LEGENDS OF SKA Trading Cards

Graphic designer/screen printer and classic ska fanatic. Currently working on the LEGENDS OF SKA Trading Card Set (see my pics or slideshow for samples). The 42-card set will come in it's own lidded box and each card will feature an original full-colour illustration on the front with artist bio on reverse side. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the LEGENDS OF SKA Trading Cards will be donated to the ALPHA BOYS SCHOOL in Kingston, Jamaica. The school was established in the 1880's as a home for wayward boys and has been essential in training some of Jamaica's musical legends, including Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso and Desmond Dekker. If you would care to make a donation to ALPHA BOYS SCHOOL you may do so at www.alphaboysschool.com ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ................................. LEGENDS OF SKA Trading Card Set coming in spring 2008!! ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ..............TIME FOR A SHORT HISTORY OF SKA FOR THE UNINITIATED................. Ska is to Jamaica what Jazz is to America: it's country's first original musical artform. Bob Marley was Ska's Miles Davis. Like Davis, Marley would eventually transcend his genre. Unfortunately the shadow cast by his immense fame left little spotlight to be shared amongst his musical brethren, some of whom can be rightfully proclaimed as virtuosos. Ska, a musical mixture of Jazz, R & B, Soul, and Mento, began in Jamaica in the late 1950's with Theophilus Beckford's "Easy Snappin". Beckford's 1958 classic is considered by many to be the very first Ska recording. The music's popularity on the island was further fueled by the optimism the country felt in the wake of Jamaican independence in 1962, an era perhaps best embodied in the classic Derrick Morgan track "Forward March". It was a time of celebration and boundless creativity. It is in these years that Jamaica's music industry was not only born but blossoming, scoring hit after hit in the UK and in the process building a rabid fan base among hip young Brits that still exists today. The summer of 1966 was one of Jamaica's hottest on record. As Ska blasted from the Sound Systems of Kingston, dancers were succumbing to dehydration and exhaustion in attempting to keep in step with the music's relentless, pulsing rhythms. Seemingly out of mercy the music's pace slowed down, changed it's name to Rocksteady, and later to Reggae. The music created in Jamaica during the Ska period (1960-66) is astonishing in both it's quality and quantity. For those who haven't yet had the pleasure, it's time to be introduced to some of the world's most overlooked musicians. It's time to be introduced to "Real Ska". This is the ultimate aim in creating the LEGENDS OF SKA Trading Cards. ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .............. Oh yeah, I also play guitar, sing, write all the songs and arrive to practice already having eaten in indie rock band BRONX CHEERLEADER ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .........................