Makes Annette seem a lot cooler in my eyes. Check out her version below.

Ok so you all know MC Bat Commander is the mastermind behind Yo! Gabba Gabba but did you know that before he was in The Aquabats he was a child actor? Well maybe you did and I'm just waaaaaaaay late on this bandwagon. But I figured what I found was worth sharing. Not only did he grow up in the biz, he has quite the impressive resume. Here's some of the stuff he's been in:

Pretty In Pink
Roseanne
Major Dad
Married with Children
Just the Ten of Us
The Gummy Bears
V
Highway to Heaven
The Love Boat
...and a bunch of made for tv movies including my personal favorite, an after school special called My dad can't be crazy....can he?

 Chances are, whether you realized it or not, you've seen him in something. Case in point, I found an episode of Roseanne that he was in. This is an episode I've seen many many times and NEVER had the slightest idea who I was watching. Witness a young MC Bat Commander (aka Christian Jacobs who plays "Andrew" in this episode) looking pretty much the same (dimples and all) and sounding like himself on helium. Enjoy!

skip to the 5:07 mark to see MC Bat Commander playing "Andrew"

skip to the 4:17 mark

After my last experience with Big D in November, I was super excited that they were coming back in Feb. I made my Big D shirt, I made cupcakes for them, I was all ready to go. But wouldn't you know it, 2 days before the show I catch my husband's cold. OH NO!!!! I CAN'T MISS THIS SHOW!!! So I start a full frontal attack on this cold. BAM nyquil, BAM vitamin C, BAM vitamin D, BAM juice, BAM lots of rest. I fought it with every fiber of my being. I even popped some Dayquil before the show. Just so I could make it through the night. Once the show was over, it could take me. I didn't care if I was bedridden the rest of the week, I just needed to make it through this damn show.

So I got there, got an amazing parking spot, hit the merch booth and talked to Sirae (one of the doped up dollies) and bought a sticker from her. She was nice. I also saw Dan (trumpet) and talked to him for a bit which was nice because last time I saw them I didn't get to speak to him. He's very nice but kinda shy. Then a while later the show started. It was weird to see Big D be the opening act. They were awesome but the set was too short! I wanted to hear more songs. But they did play I, I, I which is my FAVORITE song off the new album so I was in heaven.

After them State Radio played. I watched them from the patio area where they have a video projection of the stage. They were good. I asked the girl at their merch booth what she would qualify them as musically. She said the best description she heard was "If Bob Marley and Rage Against the Machine had a baby, it  would be State Radio". I found that to be a very fitting description. One thing that bugs me about them is that their hit single "Knights of Bostonia" sounds NOTHING like any of their other music. Its soooo disappointing because I really love that song!! Why can't they do more songs like that? I would totally buy that cd. Anyway people really liked them and they seemed like nice guys although I didn't really talk to them.

While they were playing I was at the Big D merch booth. I talked to Steve (bass) for a while. We talked about how Sean (guitar) and Paul (trombone) quit the band because they got married and wanted full time job. Which is understandable because Steve was telling me they're pretty much broke. Thats why they have to tour so much, because the only way to make money is live shows. You would think after 14 years they'd be set financially but nope. I guess its a common misconception we all have about bands. That they're rich.  Paul and Sean are happy to play local shows they just don't want to tour anymore. Their new guitar player is Brian Klemm. He's a former member of Suburban Legends and bares a striking resemblance to Patrick Dempsey. Its quite uncanny. I asked Steve if they would be replacing Paul with another trombone player. He said it was too expensive. He also told me Dan (trumpet) was thinking of calling it quits soon as well. So they might replace him with another trumpet player or go with a trombone instead.  He was really cool to talk to.

Then I got to see Ryan (sax). I was so excited to see him. I was like "RYAN!!" and shook his hand. He was like, hey you made it. I was SHOCKED because I had written a FB status earlier that day saying that I would drag my lifeless corpse to the show if I had to, I wasn't going to miss it. I had tagged Ryan and Dave since we're FB friends. And Ryan left me a comment saying "Yeah do it!". So I was shocked that he knew that was me at the show. Very cool. I talked to him for a while and told him that last time I saw them I wore my Emerson Sucks shirt and he said "yeah I remember". The reason the shirt thing came up is because he and Dan were checking out the big D shirt I had on. I made it myself and they liked the design. They even said they wanted to sell it! I talked to Ryan for a while. Man he is so my favorite. He's just super friendly. You can tell he's just one of those people who can talk to anyone. I'm so glad I got to talk to him for a while. Then I took a picture with Ryan, Dan, and Brian after they signed my shirt. I told Ryan I had some cupcakes for them in my car and I would give them to him later. Stupid me, I thought after the show I would get to see the rest of the gang.

