SFR Picks

Skank, Ya Skanks

OK, so this isn't 1997 and people have all kinds of weird opinions about ska as a genre, but take off your cool-guy goggles for a minute and admit it—ska is fun. It's dancey. It's varied. Just look at the evolution from reggae and rocksteady, up through first wave, two-tone and the punk-rock leanings of third wave, and chances are you've got some favorite jams without even realizing.

Enter Buster's Ghost. They're Durango, Colorado's answer to ska's multi-faceted genrefication, and a veritable history lesson in all things guitar-bass-drums-horns. "It's a little different in Durango because ska is really celebrated," saxophonist Timmy Esposito tells SFR. "We've got Ska Brewing, and the founders of that are so into ska." Esposito further clarifies, explaining that in Buster's Ghost's experience, there are plenty of ska bands still operating today. "They say ska is dead, but that's not true," trombonist Kelly Emery says. "It's well alive, and I think 'ska is dead' is almost like a marketing slogan like 'jazz is cool.'"

Sound-wise, Buster's Ghost borrows from the classics, like The Specials, Hot Knives, Fishbone and, of course, Prince Buster. Influences from relatively newer acts such as Reel Big Fish and Mu330 play a role as well—and yet Buster's Ghost remains cohesive. This can mean anything from almost doo-wop mid-tempo tunes and songs that might sound just like reggae to the uninitiated, to faster indie-adjacent numbers with catchy horn lines made for dancing.

Emery and Esposito also explain there are Latin and zydeco elements at play thanks in part to drummer Cruz Muniz. "I grew up in Santa Fe," Muniz says, "and all the Afro-Cuban stuff that came around was big for me." Muniz studied under celebrated local drummer Mark Clark. "I positively wouldn't be here without him," Muniz adds.

So why embrace Buster's Ghost and ska? "We're not just one thing," Esposito says. "We've really learned to love all the things that make ska."

And we should, too, Santa Fe. Ditch what you think you know and maybe just have a good time. Kudos as well to Boxcar for once again bringing the shows no one else will. (Alex De Vore)

Buster's Ghost: 
10 pm Saturday March 24. Free.
Boxcar,
530 S Guadalupe St.,
988-7222

Through the Looking Glass

Goths unite—Los Angeles' AL1CE is here, and they've got a thing or two to teach us all about darkwave. Think of AL1CE like a sorrowful combination of post-punk, electronic rock and—dare we say it—indie and emo. With highly personal and introspective lyrics, AL1CE has a story to tell; one that's not particularly happy, but cathartic nonetheless. It's strange and dark and oddly familiar yet not entirely like everything else. The short version? AL1CE is like a non-shitty Evanessence, a skillful blend of rock subgenres for looking inward when the chips are down—but also, ultimately, of hope and new beginnings. (ADV)

AL1CE with DJ Blackdeath and Audiobuddha: 
8 pm Wednesday March 21. $5.
VFW, 307 Montezuma Ave.,
983-9045.

Imitating Life

"We all draw. No child has ever grown up not drawing," says Eric Thomson, proprietor of Argos Studio/Gallery. "It's pre-verbal. … To some degree, it's in all of us." This is a feeling behind the Tuesday evening figure-drawing group at Argos, which has been continually meeting since it formed in artist Eli Levin's studio in 1969. Thomson, too, has participated in this and other drawing groups since he arrived here in 1976, and he speaks fondly of the concept of drawing from a live model. "Many people who have life-drawing groups in their background maintain contact with the group and maintain the practice, even if it has nothing to do with their actual artwork." This show, open to anyone who's participated in the drawing group in the last year, is totally democratic and features many different media, showing the versatility of Santa Fe's artists and of the art form itself. (Charlotte Jusinski)

Full Disclosure Opening Reception:
6 pm Friday March 23. Through April 8. Free.
Argos Studio/Gallery,
1211 Luisa St.,
988-1814

For Those About to Rock

We're not into profiling or anything, but we can definitely admit there's a certain crowd who likes to hang around The Matador—a certain crowd we like. And when the strong-ass drinks have been poured and the friendly bartenders (they remember their regulars, y'all) have handed you that bottle of water, take further joy in knowing every Monday from here to eternity shall henceforth be known as Metal Monday. DJ Lady Strange takes over the decks with the hardest of the hard, the denim-jacket-with-patches set shows up to down beers both local and not and pretty much everyone there is gonna be like, "Dude, Necroticism by Carcass slays so hard." (ADV)

Metal Mondays with DJ Lady Strange: 
9 pm Monday March 26. Free.
The Matador,
116 W San Francisco St.,
984-5050.