In Defense of Ska Ep 51: Ted Leo (The Pharmacists, Chisel, Citizens Arrest, The Both)

In Defense of Ska

In 2003, indie-punker Ted Leo released the dissonant, Thin Lizzy-esque rocker "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" The song pays tribute to The Specials, but also comments on the state of rock 'n' roll in the US during the post-911 era. On this episode, we bring on Ted and he gives us a full explanation of what inspired him to write this critically lauded song. He tells us he's previously been coy about fully explaining the song's meaning. So sit down and listen to its fascinating backstory.

We also dig into Ted's history as a ska lover. He's a huge 2 Tone fan, and also loved the 80s New York ska scene, with bands like The Boilers and N.Y. Citizens. He tells us about having his mind blown after seeing Fishbone in the 80s in New York.

The episode is also takes journey through Ted's career as a hardcore singer to mod/post-punk/indie musician in the 90s, and how he further evolved in the 2000s and beyond. As he grew confident as a songwriter, he wielded influences from the 70s, without coming off as retro. He also navigated the DIY touring landscape while also gaining critical praise and feeling completely out of touch with many of his rock 'n' roll contemporaries.

He comes armed with lots of good stories, including a solo gig he tells us was one of his worst.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music.

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

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