Doesn't Matter
Link 80 - Dance Floor
Madness - One Step Beyond
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Rascal King
Spring Heeled Jack - The Running Man
Pain - Fight
The Allstonians - Pleasing Malady
The Toasters - I'm Running Right Through The World
Bad Manners - Skinhead Girl
Derrick and Patsy - Housewife's Choice
Dance Hall Crashers - Nuisance
Buck-O-Nine - My Town
The Skunks - Sorry
The Ventilators - Lost For Sure

Ska Beat was a show I did in the latter part of the 90s as a community volunteer for 88.1 WMUL, Marshall University's radio station, in Huntington, WV. The show ran for almost three years, mostly in the Sunday noon to 2PM timeslot before shifting to a Thursday evening 8-10PM shift. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else.

Be forewarned, I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I am that lazy. Also, these shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for all of these years. Additionally, WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away when the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I have tried to annotate when that happened..

Feel free to leave a comment if my memory has failed or I completely messed thing up.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

11/27/97 Tape WMUL 88.1 Marshall University Fill In Slot

This is a strange one. Once again I filled in for a missing dj at WMUL, this time on 11/27/97 but I didn't talk at all. More than likely I simply queued up the cd In Their Eyes: '90s Teen Bands Vs. 80s Teen Movies and put it on auto play while I did something else. Anything to keep the station on the air. So at least you don't have to listen to me blabbing on and on this time. So click on the link here and surf on over if 90s teen bands covering songs from 80s teen movies is your thing.

The Grown Ups - Pretty In Pink
The Gadjits - Don't You Forget About Me
Dyslexic Crush - A Million Miles Away
Phantom Planet - Somebody's Baby
Ben Lee and Spitoon - If You Were Here
Round House - Bring On The Dancing Horses
Crazy Glue - Oh Yeah
F.O.N. - You Might Think
The Rondelles - I Melt With You (tape switches)
Stinky Puffs - In Your Eyes
Marigold - If You Leave
English League - Weird Science
Slimer - Raised On Raydio
The Knock-Ups - Johnny Are You Queer?
Schools Out - The Donnas

This audio comes from an old cassette tape recorded at WMUL, Marshall University in Huntington and may suffer from the effects of time. I have done nothing special to enhance the sound or fix any bugs suffered by the equipment of the radio station. I have also chosen to keep everything including station i.d.s and PSAs. It is what it is.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tape of WMUL 88.1 Marshall University Fill In Slot 11-26-97

The tape from my first ever fill in session for WMUL 88.1 Marshall University where I was a community volunteer has been uploaded to the Internet Archive. Often the student djs would skip their assigned slot and since I was always hanging out at the station in the afternoon before going to work I would fill in to keep the station on the air. What you hear on this tape is what was available to me that I actually wanted to play. Mostly ska and swing with some rockabilly and a few other things. Go check out the show here.

WMUL set list 11/26/97

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Go Daddy-O (in progress)
Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot
Royal Crown Revue - Barflies On The Beach
Jump With Joey - Jump With Joey
The Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut
Rev. Horton Heat - Rock This Joint
Amazing Royal Crowns - Do The Devil
Justin Hinds - & The Dominoes - Rub Up, Push Up
Robert (Bob) Marley - Judge Not
Dr. Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Shame And Scandal In The Family
Los Hooligans - Swing Right Rudie
Jason & The Scorchers - Take Me Home Country Roads
Skavoovie & The Epitones - Wildfire
The Scofflaws - Nude Beach
The Paragons - The Tide Is High
Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop
The Skatalites - Can't You See
Royal Crown Revue - Hey Pachuco
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - You And Me And The Bottle Makes Three (cuts off)

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat Radio Show 11/30/97 WMUL Huntington, WV

The tape from the 11/30/97 Ska Beat show has been uploaded to the Internet Archive. Go here to check it out.

