Deal's Gone Bad

Deal’s Gone Bad

The year had to be somewhere around 1998, and I found myself at the Kemper Center in Kenosha Wisconsin. They were filming a shitty movie there called The Smokers. The stars of the movie never really went on to do anything else worthwhile, and the director of the movie went on to become a porn director.

But that was not why I was there. No sir, I was there to see live music,  in the gym of the giant sprawling, haunted campus.   I don’t remember who it was that was the headlining band. Probably one of the local bands like Skadatel or Liquid Schwartz. 

But out of nowhere one of the early bands to play that night was Deal’s Gone Bad. A reggae/ rocksteady/ska band from Chicago .

They played half of their set with limited power because the people that were making the movie were being dicks. (They didn’t like the noise-even though my friends clearly paid to rent the gym and use it that night. )

 I remember looking up and seeing Mike Park singing through a piece of cardboard rolled into a make shift megaphone. And he was standing next to one of the wildest, punkest guitar players   and notable because he was one of the shortest dudes that I had ever seen.  It was one of the coolest moments of my high school life.

One of the songs that stuck out that night for me was  Mad at The World

Really quickly the band pictured in the above clip is not the band that you hear performing in the abovie clip, but the song is great, and we will cover the changes later.

So I spent subsequent  evenings in my life going to see local bands, hell that was all I did in my high school days.  So almost every weekend I was off seeing either some ska show or punk show,  sometimes they were even combined.

I became a Deal’s Gone Bad junkie, If I saw they were playing anywhere near by I would be there.  I bought all of their merchandise, 45’s cd’s t shirts pins. You name it I had it. It was such an obsession that my senior pictures even  have me wearing a Deal’s Gone Bad, Large and In Charge T shirt. (It looks like the logo from A Clockwork Orange, but it’s not.)

So that is where it all began for me. Deal’s Gone Bad’s first cd that I owned was Large and In charge and it had so many great songs on it. Mike Park’s voice came out of my cd player and sort of had me tranced. And the words to the songs were great.

I wish I could show you  all of the songs from Large and In Charge, but those videos do not exist.  But if you come over I will gladly play the whole cd for you.

One last one though because at the time this last one was like their theme song, I was even pulled onstage once to dance while they played it.  This was an awesome song, so here is Pirates.  Listen to the bass in this one, it walks up and down so awesomely.

So a year later the band continued along their pirate theme and released another  CD called Overboard. Again to me, it was cooler than sliced bread.

I am completely unable to find videos or anything from the era of Overboard. But I can link up to a few of the songs.  

Obviously with a title like Overboard they continued their nautical voyage through sound. The stuff they were putting out all sounded great.

Shiver Me Timber from Deals Gone Bad on Myspace.

They even took time to cover Joe South’s song Games People Play

Games People Play from Deals Gone Bad on Myspace.

Then something happened.I fell out of love with Deal's Gone Bad.  It was my fault really. I moved, I lost touch of what was going on in the ska scene in Kenosha Wisconsin and Illinois for that matter.

Deals gone Bad went through some changes and they put out an ep in 2002, I actually did not get it, and cannot verify it, but I have read about it but not heard it either. That actually kind of saddens me.

Then they put out Guide To Boat Drinks and Cruise Cocktails in 2002 and A greatest hits cd in 2003 (both of which I did not hear until after the fact and have heard now, and I basically regret having moved away and losing touch with the band.

Be Mine Tonight from Deals Gone Bad on Myspace.

I guess I never thought anything more would come of it, Or maybe I just sort of grew up and lost touch with what was happening.  I had kids and got married and divorced I was living the life so to speak.  I grew up and my musical interests grew and things that I liked or was once  interested in seemed to not really fit the bill of what I wanted.

But I had no clue about what was going on somewhere near Chicago. Deal’s Gone Bad was changing, they were expanding their line up they were changing, they were growing up with me.

It was somewhere in the middle of 2007 that I saw Deal’s Gone Bad would be playing at a club in downtown Green Bay.  I about flipped my shit, got on the internet to see if this was true, was the same band that I had loved 10 years prior, making some sort of a comeback and playing in my area?

I was half right, and shocked and excited by what I found on the internet.

Deal’s Gone Bad had grown with me. They went through a serious overhaul. The main switch was that the smooth Regaee inspired vocals of Mike Park were gone, but instead the band had  found a much more solid and soulful vocal leader in Todd Hembrook.

So I set out to see the band, and they were barely recognizable but there is no mistaking Dave Simon.(The awesome guitar player mentioned above) And  the energy was still there. The drummer Mike Corcoran remained from the original incarnation of the group.  And when I saw Todd Hembrook grab that microphone, I knew that Deal’s Gone Bad was back and meant business.

They made a CD in 2007 called The Ramblers and it is very different from what was heard on previous releases. The Ramblers added more roots to the Rocksteady and added blends of funk and soul into the mix. Smooth vocals and guitar parts that blended with a keyboard that was so beautifully refined.

Seriously the sound that you hear while listening to The Rambler is what you would hear if Jimmy Cliff and James Brown and Otis Redding had a one night stand and gave birth to a band. Now while I wouldn’t want to see such a thing, I do like the result.  I mean listen to this stuff.

They can even embrace a slight bit of country twinge if they need to, and even that sounds good. 

I could play you videos and songs all day. In fact writing this is taking longer because I am drawn into just listening and talking to Rivers (My 8 year old) about it. Plus I am teaching him how to dance to the music.

But I digress.

After the release of The Ramblers, Deals Gone Bad went on and did some extensive touring and played with many other great ska bands, played all the festivals they could and kept  people dancing and having fun.

 

Deals Gone bad is stronger than ever. In 2001 they put out an EP around their song Far From Home.

So the band continues to play shows all over including Riot Fest this past September.

Now they are planning a new album entitled Heartbreaks and Shadows, and I am excited about that, but don’t take my word on the subject. Check this out….

So do what you can go out and support Deal’s Gone Bad. A band that I have always lovesd and has grown with me and changed just the way I needed them to.  I think I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Deal’s Gone Bad. 

Find their myspace page     HERE

And Facebook    HERE

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY SUPPORT THE NEW ALBUM        HERE

By the way I was not asked by the band to post this or anything. I just saw their fund raising video last night and decided to bring some attention to them.  I love them and think you should too.

But maybe you guys can help me convince Woman of The House that we need to send them $2000 to come play in our back yard.  (Pretty Please with Sugar On Top)