Search - The Readymen :: The Readymen

n the late nineties, ska became a dirty word that just about no one on the planet wanted to have anything to do with. Mainstream pop culture had chewed up and spit out the homogenized version that was brought to forefront of the music scene by an overwhelming number of amateur bands sporting checkered ties and 3-piece suits with no regard to the music’s cultural history and longevity. 90’s ska became a fad that quickly made a few bands rich, but even more despised. Earlier in the decade, bands like Operation Ivyhad begun fusing ska and reggae with the rough and tumble sound of punk rock. This was nothing new–bands like The Clashhad experimented by mixing roots reggae with punk rock decades before. Even in small towns like Eugene, Oregon the rebel sound of punk rock and reggae made its way into people’s musical vocabulary. In 1992, well before the ska meltdown of the late nineties, The Readymenstarted as a group determined to bring together the rough and ready sounds of punk rock and Jamaican reggae. Before too long they were crisscrossing the USA playing anywhere and everywhere they could. For six long years they toiled in relative obscurity compared to their mainstream counterparts who were playing what the music industry was calling ska at the time. Through the fallout, band personnel problems, label problems, you name it, they continued to move forward until 1998 when they decided enough was enough; well before their just time. Featuring members that went on to form The Stockyard Stoics, The Readymen were one of the premiere reggae-influenced punk bands in America throughout their six year history, touring the states over a half dozen times. They released a demo cassette, a split 10” with The Chitz, a solo 7”, and 2 full-length albums on Kingpin Records. The Readymen are a band that should be remembered, and one that shouldn’t have slipped through the cracks in the first place. That’s why this Discography came about. Perhaps one day they’ll bring their roots-reggae-punk rock back to a more deserving audience.