Isaac Green & The Skalars - Don't Count
The Skatalites - Guns Of Navarone
The Slackers Watch It
Dr Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Shame And Scandal
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes - Carry Go Bring Come
The Toasters - Two Tone Army
The Potato Five - Do The Jerk
Los Hooligans - Stephanie
Regatta 69 - Operation Time Control
The Dance Hall Crashers - Lost Again
Skankin' Pickle - Turning Japanese
Undercover Ska - March Slob
MU330 - Neighbors
The Scofflaws - William Shatner
The Aquabats - Idiot Box
The Skoidats - Rootsawalkin'
The Instigators - Bandito (tape switches over)
Skavoovie & The Epitones - Blood Red Sky
The Shenanigans - Cupid
The Specials - Simmer Down
Bob Marley - Judge Not
Prince Buster & The Skatalites - King Of Kings
Mento Buru - Move It Girl
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get
Persiana Jones - Come Me Gusto
Spring Heeled Jack - Pay Some Dues
Ocean 11 - I Am Queen
Mephiskapheles - Saba
Venice Shoreline Chris - Ex Darling
Laurel Aitken - Rudy Got Married
Arthur Kay - Play My Record

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat 11/23/97 WMUL radio show

Ska Beat was a radio show I did in the latter part of the 90s while I was a community volunteer at WMUL, Marshall University in Huntington, Wv. This is the 2nd show that I have put online recorded from cassettes back in the day and it is what it is, I've made no attempt to clean up the sound and I didn't always remember to turn the tape over or even on so be kind. Still, there's some great music on these tapes. More will be forthcoming when I have the time.

Unfortunately I can't get the player from the Archive to embed so you'll have to follow the link here to listen to it.

New York Ska Jazz Ensemble - John James
Skinnerbox, - Move Like Ya Gone
The Slackers - Cooking For Tommy
The Toasters - Daddy Cry
Los Pies Negros - Siempre Igual
Buck O Nine - My Town
Ska King Crab - Mike The Barber
Dance Hall Crashers - He Wants Me Back
Magadog - Semi-Sweet
Supertones - Unite
Let's Go Bowling - Cumbia del Sol
Save Ferris - Super Spy
The Skoidats - Granted
The Aquabats - The Story Of Nothing
Save Ferris - World Is New
Oi Skall Mates - Nutty Sound
Mu330 - Tune Me Out
tape cuts off
The Upbeat - 17@17
Mephiskapheles - Introducing The Yellow Passion
Hepcat - Bobby and Joe
The Allentons - Pyramid Five
Madness - The Prince
Voodoo Glow Skulls - Malas Palabras
Laurel Aitken - Mad About You

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat 11/23/97

This is the second ever show of Ska Beat. It seems that while I was intent on taping the first few shows I was somewhat less diligent in actually hitting record or turning the tape over. As a result there are some unknown songs on here since I missed the part where I say what they are and can't find my old playlists. It is what it is. The sound is what it is as well. Like I said before these tapes are old and sometimes the equipment at WMUL emitted a buzzing sound, especially when talking. Still, this is an exact example of what I was doing at this exact moment in time. And trust me, I do get better at this, I've heard it on tape and you will too, as I get the other tapes out. So take a listen to what I was listening to:



Unknown Song
New York Ska Jazz Ensemble - John James
Skinnerbox - Move Like Ya Gone
The Slackers - Cooking For Tommy
The Toasters - Daddy Cry
Los Pies Negros - Siempre Igual
Buck-O-Nine - My Town
Ska King Crab - Mike The Barber
Dance Hall Crashers - He Wants Me Back
Magadog - Semi-Sweet
Supertones - Unite
Let's Go Bowling - Cumbia Del Sol
Save Ferris - Super Spy
The Skoidats - Granted
The Aquabats - The Story Of Nothing
Save Ferris - World Is New
Oi Skall Mates - Nutty Sound
Unknown Song
The Upbeat - 17 @ 17
Mephiskapheles - Introducing The Yellow Passion
Hepcat - Bobby And Joe
The Allentons - Pyramid Five
Madness - The Prince
Voodoo Glow Skulls - Malas Palabras
Laurel Aitken - Mad About You

I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I'm that lazy. Be warned, the shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for the last seventeen years or so. WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away while the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in those songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I've tried to annotate when that happened and if the songs didn't make it on the tape I leave them off of the playlist.

