Dane Roberts might just be his own festival’s biggest fan. This strong possibility, along with the hard work of over 200 volunteers, is very likely the secret to the success of the Victoria Ska Fest, celebrating its 14th year July 9 to 13.
Taking place at a variety of different venues in downtown Victoria, including the amazing Ship Point outdoor venue, Ska Fest has grown into one of the area’s premier music and cultural festivals. But, 14 years? Can you believe it?
“Yeah man, I can believe it. It’s my life!” laughs Roberts uproariously, between meetings at the Ska Fest headquarters. “Everything that we do, we always have ska fest in mind. This is the grand finale of all of our efforts throughout the year.”
The “we” Roberts refers to is the Victoria Ska Society, a non-profit society formed in 2004 after Roberts saw Ska Fest growing larger than he ever thought possible when he put on the inaugural festival in 2000. Inspired by the 1998 death of his good friend, Matthew Bishop, with whom he co-hosted the CFUV radio show Skankster’s Paradise up at UVic, Roberts was determined to keep the ska scene alive in Victoria.
“At the time, ska was such a craze. I always liked reggae music and wanted to promote it, but [Bishop] introduced me to ska,” explains Roberts. “When I went to UVic I was so into ska and I thought we should make a ska festival, so I did it as a work term placement. My advisor said to me that if the festival did well, I would pass my work term, and if it didn’t do well, I didn’t pass. And that was how the first one started.”
At the time Roberts wasn’t thinking ahead to what the festival might look like 5, 10, or even 14 years later, but here we are in 2013 and Victoria Ska Festival is now globally renowned and has a number of large sponsors. Bands from all over of the world go out of their way to come here every July and play the festival. Some even do it for travel expenses alone.
“We’re totally excited and to get to play again is super cool,” says Matt Coyller, lead vocalist/guitarist of The Planet Smashers, a Montreal ska punk band who first played the festival in 2011. “Dane’s been good to us and it’s expensive to get everyone out, but he covers the flights and we come out and basically play for free and it’s lots of fun. The last time we played the festival it was crazy good.”
Slowly, over the years, the Victoria Ska Festival has expanded beyond ska bands and into other related genres such as reggae, hip-hop, dub, soul, and punk rock, among others. Roberts says this has been a natural progression and is another key to the longevity of the festival.
“Had we only focused on ska, and ska alone, and nothing else, then we would definitely have a much more limited market,” he says.
Coyller, who also runs a record label called Stomp Records out of Montreal that predominantly releases ska-related bands, says branching out into other musical genres that are still somehow connected to ska is a great approach for a music festival. In fact, he’s used the same approach for his record label.
“You have to. If everyone is too similar, it just gets boring,” says Coyller. “When you do a live show that’s a traditional ska night, by band three you’re like, ‘Ah, fuck, someone change the tempo, please!’ You need to mix it up. And there are a lot of variations within ska, but adding other elements freshens things up to a nice level. Besides, any festivals that have been around for years, like the Montreal Jazz Festival, it’s like 10 percent jazz; but hopefully that won’t happen to Ska Fest.”
This year’s Ska Fest lineup includes big-name acts such as hip-hop icon Mos Def, dub/reggae beat looper Dub FX, influential reggae artist Tanya Stephens, and ska punks The Mad Caddies, alongside a host of local and smaller bands in many ska-related genres. Truly the definition of an underground, genre-specific festival, Ska Fest has succeeded by eschewing the trappings of the mainstream music industry and focusing on a community of bands that support each other.
“I don’t think any of our artists are featured on commercial radio,” says Roberts, proudly. “I’m looking at the poster right now and I can’t see anything that would be in regular rotation on the radio.”
You don’t need radio play, it seems, to play a style of music that gets people excited and dancing. One of the most noticeable things about the festival is how much people get into it. From the skanking dance moves, to the many different ways in which attendees express themselves, it’s never a dull moment at Ska Fest.
“Definitely, it’s huge,” confirms Roberts. “It’s a dancing kind of music and people are not afraid to express themselves. They like to dress in costumes, and there’s a lot of good energy, and maybe it’s because of the message it’s traditionally shown, or maybe it’s because the music is so cheerful and positive. Ska feels good, you know? And people lose their inhibitions.”
Collyer, whose home of Quebec is also known for its strong ska scene, has a theory about why ska has caught on in what may seem like an unlikely place on the west coast, and it leads right back to Roberts and his team’s enthusiasm for the festival they run every summer.
“When it comes down to it, the passion is there from the people who are putting on the shows,” says Collyer, “and I think people just pick up on that. It’s a well-run festival, so that’s why it’s had longevity.”
Kristie McCracken, co-founder of Vancouver’s eight-piece soul/funk/reggae/R&B band The Ponderosas, agrees that the people behind Ska Fest are essential to its success, and that starts with Roberts. “We love Dane. I admire his passion for music and how enthusiastic he is at every single show, to the point where he completely loses his voice,” she says.
Also, the laid-back west coast coupled with a community that’s politically minded are two more reasons why Victoria Ska Fest has taken off, according to Roberts. Plus, he’s just too humble of a guy to take credit for our healthy ska scene.
“There’s definitely more of a free-thinking, left-wing vibe here and that really fits with the music, which is about freedom, about social injustice,” says Roberts. “Ska music addresses a lot of those things, in addition to it being fun and jumpy. And there’s a lot of love here for other music that ska’s been connected to. Our efforts have been to make people aware that even though ska is the grandfather, it’s related to other genres.”
A huge fan of dancing at shows, Roberts does his best to find time to truly enjoy the festival amongst all of the hard work. But, more importantly, the man who wanted to bring ska to Victoria always takes time to reflect on what’s being accomplished in a city he loves, and within a genre of music he holds so close to his heart.
“When I’m in between dealing with the challenges of the festival, I always try to take a step back and go up to the top of the hill where everyone watches it for free,” he says. “I take a deep breath and thank God and the people in the community for supporting it.”
Who to skank to:
Who better to take advice on which bands to see at the Victoria Ska Fest than founder Dane Roberts? Known as one of Victoria’s biggest live music enthusiasts, Roberts gives his top four picks for this year’s loaded lineup.
The Debonaires
“They are one of the best ska/reggae/jazz/soul bands in North America. Their brand of music isn’t the popular sound of what gets played on the radio, but they are incredible, man. To me, they are one of the biggest gifts of the festival this year.”
Dub FX
“I’m really excited that he took time out of his schedule to come to our festival between shows on his European tour. That was really inspiring. I’ve gotten in his face, in a friendly way, several times after his concerts and it was amazing that he took a personal interest in the festival and he remembered me.”
Mad Caddies
“The vibe I always got from the band is that they always knew I was passionate and, even though they played lots of dates and are so well known around North America, the fact that they booked the show directly with us without having to deal with management was amazing.”
Mos Def
“Well, obviously, I’m really excited about that one.”
For the full lineup, go to victoriaskafestival.ca
Dante smith aka mos def aka Yasmin bey is now ska?