After everyone dissipated I saw little ole Derek Davis (drums), I'm friends with him on twitter. So I introduced myself and got him to sign my cd and got a picture with him.  Then it looked like the entire place was clearing out so I went outside. This was around midnight. I saw the State Radio guys go into the tour van. But no Big D. I saw Dave signing some autographs outside the door and I was going to try to talk to him but he left running into the venue. So I waited outside in the parking lot alone in the cold for a while. I should mention that the dayquil wore off and the sick was full on. I should have just left but I really wanted to give them the cupcakes. Somewhere around 2 am I decided that I was an asshole for staying out there that long. And frankly, a little stalkerish. My enthusiasm sometimes comes off the wrong way. So I just wrote them a note and placed the cupcakes outside their tour bus. I don't know if they ever got them. But oh well.

It was a fun show, although it had a weird ending for me. I always enjoy seeing Big D and can't wait to see them again.
I did a crappy job with the pics and videos because I thought I would have a chance to meet with them after the show and take pics and vids then. So here's what I got.

I have a gripe with local bands who don't respond to messages, emails, whatever. I mean, really? I'm promoting you and you could care less. I'm trying to offer you a show and you're not interested. Are you that cool? Really? I've had national acts and really big bands who respond to me.

I really just have little respect for bands like you.

Hey guys!  Its a new year and that means new things for Mission:Ska. I'm planning our VERY FIRST show in March and I'm VERY excited about it!! :) This is huge. I've never put on a show before so this is very big for me. Once I pull this off, it will hopefully lead to more shows. More shows=more ska=bigger scene. I'm also looking for more venues down here in Miami. We're gonna get creative. I hope more of you in South Florida start checking out the site and spread the word about the mission. I'm doing this for us!! My goal is for this to be your one stop shop for upcoming ska shows throughout South Fla, as well as shows we put on down here in Miami. But remember Mission:Ska is meant to be interactive! I don't claim to know it all so if you want to share  pics, stories, music, new bands, venues, opinions, information or anything else, let me know and I'll post it!

So stay tuned for March. But in the meantime keep checking back for show dates, blogs, info, etc.  

My first trip to The Talent Farm was to see my friend's brother's band Mine All Mine. I went with all the best of intentions. I've been wanting to see Mine All Mine live because I have their cd and they're really good. Also I wanted to check out TTF because its one of the venues I  have listed on the site.

Well I drove out to the middle of fucking nowhere, seriously, I think thats what its called on the map. And I get to what looks to be "the warehouse district". Kinda felt like Doral only less populated. There's blocks of warehouses that all look the same. Good luck finding this place. My guess is they don't want to be found. You have to be cool enough to find it. Then we finally find the fucking place and I read the show started at 6:30....well there was no one in there at 6:30 but people who worked there. But the doors were wide open so we walked in and stood around like a couple of idiots in this empty place. People just looked at us as they went about their business doing whatever it is that they do there. Getting ready for the show I suppose. It's all kids that work there, and one middle aged guy. No one said a word to us. Not true, the middle aged guy said hi to us. We were totally lost as we'd never been there before and we were like...umm..is there a show tonight or what?

The place reminded me of Hot Wheels the way it was all lit up with carpeting everywhere. The stage was cool though. They weren't short on equipment, no they're well set up at TTF. So that was impressive. But as much as it was tall, it wasn't very wide. There's not much room in there at all. Its a bit awkward. I'm guessing thats why all the kids who came later and paid to get in hung out outside till show time. There's a lot to look at in there though. Posters and tshirts are plastered all over the walls. All the posters look like something out of BOP magazine. One of those pull out posters with your fav heart throb on them. Its all the bands with their flat ironed hair, all looking exactly the same, with similar sounding names. All autographed of course. I've been to a lot of clubs in my day and I don't know about you but I've never seen posters plastered all over the walls. Have you? Stickers yeah totally.  But not fucking gloirified headshots. Is this what the kids are doing now? Is this where music is headed? You know how I feel about these fucking skinny jeans bands. They all look the same and have similar names but their sounds range from metal to pop. But they all look exactly the same!! So you really have to do your research before going to one of those shows.