What you end up with is a snapshot of where I was and what bands I was going to see in the latter part of the 90s. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else. Unfortunately I've lost my playlists from so long ago and my memory isn't what it used to be so there may be a few unknown artist and song listings. I'm not going to let that hold me back on posting these shows. Feel free to leave a comment and square me away on anything I've messed up or forgotten. Additionally I used to fill in at various times to keep WMUL on the air and I have about five tapes of those shows to go with the twenty odd tapes from Ska Beat. It's been a blast listening to these tapes and remembering a time in my life that is completely different from where I am now. Hope you enjoy the show because I definitely enjoyed doing it.

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com  Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

What's Going On

I haven't been posting a lot this month but it doesn't mean I haven't been busy. One of my new projects has been converting the cassette tapes I have from when I was a community volunteer at WMUL (Marshall University's radio station) where I did a ska and reggae show called Ska Beat (from 1997-1999) to mp3 format. I only have about twenty or so tapes plus a few from when I filled in at other spots but it is time consuming mainly because I have to listen to them to write down the bands and songs. Once upon a time I kept my playlists but now I have no idea where they are or if indeed I still have them. As far as editing I decided to leave everything in, all of the Public Service Announcements, all of the Marshall stuff and even all of the weather announcements. I loathe editing that kind of stuff and besides, it's a testament of where I was and what I was doing at that moment of my life. The only thing I have been editing is the beginning of the recording, when the tape was turned over (not always timely) and at the end. That's pretty much it. I've decided to upload these file to the Internet Archive instead of putting them up through Podomatic as a podcast. That will start as soon as I write a few paragraphs about the history of the show.

Another new project is also music related but in a much different way. I've talked with Tommy and his son Chris about doing a spoken word/music project with them. There is no name for it as of yet but honestly it was something I thought about doing in the mid-nineties when people like Maggie Estep made it seem possible and Henry Rollins was all over the place doing spoken word. Somehow it never happened for me even as a personal, local thing and I buried it away in the back of my mind piled over by a ton of other ideas that I always wanted to start on. I finally realized that if it's going to happen I have to make it happen and since Chris and Tommy's bands are kind of on hiatus it only makes sense to do something creative together. Writing lyrics has been fun and personally rewarding for me but sometimes in my head I hear things differently than in the regular lyrics format so I want to see where this can go. It's going to be a learning process for me so we'll see how it ends up.

I have been writing but most of it has seemed incomplete or partially written to me so I've been reluctant to put much of it online. If it's a first draft and sure to change that's not a problem to me but I don't even feel that most of the new stuff is at that point yet. I need more hours in the day to work on it. Or to have money so that I don't have to work. Yeah, that'd work. It's not gonna happen but it's a nice pipe dream. Writing words for my new project is a very different process. Instead of presenting ideas in a concise manner now I get to indulge myself and get wordy. Problem is most of the time stuff comes to me I'm nowhere close to paper and pen or a recorder or it's not a situation where I can use any of those things. Case in point, while in the stage of half sleep this morning I had music and words come to me but by the time I was awake enough to try and write them down it was all starting to fade. Then the cat jumped in my lap wanting attention and my cellphone started ringing intermittently so I only got some of it down. Hopefully I can look at it later and have something else present itself.

That's about it, everything I've been working on besides doing things with the family and working a fulltime job. It's a lot but as I said earlier, if I want it to happen then I've got to make it happen. I have to start it because nobody else is gonna knock on my door and say they're there to help me do what I want to do. Resistance will always present itself in many forms to block you. Go read Stephen Pressfield and he'll tell you all about it. As for me, I have to get back to work, in one form or another.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

notmovingpictures Episode 026: Don Solo Rants Again

Ah yeah, it's time for another solo episode of me (Don) ranting about what I feel is important or whatever is bothering me at the moment. Before getting to that however I first talk about my newest artistic endeavor, getting the tapes from my old radio show Ska Beat uploaded on archive.org. I don't have a timetable but I have started listening to them to get the artists and songs (lost my old playlists) and get an overview of the quality of the recordings, etc. Here's the deal, about two years after I got out of the Army I became a community volunteer for WMUL, Marshall University's campus radio station where I ended up doing a ska and reggae show for almost three full years. I've got around twenty five tapes that I recorded of my show as well as a few times where I filled in for other time slots and played, ska, punk, indie and so forth music. It's going to take some time to get the tapes converted and listened to but I have started and it will be a look at what I was doing 1997-1999.

