Return of the Uptones

Update: I added some more information...

I went to Bookshop Santa Cruz this morning to look around before hopping on my Vespa and winding my way back home. I picked up the new Wired and glanced down at the stack of newspapers near the door. My brother was staring back up at me from the pile of Sunday San Francisco Chronicles.

Adam is in a band called the Uptones. He plays sax. The Datebook/pink section has a cover story about their comeback after 20 years written by Joel Selvin. I picked up the paper and couldn't stop laughing. It's so rad that they are being recognized again. You could say that I am tickled pink.

The Uptones formed in the early eighties out of Berkeley High School. Berkeley High was known for its incredible music department and has turned out some amazing musicians including Lenny Picket, Josh Jones, Miles Perkins, Benny Green, Dave Ellis, and Joshua Redmond. The latter two shared the horn section with my brother at different points (Kenny Brooks was in the band too, but I'm not sure if he went to Berkeley - maybe El Cerrito High).

In 1985, Adam was selected to be in the California High School All-Star Jazz Band with other musicians from around the state. The highlight of this achievement was playing the at the Monterey Jazz Festival on the big stage. We went to Aptos High School which had a similar reputation as Berkeley. Donny McCaslin, Jon Dryden, and Kenny Wollesen were there at the same time.

The band featured the top high school jazz musicians from the state. One of the trumpet players was a furry kid named Scott Jensen. Scott was from Berkeley and was in the Uptones. At this point the Uptones were already opening for big acts and even played the Oakland Coliseum with Huey Lewis for some reason (even then Ska was difficult to pigeon hole). They needed a sax player and Adam signed on, driving up to Berkeley every week from Santa Cruz to practice and gig. Adam has been with the Uptones since 1985 longer than any other member of the horn section at any time, I find it really odd that he wasn't mentioned in the article... he's even in the "before" photo standing right in front. Make no mistake, the horns are the soul of the band.

The Datebook article hints at this, but it seemed to me that they never really broke up. They were in constant flux and always seemed to be around even when they weren't. In the late eighties they stopped playing, but then got back together to headline a huge ska/earthday festival at the Greek Theater in Berkeley in 1990 or '91. Then a little later they released a live CD from a found DAT tape of a Gilman St. show. Adam went on to play with Charlie Hunter and Zulu Spear for several years, then moved to Brooklyn with his girlfriend and pretty much stopped playing. But the core of the Uptones kept going. Din, Paul Jackson, and Ben formed Hobo then Stiff Richards (all during the third wave revival of ska and punk ska). But it always seemed like they wanted to be doing the Uptones. The other bands didn't fit right...

The Uptones had the potential to be big... they were big in the Bay Area, but their timing was off to blow up worldwide. And Ska can be a sticky wicket. It has hugeness and niche-ness all at once and some people don't know what to do about that. They didn't quite click at the time. I think there are a few reasons why... while they were top musicians, their vocals were not that strong. They were also fairly political... they needed to go fully in that direction and bust ass or stick to more safe subjects that the frat boys and girls could dig. They were a huge influence on Green Day, Operation Ivy, Rancid, and the whole 924 Gilman scene but were not necessarily punk themselves.

Adam moved back to Berkeley with Erin about five years ago (got married and had an awesome baby Desmond) and rumblings started happening that the band might make another go of it... to make it. The timing is right for them now. First, they figured out how to use their voices and craft really tight songs. They brought on Moose who can wail, skank, and play guitar as one of the front men. The other new players including Jeanne on trombone are some of the best they've had. Now they have their first real album since, well almost ever (they released Out To Sea on 415 records in 1984, but it was difficult to tell if they wanted to be two-tone or U2.).

The album is called Skankin' Foolz Unite and it's a big ballsy barn burner. If you can't dance to this, you don't have legs. Maybe there will be a fourth wave of ska with the Uptones leading the way. It would be right if that happened.

Pick up a copy of the Datebook and check it out.

Here are a few tracks from various periods of time:
East of a Western Bay - Kenny Brooks on Tenor (Adam on Baritone Sax)
Rude Boy (live at gilman)
Out To Sea (from 1984 or something)
Listen to their new album... Skankin' Foolz Unite

Comments

[Sol]

Listening to Op Ivy now. You've inspired me.

[Sherri]

Beach thanks for sharing the tunes! Uptones are great. I will be buying the album. Let Adam know. And thanks for mentioning 924 Gilman Street--totally forgot this venue--I can remember dancing there all in black in the mid 80's. xo your former babysitter.

[Guy Banana]

Jon Dryden rips! ah - that is a paid comment - lol

Great write-up on the Uptones!

[Kieth Stansfield]

Dave,
How are you, man? I am not sure you'll remember me but Adam was one of the youth in the St Andrews Pres Church when I was one of its directors. Out of the blue I remembered Adam's love of music and googled his name to see what became of him. Well, it looks like my timing could not have been much better. If you remember my family at all here is the skinny. After 10 years in church work I left the ministry and at this time work for the Dept of Air Force in contracting. I am also a navy reservist. I have been to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other exotic locations. Fortunately I just push paper.
Rebecca, my wife, just got her BA as an History teacher but is working for the Air Force as an administrator.
Aaron (the oldest) after being in the military just went back to college (Criminal Justice -- This semester) and is dating one of the history professors.
Isaak (the baby) lives in Sacramento, going to school, pre-med, to be a psychiatrist.
Rivkah (born while I was in seminary) our daughter lives in Alaska and is a financial planner.

Well, I will have to download some of adam's tunes and think good thoughs toward you guys.