LADIES AND GENTS, THE MTV VMA FOR BEST BREAKOUT L.A. BAND GOES TO....

LA BANDA SKALAVERA!!!!
We want to thank South Central Skankers and No Way Jose and congratulate them for being nominees as well in the MTV VMA/MTV tr3s Best Breakout Los Angeles Artist competition!
We had a great time at Six Flags and want to thank everyone that came out to show their support!! Please continue to show your support for the LA scene. We're all pushing forward together and trying to show the rest of the world how we do it here in LA! THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!!!!

Click on the banner below for info on when the MTV VMAs air. We will be shown in the LA Area airing of the program.

SKA GOES HOLLYWOOD!!!

Here's the footage from the audience cam from July 17th @ the Skanking Buddha Lounge! Check it out!!

A blast at the Galaxy!

Hello again, loyal fans! "El Ruso" back with the latest and greatest on your (hopefully) favorite latin ska/punk/reggae/funk ensemble.

So Cinco de Drinko, er, Mayo has come and gone and I'm sure many of you will be going to work this morning wondering "Why did I have to drink all that tequila?," or as I call it te-kill-ya, head pounding from all the debauchery of a much misunderstood day here in the States. (It's amazing how many people wouldn't be able to tell you, if asked, why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated, but that's a commentary for another day.) I'm here to tell all those folks suffering well-earned hangovers they should have celebrated ahead of time over the weekend, namely this past Saturday night, and the place they should have been was at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana.

I know there were many places all over Southern California brimming with early celebrations to choose from, but anyone who didn't find their way to the Galaxy missed out on an oustandingly great time. True, promotion for the event wasn't so great which means unfortunately quite a few of you out there may not have known, and that's ok. It started unfairly slow and quite empty when the doors opened. I'm sad to say that our homies from the Bad Luck Bandits didn't have a large audience to play to, and that sucks because they are a talented group of guys. I'm just glad that didn't stop them from having a good time.

As the night went on the time came for a little LBS action, and we got the opportunity to play a long set for the evening, which has been absent from our performances as of late. I tell you it makes all the difference in the world to not feel so rushed and pressed for time and actually being able to play a better chunk of our music library. The crowd could definitely feel the energy and the groove and we fed off of their enthusiasm. We played a few songs we hadn't done live for some time, like Solo, Matador and The Funk Song, even got some crowd participation (thanks again for the dance, ladies). So here's a few action shots for you to enjoy:


And let's not forget the sandwich!


So as you can see, we had a blast and hopefully those of you who made it out to the show had just as much fun. Just remember, though, there are plenty shows in the very near future so come on out and have a good time with us! And more sammiches, please!! Ha ha ha! Ok, just kidding. Go check out the MySpace page for the most updated list of shows. The next one is this coming Sunday, May 10th, so don't miss out!! Peace out, kids!

MAY 10th Dont Forget!!!! Be There!!!

Its going to be a great one everyone! Show up early and support... Que Suene La Banda!!!

What a weekend for LBS con Panteon Rococo!!

Greetings from the frontlines, loyal fans and friends. This is Jeff, "El Ruso," saying a very grateful thank you to everyone who came out to the shows this weekend. Once again we got the wonderful opportunity to play alongside the ever awesome Panteon Rococo, but for two incredible nights in a row.

Let me lay the scene for you: It's a Friday night, April 24th to be exact, and The House of Blues in Anaheim is bustling and packed to the hilt. Quinto Sol warms up the crowd with a fine set of groovin' reggae and latin flava. The curtains close and mild disarray leads to quick rearranging and adjusting to accomodate the large ensemble that is La Banda Skalavera. The curtains reopen to the loud roar of a rough and ready crowd. Showtime.

A familiar kick drum beat begins thumping and section by section we enter into Sistema Perdido, all the while the crowd begins to dance and skank and off we are into a short, but sweet 30 minutes of musical mayhem. As that half hour of power comes to an end and the curtain once again comes to a close, we feel the love of the fans as they beg and plead for more. Chants of "Culeros!" resonate as they realize we aren't coming back.

Unfortunately we are unable to oblige as we must make way for the homies in 8 Calakas. The crowd is receptive of our brothers in ska and the mayhem continues for them. Then the pinnacle of the evening comes in the arrival of the highly anticipated Panteon Rococo. Alcohol is consumed, sweat beads off the never dormant throng of dancing fans, and a great vibe fills the concert venue.

Ah, but all good things must unfortunately come to an end. Thankfully for Panteon, Quinto Sol and ourselves we looked forward to another night together and hoped it would be as energetic and successful as this.

Saturday, April 25th comes to be our time to open the show. This is only our second time playing at The House of Blues in San Diego, so for us this becomes an opportunity to reach out to new potential fans.

As the curtains open we aren't met by a large crowd, unfortunately, but as soon as that same familiar thump thump thumping of the kick drum begins, all eyes are on us. Those who are in the audience gather at the front of the stage and start to feel our energy pouring off into them. As more people come into the venue, they are met with a powerful sound and electric atmosphere. The set comes to an end and we are rewarded with a bevy of applause. I can only imagine how much more enthusiastic the crowd would have been had we played a little later, but our time will come in San Diego. Soon and very soon....

The rest of the evening for most of the band (except those poor unfortunate baby rhinos) lavishly flowed with alcohol, as well as meet and greets with new fans impressed by our show.

On behalf of the entire band I want to once again thank everyone who came out to see us, whether you be a loyal fan, old friend, new friend, new fan, family member, etc. We always appreciate your continued support and know that we would not be where we are without you all. The journey continues for us and we hope to retain that support in exchange for great, meaningful, entertaining music to share with the world.

Skandalo Nacional was the Shit!!!!! This year it was held at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood Ca. Lots of great bands performed like ekolekua, ninefiveone, Los P2, Todadiscos, Almalafa, Cerebro Negro, Kofre, and many more. We had the honor to play for everyone in the main room. Even though there wasnt any Alcohol being sold, the crowd still had fun!!! Much love and Respect to Pure Underground Ent. and Concrete Jungle for putting this event together. Here are some pictures. Oh and i forgot to mention that Ricky and Fernando didnt get the Memo on the outfit.haha.

Telemundo Buenos Dias Los Angeles

What up everyone.. Sorry its been a while.. Well i wanted to post up some pictures from our TV appearance this past Friday. La Banda Skalavera got the opportunity to appear on Telemundo's local LA channel during the morning show. We were interviewed a little and also played a couple songs. Oh and yes it was playback in case you couldn't tell. ha ha.. It was a long day. We had to be at the studios at 4 am. And most of us had to get back to work after that. It was good overall. We were able to speak a little about the ska scene and what ska is. Most viewers probably aren't as exposed to our lifestyle so it was cool to share that with everyone through this show. You can see the rest of the pictures and Video of the show on our myspace. myspace.com/labandaskalavera

Tonight LBS will be playing at Skandalo Nacional 2009 @ the Knitting Factory. It should be a dope show. See you there.