SPIll Your Guts: A Ska Punk International Fest interview with Matamoska

Ska Punk International‘s SPI Fest will return for another weekend of ska and ska-punk in 2024. This year's event taking place on 17 May and 18 May, has relocated to a new, all-ages venue known as 25 Central Street in Windsor, CT. Tickets can be purchased here. The annual festival will feature Catbite, Mutiny, Stop The Presses, PWRUP, Call Me Malcolm and our SPIll Your Guts interview guest, Esteban Flores of Matamoska. Check out what Esteban has to say below.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! You are gearing up for SPI Fest in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourselves?

It's an opportunity to grow into a new market or expand in a familiar one. Theres always a new set of fans that mesh with the old set and it's sort of like an amalgamation of familiarity and uncertainty. One thing is expected tho, that by the end of our set we will have a ton of fun with our people.

I won't call it a ska revival because ska is something that's never gone away, but there is a massive rejuvenation of the scene with We Are The Union, The Kilograms and Catbite.  What is going on out there that has gotten so many people back on their boards to ride this latest wave of ska?

I think the interest was always there. Just that there is so much other good music that is saturated with us. The US has an abundance of talent and top of the line mechanics when it comes to rotating pop artists and chart toppers. It sort of leaves smaller bands in the underbelly of the industry. That said, the pandemic really shed light on the true DIY'rs because it was a period of time where artists of all levels were on a similar playing field. Ska bands in general had a tenacious appetite for wanting to break through the underbelly and, in my respective POV, I saw ska groups try their best to retain and gain new audiences the most.

What does Matamoska have planned for us beyond SPI Fest?

Well it's the day after our CD release so we might mix a set of new and old music. We usually plan a special per tour….we aren't there yet!

What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What's been the most unexpected? The weirdest?

Most memorable would be playing in our hometown and always seeing crowds sing our songs. It's something we are never over haha. Unexpected would probably the bs that comes with tour. Either a member is left somewhere or a van is broken down. It's not expected per se but theres always “something” that has to happen to complete the Matamoska experience. Weirdest to add to my previous sentence was having to play as a 5 piece ( we are usually an 9 piece) because of band logistics. It was a weird set but the crowd was the most vibrant.

Speaking of live shows, what are you most excited to bring to the SPI Fest audience? What do you want those in attendance to take away from your set?

Though we have gone to the east coast a few times before in bigger or smaller scales. We never really gone as far east as Connecticut. That said, we want to bring the west coast ska experience to the east side. We always say east coast bands have a different tinge to their flavor so us having to play there is like…being the ethnic food choice in a pot luck. Some people might be pleasantly surprised over the flavor and some might now but we don't know yet. We are sort of the “came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum” type.

We've all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn't take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?

I think not finishing our new album before the pandemic was regrettable because we wanted to move forward with other stuff but I think this was a case of serendipity when things fall together when they have to. (At least I say that to feel better) but nothing has really been regrettable. I like to think that things happen for a reasons and things will run its coarse. I'm strongly passive about it.

The ska scene gets a lot of flack from every genre of music (including ska itself) but is also almost always at the forefront of inclusion and diversity within the music scenes.  What is it about the scene that attracts such a welcoming fanbase?  What is it about ska that leaves itself so vulnerable to mockery in the music world?

I think it's exactly that, it's not that we are masochistic and self deprecating but we just don't take ourselves that serious and we also adopted the punk ethos of community. That creates an inclusive environment for everyone I believe. Genres who give ska a hard time are usually themselves fragile and trouble infested too.

We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked, and the upcoming election sure as shit isn't cooling any temperatures.  What impact, if any, does the current cultural and political landscape have on the band and the scene in general?

Its crazy to say that our last album was so radicalized politically and I feel like it flopped in its own way. We have songs chastising alt right members and wack but I didn't feel like it vibed with the majority pre pandemic. Fast forward to now and I think this period of time we are all looking within and trying to heal and I think some of our material talk about escapisms through music and disconnection and I think that vibes harder with everyone. That said the climate of the world really burnt us out or reminded us that we are just a singular being – we have to practice patience and consider our situations now. Love where you're from and the people around you and the rest will come.

Matamoska recently announced a new self-titled record coming from Bad Time Records.  What made you choose BTR for this release?  How did the songwriting and recording process differ from your last few trips to the studio?

The BTR offer was in the table for years. We were supposed to be an earlier release but after literal YEARS of mishaps and pandemic portioned set backs, we promised if we took this long we would deliver what would currently be our best material we have fine tuned so far. Its not our best material ever because as an active band our better days are ahead but in the span of 23 years we can definitely see the steep incline in music and song writing and even production.

What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do”  Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?  On the flipside to that one… Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?

Oh man from the OGs quoting sekta core, los fabulous Cadillacs, Aquabats, reel big fish, yeska, Mobtown. And other groups from LA and Mexico primarily. We were in the scene during a period where there wasn't much other influences but 90s alternative groups and rock in espanol groups. Later then came the newer members and they would include their own influences like Tokyo ska paradise orchestra, streetlight manifesto, and hepcat plus other genres like latino music and old Jamaican rocksteady too.
Bands people should check out are our contemporaries like La Resistencia, La Pobreska, The Paranoias, Red Store Bums, Raskahuele, Steadians, Trinidad Suave and more. The LA ska scene is such an eclectic mic it think people would love it.

There's a karaoke machine at the SPI afterparty, what song are you playing?

– “SWEEEET CAROLINE”…jk “Lamento Boliviano” Los Enanitos Verdes

SPI Fest is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see?

Mutiny because VGS (Voodoo Glow Skulls) are the homies and we support, Checkered Past, Catbite, Hans Gruber and The Diehards, but tbh we are gonna be there to support all the bands, theyre all pretty rad people as well!

Was there anything I missed that you'd like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?

I never learned to swim…..jk, if this is dropping before the festival. But a vinyl off the BTR Webstore, support your local ska bands, be a rad person. If you see any of us at a show, give us hugs…or weed…or both. The Marijuana Brass. And thanks to Chris for inviting to this awesome festival!