by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
Danny Winn and the Earthlings thought they would play in the Warped Tour - they were wrong.
"Too bad we didn't get that," said saxophonist John DuBois. "There were no ska bands on there."
Winn said the tour probably wants to give more exposure to other local bands and is why they won't be playing this year.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"When we started, we were the only ska band in Albuquerque. Now there about seven," he said.
Winn said although the genre's popularity has decreased over the years, it is going to re-emerge.
"It happens about every 10 years," he said. "Maybe in 2007, it will make its way back."
Winn said his inspiration to make ska music began when he saw No Doubt play at UNM in 1992.
"Early No Doubt - that was actually playing music," he said. "They weren't famous yet. They were playing next to a fountain. It was the first time I heard a three-piece horn section mixed with the guitar."
Other inspirations for the band include the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Police and Reel Big Fish, who the band opened for in April at the ASUNM Fiestas.
"That made a dream come true - to have UNM hook us up with Reel Big Fish," Winn said.
The Earthlings have not booked many shows lately because the bass player Matt Trahan might not be around much longer. Trahan recently graduated from the Albuquerque Police Academy.
"His fate in the band is yet to be determined," Winn said. "As a rookie, his schedule might not be conducive."
Finding a replacement for Trahan should not be a problem for Winn. The Earthling's drummer Matt Kuhl said Winn is very persuasive.
"I remember seeing him around town," Kuhl said. "He had to entice me with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and homemade Starbucks coffee."
In addition to the bass situation, the band's trumpet player Jon Dante is in Malaysia and will be there most of the summer.
The Earthlings plan to pick things back up again with live shows in the fall and release another version of its first album. They will make a few re-recordings and add some new songs.
"The first CD I made by myself," he said. "People were demanding a live performance. We haven't had a copy of that in two-and-a-half years."
The Earthlings' latest album, ...And the Mission Begins, was released in November. Winn said the band experimented with violins and a French horn.
"This album encompasses pretty much all the types of ska there is," he said. "In eight months, we have sold as many of the new one as the second."
Despite the state of the band at the moment, the Earthlings will continue with their weekly practices.
"We call the rehearsal hall, 'The Cave,'" Winn said. "Now that we have A.C., we can get started again."
