{"id":3271,"date":"2014-08-12T18:02:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T18:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/music\/suburban-legends-working-on-new-album-seeking-donations\/"},"modified":"2014-08-12T18:02:07","modified_gmt":"2014-08-12T18:02:07","slug":"suburban-legends-working-on-new-album-seeking-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/music\/suburban-legends-working-on-new-album-seeking-donations","title":{"rendered":"Ska Doesn&#8217;t Pay: Suburban Legends Crowdfunding New Album"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-30001\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/SubLeg01.jpg\" alt=\"SubLeg01\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\" \/> <\/p>\n<p><em>Photos by Brittany Woolsey.<\/em> <\/p>\n<p>To quote one of their songs, Suburban Legends know that &#8220;ska doesn&#8217;t pay,&#8221; and that&#8217;s why they&#8217;re looking to their fans to help fund their new album.<\/p>\n<p>The six-piece band from Huntington Beach, which includes two Cal State Long Beach alum, has made a name for themselves in the Orange County ska scene over the past 14 years.<\/p>\n<p>The group frequently performs at Disneyland\u2014where they perform Disney covers and original songs\u2014as well as goes on cross-country and international tours with other big names in the ska scene like Reel Big Fish.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Robertson, trombonist and CSULB 2010 fine arts alum, said he considers the band&#8217;s genre to be pop-ska.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rock with horns, like a ska boy band,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But at the end of the day, I would say we are just a fun, positive band with horns that likes to make people happy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/647809659\/suburban-legends-new-album\/widget\/video.html\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"620\" height=\"465\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe> <\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s difficult to be unhappy at a Suburban Legends show, especially with the band gleefully doing choreographed moves on stage with their fans mimicking them from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>From battle scenes to reeling in fish, this choreography has become a known staple at Suburban Legends shows.<\/p>\n<p>The dancing kind of just happened to the band, Robertson said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The dances came out of boredom,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The horn players were just kind of standing around and simply started to mess around and do really simple moves like a two-step or a horn sway. We would get positive feedback from the audience so bit by bit we added more and more and then had a full choreographed show.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Since its start, the guys of Suburban Legends have played in more than 20 countries and performed special occasions like Miley Cyrus&#8217; 16th birthday at Disneyland.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-30002\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/SubLeg02.jpg\" alt=\"SubLeg02\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" \/> <\/p>\n<p>Although the band has experimented with different genres\u2014take their disco-influenced sound on the albums &#8220;Dance Like Nobody&#8217;s Watching&#8221; and &#8220;Infectious&#8221;\u2014ska has always remained a vital part of them, despite the seeming lack of popularity of the genre in mainstream music.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I feel like we have always had our core ideal of having fun and keeping things positive,&#8221; Robertson said. &#8220;We have messed around with different records exploring different musical ideas but always come back to our ska sound.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On their most recent album, &#8220;Dreams Aren&#8217;t Real but These Songs Are,&#8221; released last year, the group converted Disney songs like &#8220;You&#8217;ve Got a Friend in Me&#8221; and &#8220;Duck Tales&#8221; into ska.<\/p>\n<p>One of the strengths of the ska scene, Robertson said, is the friendships people seem to form just from going to shows.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignright size-full wp-image-30003\" style=\"float: right;\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/SubLeg03.jpg\" alt=\"SubLeg03\" width=\"300\" height=\"417\" \/>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very tight scene,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Most of the time you can see the same kids at completely different shows with different bands.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Disney shows have given them a chance to grow even more and be discovered by more people, the band said.<\/p>\n<p>Ska has also given marching band kids the chance to continue listening to brass instruments or even continue to play them, said guitarist Brian Klemm.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ska has turned into its own unique clique that has become really special to the people who have stuck through the scene during its ups and downs,&#8221; Klemm said. &#8220;It&#8217;s something that fans can truly say, &#8216;This is my genre that I love and cherish.&#8217; Going to ska shows, it doesn&#8217;t matter how you look or dress. Anyone can be a part of this scene and everyone will welcome you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite arguably being one of the biggest bands in the local ska scene, it still doesn&#8217;t pay the bills, Robertson said.&nbsp;He said they each have to hold entry level jobs with no room for promotion due to the fact that they constantly take time off to tour.&nbsp;This struggle acted as the inspiration for their 2012 release, &#8220;Day Job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Robertson said he even had to miss his graduation from CSULB because the band had a tour the week of the ceremony.&nbsp;He has no regrets, though, he said, and neither do any of the other guys in the band.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The fact that we are still doing this is an accomplishment in itself,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/647809659\/suburban-legends-new-album\/widget\/card.html?v=2\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"220\" height=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" style=\"float: left;\" seamless><\/iframe>The group is looking for financial support from fans to help fund their new album. They set up a Kickstarter with a modest goal of $10, but are looking to raise as much as they can, and have until September 3 to do so.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are very excited to put out the best album we can, so if we are able to raise more than $10, we will be happy to put that toward the production of the album,&#8221; Robertson said.<\/p>\n<p>As of Tuesday, the band has already raised $11,465 toward their new album, proving the dedication of the local ska scene.<\/p>\n<p>Vincent Walker, lead vocalist and CSULB 2006 marketing alum, said the new album, expected to be released early next year, is comprised of all original songs.<\/p>\n<p>He said many of the songs have already been written and demoed, and the band is continuing to write more songs.&nbsp;&#8220;It&#8217;ll be a pleasant surprise to everyone when it&#8217;s done,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>To donate to Suburban Legends&#8217; Kickstarter, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/647809659\/suburban-legends-new-album?ref=nav_search\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To quote one of their songs, Suburban Legends know that &#8220;ska doesn&#8217;t pay,&#8221; and that&#8217;s why they&#8217;re looking to their fans to help fund their new album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":68537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[616,1388],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-ska","tag-suburban-legends","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3271"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=3271"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}