After talking about that I started my rant about (the lack of) customer service that I experienced in a four day period from Dell, Talley's and Mom's Family Diner and how one of them differed from the other. Then I gave an update on what happened to getting the medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in the next election. Spoiler alert, it failed but the fight will go on. You can listen below or just go here, whichever you prefer.



Opening Music: Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing Music: Alton Ellis - Ska Beat

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Older episodes can also be found @ www.archive.org, just search for notmovingpictures.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

notmovingpictures Episode 024: Thoughts After The Supersuckers and The Dirty Mugs Show

This is a short solo episode that was recorded on my ride home after watching The Supersuckers and The Dirty Mugs on July 22nd at The Shrine in Tulsa. Once again, the audio in episodes recorded while I am driving suffers greatly due to the noise of the truck, the recorder moving around and so forth. I talk about the small crowd (hey, it was a Tuesday night show in Tulsa), the lyrics/poem that I wrote before the bands came on and I close with a gripe and a stolen bit from Doug Loves Movies. Oh yeah, I also forget at the end to say over and over and over and over......and over. You should be able to tell but if not, it's about the selfies.



Opening Music: Alloy - Live To See The Day 
More Opening Music: The Supersuckers - Creepy Jackalope Eye
Closing Music: The Dirty Mugs - Dance With Me

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Older episodes can also be found @ www.archive.org, just search for notmovingpictures.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

A Nice, Easy Going Day For Once

Last Saturday turned out to be a pretty good day for me. First, a friend from another ward at church asked me if I wanted to help take the Boy Scouts to the Marshall University vs Tulsa University football game. Since I had lived in Huntington and volunteered at Marshall’s radio station (WMUL) I of course said yes. It turned out that the tickets were free for us and I only had to forego a little sleep because the game was at 11 AM. We ended up having more adults than scouts. I showed up wearing my Marshall t-shirt and my Tulsa hat but ended up keeping the shirt covered by my zip up hoodie due to (a) the extremely windy and cool conditions and (b) the fact that Marshall got the snot beat out of them. It was if they didn’t practice or even watch any game film. Still, it was the first time I’ve been to a football game in four or five years and it was nice to get out with friends.

We ended up leaving the game a little early, which normally I loathe to do, but it was clear that Marshall had no chance to come back and win and it was rather cool in the wind so I agreed. After I got home I took a short nap until my wife and son got home and they ended up falling asleep so I got on the computer with my headphones and watched the UFC preliminary fights on Facebook. It was the first time I have ever done this and it wasn’t a bad experience. During the breaks between fights I would do something else until the next fight started. Then it was time for the main event, the heavyweight title fight between the champion Cain Velasquez and the challenger Junior Dos Santos. This looked to be an exciting fight and was tabbed to be the only one shown on the inaugural UFC show live on Fox. In order to explain the sport to those who had never seen it before (this was the first time MMA was ever shown on free television in the U.S.) there was a lot of footage showing who the fighters are and where they came from. The diehard fans (like me) would of course preferred that they had shown more fights but hey, it was free so I won’t complain (too much).

Unfortunately I had run out of time. My brother Tommy and his son Chris came to pick me up and we went downtown to Joe Mammas Pizza. A band led by Tommy’s co-worker was playing and he wanted to go and show some support. Although the music style wasn’t what any of us would regularly listen to it was nice to go hang out, listen to live music, eat some pizza and soak up the atmosphere. As we get older things like this just don’t seem to happen enough which speaks loudly about how convoluted our lives have become. We spoke with Tommy’s co-worker between sets and stayed for a little while longer before calling it a night. I made it home while my wife and son were still awake and we spent some time together too. All in all it was a nice day. Not too hectic but not too slow paced either. I had no deadlines to meet or someplace that I had to speed to get to. It showed me how important it is to periodically get away from it all, relieve the stress and relax. Trust me, the way things have been going lately that is something that I sorely need. The trick now is to make it happen more frequently. By the way, Dos Santos beat Velasquez by technical knockout in one minute and four seconds. Just wished I could have stayed home a few minutes longer and seen it.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Before Technology Became A Part Of Our Lives

I'm a part of a very unique generation. We were here before today's technology existed and then became so prevalent and all encompassing in our lives. We know what it's like to exist before all the technological advances came to be and yet they are now a major part of our lives. My son on the other hand will never know what it's like unless something cataclysmic happens to the world, which isn't so far fetched an idea.

