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 Solgyres. Check out out what the Connecticut 9-piece have to say below.
What is going on out there that has gotten so many people back on their boards to ride this latest wave of ska?
Early Jamaican ska, such as The Maytals and The Wailers, have left a ripple effect on global music culture. Influencing generations of people to continue to create ska songs, adding their creative twist to it and innovating styles. Ska has so much unexplored musical potential because it is still a small genre.
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?
The early pioneers of Ska wrote timeless and poetic reflections on the reality and struggles of life. Artists like Marley, Toots, and Dekker are legends. Some of the best songs ever written like Pressure Drop and Simmer Down are early ska and even inspired more contemporary ska legends outside Jamaica like The Specials and Sublime who similarly wrote lyricism reflecting on life. This is why the ska scene is one of the most diverse genres for its size, providing an outlet for all people regardless of the labels and hardships society puts on them to come together and reflect on their reality through music over a unique and danceable rhythm.
I truly enjoy the way so many styles are blended seamlessly in Solgyres music. Was there a conscious choice to show off such a wide range instyle? What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, thisis what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
My sister Skyelyn and I started the band, and music for us is a fundamental aspect of our lives. Growing up, good music was always playing in our house of all genres, but roots reggae music was a constant presence in our lives. We learned jazz together from a young age which taught us the improvisational fluidity of music, which then translated into our own sound. We started writing and recording songs together in 2020, and our music came out as reggae fusion because that is the sound that’s in our souls innately. Each bandmate came into our lives at the right time, and brought to our songs their own element which developed and unified the sound to what Solgyres is today.
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?
We believe in the importance of the environment and worldwide unity in the face of destruction and oppression. Bob Marley said it best, we need to “Chant down Babylon with music”.
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
Some of our most memorable moments have been performing at underground house shows near UConn with our friends and getting the cops called on us. This has inspired our music immensely, especially on our upcoming single, “Let Us Play”.
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?
We’re excited to bring our sound to the ska fest audience. We want the audience to skank to the vibes.
What does Solgyres have planned for us beyond SPI Fest?
We’re currently promoting our new album which is out now on all streaming platforms. We also just got a house together, where we’ll be focusing on writing and recording new music.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