Anyway I will tell you the vibe in there was awful. Jesus Christ I got a warmer welcome at fucking Churchills! And that place is gritty man. I thought I'd be intimidated at Churchills but they were cool ass people. This is a place thats been around for decades. The Talent Farm is new and they already have huge fucking egos over there. We were getting looks like we didn't belong there, not mean or nasty but just like...they saw right through us. Like we didn't even register on their radar. And the guy at the door wasn't nice at all. Whats the matter with these people? I guess at that age you're all angsty and don't smile at anyone. I don't remember the last time I felt so unwelcome. It made me long for ska shows, where people smile at one another and there's a sense of unity (at some shows more than others). I go to a ska show and i'll see all sorts of people, middle aged people, girls who look like they're going to a dance club, scene kids, the punk kids, someone who looks like they just got out of their day job, but its all good. Everyone is pleasant to each other. Here it was like someone made a cloning machine and out spat all these kids and forgot to program them for friendliness.

I dunno maybe I'm just old. Maybe I'm pulling a "kids today" rant while full on shaking my fist but goddammit thats how I feel! And I had to get it off my chest. At my age you drop all the bullshit and the superficiality and you just fucking smile and make friends. I ended up getting my money back and leaving because the band I went to see was actually playing the next night. Talk about a gigantic waste of time. But I was happy to get the hell out of there.

So as far as The Talent Farm goes, I honestly don't see myself going back there. Thats their place, they can have it.

This entry was written by a friend of mine, Johnny Midnite. I didn't go to the show so he agreed to be my guy on the scene so to speak. So check out his colorful recap.

warning: not everything that happened here is true. Although a lot of it might be not a lie.....
(more + pics behind the cut)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Tales of Childlike Wonder #1: Johnny Midnite Encounters Less Than Jake


It was a dark and... well... wait, let me start this a lot early. So, it was about 2 PM. "I'm time to get ready for this Less Than Jake show happening" I said aloud to myself. "Why the hell are you talking to yourself?" my older brother asked me while he was making a sandwich. "How the hell did I end up in the kitchen?!" I shout at him. (Hey, it's around 2 PM at this point, I already have 8 12 packs of beer in me.) So, I head back to my room, grab another beer, put on my pants, and drink every beer (about 25) in my room, except for the one that I grabbed. I hated that beer. He talked bad about my mother. Nobody talks bad about my mother but me, dammit!

Any ways, where was I? I was saying something, right? Oh, right! So, I drink those 24 beers, run into my little brother's room, and kick him in the teeth. "Alright," I thought to myself "Now I'm ready for action! Action Jackson: Man of 2056!" Wait, did I say that I thought that to myself, because I totally shouted that at my little brother's face. Yeah, that's totally what happened.

Any ways, nothing much happened between then and 6:30, which is when I decide to leave for the show. I run out the back door, waving my gun at the couple running down the street. "Hey, you guys over there! Quit your running for a second! I have an important question!" They stopped running, and look at terrified "Y-y-yes? How can we- OH, GOD, PLEASE DON'T SHOOT US!" they stammered. "Well, you see, I've got a problem. How many people can I kill with two bullets?" I asked with a big grin across my face. Then I proceeded to shoot them both in the chest, and laugh maniacally, ran to my car, and ran them over. I don't know if they died or not, but, you know, it comes with the territory of being a super villain.

Any ways, now to where I was gonna start. It was a dark and stormy, (well, not very stormy, maybe kinda drippy) night, and I was on my way from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale (from here on referred to as Ft. Loud, because that sounds so much cooler). On the way over, I shot out three cars' tires, well maybe more, and killed 8 more people. All this , while drinking 45 more beers. You know, so far a fairly average day in the life of Johnny Midnite.