When I was a young the only remote control for the television was the youngest child in the room. I can remember only having three or four channels to watch and that was dependant on the antenna being turned in the right direction. As a matter of fact, at about two or three in the morning those channels went off the air. That's right, there was nothing on the TV until the local stations started airing morning programming about four or five hours later.


My grandmother Adkins lived in three houses out in the country and I recall all three quite clearly. The first had no running water. You had to go outside and there was a pump in the yard that you had to hand crank to get water. Then it was brought inside and heated on the stove. To take a bath you had to fill water up in a tub and clean yourself. Need I mention that the tub didn't get emptied and refilled with clean water for the next person who needed to take a bath and instead it was reused? The toilet was a standard outhouse and I was always terrified that a snake would crawl up and bite me on my butt. I'm not sure exactly why I had that fear but it was there. Her next house employed the same setup except that at least it did have running water in the kitchen. The last house had complete indoor plumbing although it was built on the side of a hill and had no front yard to speak of. But hey, beggars can't be choosers.


My mother remarried when I was in fifth grade and I remember quite clearly when my step-father (henceforth to be referred to as "the jerk") brought home Pong. It was the greatest day in my life up to that point. I was amazed and transfixed watching that little dot bounce from side to side for hours at a time. Of course it wasn't very long before that progressed to standup video games strategically placed in stores and later their own arcades and I also thought that it couldn't get any better than that. Then that also was taken to current unbelievable levels.

My mother had 8 tracks when I was growing up but by the time I reached high school they were starting to die out, soon to be followed by albums. I still have many of my albums and singles and tend to refer to music releases by that name. Cassettes followed and I hung onto them dearly for a very long time, perhaps longer than I should have. I'll admit that I didn't give into compact discs for far too long. As a matter of fact it was until years past the very end of them being offered that you could still find me making mix tapes from my cds. What ended up really pushing me past my love for cassettes (besides the music industry abandoning them) was the fact that I volunteered at Marshall University's radio station (WMUL) and did my own ska and reggae show which netted me a massive amount of free music, almost all of it on cd.



It wasn't until more than a decade later that I gave into getting an mp3 player of which I went through several cheap ones until I ended up with an Ipod by chance and luck. Armed with the Ipod I now listen to a variety of podcasts without having to do very much to receive them freely and easily. Finding good podcasts is another matter however and I've searched high low to find them and am still searching for one to play my kind of music. I guess that means I'll have to do one of my own to find happiness on that front.

My first computer was acquired very cheaply around 1998 by a friend at Marshall's bi-annual sale of all computerized things old and obsolete. Remarkably it had a 2 gig hard drive and once I hooked up my telephone modem I was in business. A horrendously slow business but at least I was catching up with the world. This past December I finally got a laptop which has let me be free to roam and leech what free wifi I can find as I continue in my quest to become a better writer. It amazes me to think that about 20 years ago it would have taken a room full of hard drives linked together to do what a smartphone does today. They are no longer just for making telephone calls and instead are little computers really that you can take videos and post them on the internet or have a video conference while downloading music or buying concert tickets while talking to your friends. I shudder to think where we'll be in 5 years at the pace that technology is moving.

Still, I can't help that things were better when we didn't have all of this technology. We weren't so hung up on instant gratification and had more patience. Plus I didn't have to hear the conversation that the person in front of me in the checkout line was having with their friend about why so and so is a piece of crap jerk and needs to go away or why their mother is wrong for not allowing them to have sex with multiple partners. Back then people were so much less likely to share their pathetic lives with the general public and I have to admit that I do miss those days. Do I miss them so much that I'm ready to give up on technology completely and revert to my old form? Let's not be too hasty here. It's just interesting to remember what life used to be like, if only for a little while. Who am I kidding? I love it all and wouldn't give it up for anything. It's too much of a part of my life now to go back.

