The close-shaven head, wraparound glasses, Doc Marten boots, Fred Perry T-shirt, skinny tie and sharkskin suit, and narrow-brimmed porkpie hat all shout "ska." But beyond the fashion, it's still the music that makes the band the one and only Put3ska.
Put3ska has decided to shy away from the brittle side of the mainstream to continue playing in clubs to a few but growing core of ska aficionados.
"It's not that ska is back or that it has been revived as a musical genre, because ska has always been there and never left the so-called local music scene," replies Arnold Morales, Put3ska's band leader. "Fact is, ska requires a lot of expertise and actually goes deeper than its dance-y tunes. Put3ska has kept its faith in ska that we've always aimed to be true to the authentic live sound of both the traditional and the two tone bands."
Ska, born in Jamaica before reggae, happened in three musical waves. in the 1950s and 60s, ska was a home-grown version of rhythm-and-blues performed by collectives of former jazz musicians like Skatalites.
A decade later, in the 70s, the music traveled to England where Jamaican blue-collar laborers resettled in the same community with future punks who would come to feel a social affinity with the plight of the oppressed West Indian boys. Ska evolved with a tighter and faster tempo as it mixed with punk and the working-class youth sounds in the 1970s.
The second wave happened in the 80s with interracial ska bands advocating the two-tone beat and were styling themselves after the West Indian rude boys and the British skin and suedeheads.
Here were ska loyalists dressed up in Fred Perry polo shirts, cardigans, pork pie hats, pinned ska logos on their overcoats and shaved their heads. Two-Tone label in America was enjoying top spots on the pop charts.
The third ska wave happened five years ago and continues to happen today as ska concerts around the globe dominate various clubs and big concert sites. Ska, although still predominantly an underground affair, has flourished into a broader mix of punks, skinheads and rude boys dancing to ska music.
In the Philippines, the spirit of ska lives on. A few months before celebrating its second anniversary in August, Put3ska continues to brandish enduring, infectious ska music. This time around, ska proves it is a growing musical force to reckon with as the masters of Put3ska are joined by new ska bands.
On Saturday, May 27, ska music finds a new home at Freedom Bar as local ska heroes Put3ska, Jeepney Joyride, Snubnose, Shuffle Union and Ska Red relaunch Club Ska at 9 p.m.
Freedom Bar is located on Anonas Ave., Project 2 in Quezon City.