So, there I am, pulling up to a few blocks away from the club, Revolution it's called, but that's the only time I'm gonna say its name. I look into a few parking lots, most of them are full, or more than $10 to get into. I then pull up to one that has one empty spot left. I shoot the guy taking money in the arm, drive in, hit 5 cars, and force my way into a spot two sizes to small for my tank. Oh, did I mention I drive a tank? Because I totally drive an M10 tank destroyer!

So, I get out of my car, shoot three more people, and head into the club. I get there, kill two people I don't like and piss on some one's leg. "What the hell are you doing?!" she asks. I can tell she was into me so I look deeply into her eyes, waved my gun around, and drunkenly slurred "Hey, baby, howzabout after this show, you and me go back to my place and play Hungry Hungry Me Squeezing Your Boobs then Me Sticking My Finger In Your Bellybutton?" That's how sex works, right? You stick your middle finger in a girl's belly button then she gets pregnant? That's what Jimmy O'Connor, the 3rd grader that lives across the street from me told me the day before.

Any ways, I drunkenly wander around the club, drunkenly shouting at people, kicking 12 year old kids in the face, because fuck those guys. Seriously, They're the worst with their kick lines, and booing great rappers on stage, but I'll get to that later. Where was I? Oh, right! Now is the winter of our discontent... no, wait, that's not right! Oh, yeah! I kick a 12 year old kid's teeth in, and ripped the bathroom door of its hinges, because fuck you, I'm bored! Then I hear some noise coming from the stage. I fall down the stairs to the 1st floor and see the curtains open up. I look to the stage, and first thing I notice is roller coasters fucking everywhere! Well, actually, just a roller coaster on the drums, and two banner type things with the same roller coaster on them. "Hey, we're The Swellers" they said, or something like that. I don't know, I don't really remember this band. They weren't all that great, not bad, but not really anything special.

I bought 23 more beers at the bar, made out with the bartender, then ate the cash register. Yeah, I fucking ate a cash register! I'm that awesome!

Then I heard some voices coming from the stage again, the curtains opened, and out came CAGE! (that's how I'm gonna spell his name because he radiated so much awesome) CAGE! was awesome! He was a rapper, looked like a goth boy, and had a DJ wearing a Morrissey shirt. I heard some people booing him, and drop kicked them in the teeth. That's right, I'm gonna fucking defend CAGE! to the death, jerk! Any ways, he plays a few songs, when the crowd starts chanting "Less Than Jake!" Oh, when I said "The crowd" I meant like a group of 10 12 year old kids standing in a corner, and at some points trying to start a circle pit (pro tip: don't try to start circle pits during a rap group, you'll just look like an idiot), so I did what any logical person would do. I climbed my way up to the 2nd story (using the stairs) and stage dove off the 2nd story right onto the annoying kids, laughing manically all the way down. I got back up, and just kinda awkwardly started at the stage, while CAGE! finished up his set. He eventually gave up against the "boos" being thrown his way (pro tip: it's not always about ska at show).

Any ways, I drunkenly stumble over to the bar, climb my way over, make out with the cute bartender lady, and knock out the asshole bartender that was begging me to leave a dollar in the tip jar, when I did that after my 1st beer, and didn't have any money left over for more tips.

So, I walk over to this girl, and drunkenly shout at her "Hey, baby, let's you and me get outta here, and jump in a boat. I'm an internet millionaire, baby, I can show you a boat like you've never seen. And by a boat, I mean tank. Yeah, let's go back to my tank and do bad, bad th-" by this time she had slapped me across the face. I don't know why, though. I just wanted to go blow stuff up with her.

Any ways, feeling dejected I make my way to the front of the stage, and the curtains open revealing Less Than Jake in all their glorious splendor. They payed a few songs. Then Roger asked Chris "Hey, is that a banana in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?" and Chris pulled out a banana from his pocket. Then Some kid's shoe ended up on stage, and they called a girl up there to identify his shoe from his foot stink. They were then told to make out with eachother, and they totally did. This is no joke. Then they played the rest of their set, which blew my mind (literally! As in my mind's dick got sucked!)

After the show, which ended pretty early, at around like 11:30 in the PM, I go outside and see Buddy hanging around. I talk to him for a bit and get a picture. Then Chris comes out, same thing happens, and then Vinnie, and then Roger. I then got in my tank, ran a few cars over, and made my way home.