Published by Don Leach

Satelite Kingston, Ska From Argentina

I've just come back from a short vacation which explains why I haven't posted for several days. The purpose of the trip was to visit my wife's cousin and her family, particularly her 5 month old baby girl. While it was nice to get away and visit it was extremely muggy there and since it was just for a few days the drive there and back really got to me and right now I'm just trying to get back to my routine. Anyway, I had prepared some Cd's to listen to while driving and some of them were Peruvian and Argentinean ska because recently I had been getting back into ska in a much bigger way. Back in the mid to latter 90s I volunteered at Marshall University's radio station (WMUL) and did a ska and reggae show called Ska Beat. Ever since I still listened to some of the music but not like I had done before. I had been looking for 80s Peruvian music and after that I found some current ska bands (mostly in Lima) and started expanding my search which led me to Argentina and the band Satelite Kingston.



This song stood out to me on the CD that I made because I like the singers voice and how it melds with the tempo of the music. Plus the traditional ska sound is my favorite. As far as what the song is about from what I've been able to understand is that in 1972 some political prisoners opposing the military dictatorship from various groups planned to escape from a prison in the city of Trelew. The leaders were able to escape but 19 others were slower to get out and got to the airport as the plane with the 6 leaders on it was taking off. They surrendered to the military and of course there are different versions of the story but 3 of the survivors state that they were made to lie prostrate on the floor and then machine gunned which resulted in 16 deaths. The military version is that the prisoners grabbed a machine gun from a guard and an intense firefight resulted that ended with 16 prisoners. Some people in the town were arrested and the entire town ended up going on strike against this action. 2 of the survivors were later "disappeared" (a process involving the government kidnapping people and holding them for torture and then usually killing them) and the other ended up missing. It's a very sober message.

Unfortunately the bands website is unavailable due to exceeding it's bandwidth which to me means they have something that you can download there but too many people have done so and so I must wait to get more info on the band. But their myspace site is still okay and can be found here. Still, there's not a lot of information about the group that I can find especially since I'm cursed by not speaking very much Spanish. Here's a live version of the song recorded at a radio station in which they were all crowded into a small booth to perform.



As I said I can't get a lot of information on the band but I did find a site that showed the band's membership consisting of:
Alejandro Pribluda: guitarra
Daniel Flores: teclado
Daniel Zaltzman: batería
Germán Cohen: trombón
Gonzalo Santos: trompeta
Hernán Fernandez: saxo
Julián Cuestas: trompeta
Milton Alonso: bajo

This however doesn't seem to be a complete list as there is clearly a female vocalist in the group. Perhaps in the future I'll get more information and go more in depth about the band.

Remembering The Ska Beat Show

I don't have much time because I have to get ready for work and take my son to the babysitter so I thought I'd put up some music that I used to play on my radio show. For just short of 3 full years I volunteered at WMUL (Marshall University) in the mid to late 90s and did a ska and reggae show called Ska Beat. I happened to see all of the below bands at one point or another back in the day. Ska and reggae are always good music to get you on your feet and moving, hope you enjoy.

The Toasters - Dub 56 (Chat Remix)



The Slackers - Married Girl



Let's Go Bowling - Spy Market



Skavoovie & The Epitones - Blood Red Sky

Joe Strummer and the Latino Rockabilly War - Trash City

I've been thinking about this Joe Strummer song a lot lately and have to say that in my humble opinion it's pretty amazing! This is a more obscure song from Strummer's solo career after The Clash broke up and is from the soundtrack to the movie "Permanent Record." Although it never hit in the top 40 and isn't known all over the world it doesn't matter because it's such a wonderful song. We lost a major talent when Joe died. Enjoy...............



Unfortunately I never got to see Joe play live although I could have. While doing my radio show at WMUL (Marshall University) in the latter 90s he came to Cincinnati and I had good connections with his label (Hell-Cat Records) and could have gotten free tickets and possibly even a show I.D. but I was at a point where I didn't want to drive 2 hours to see a show. Basically I was too lazy and it wasn't too much later that he died and I realized what I mistake I had made. That just goes to show that there are some things in life you shouldn't pass up on because you never know if you'll get another chance. R.I.P. Joe Strummer.