Contact info:
Email: [email protected]
New Album: https://rudeboygeorge.bandcamp.com/album/love-and-dancing
Website: http://www.rudeboygeorge.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RudeBoyGeorgeBand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rudeboygeorge
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rudeboygeorgeband/
Tumblr: http://rudeboygeorgeband.tumblr.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rude-boy-george
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Rudeboygeorgeband
Google+: http://googleplus.com/+rudeboygeorgeband
ReverbNation: https://www.reverbnation.com/rudeboygeorge
Trilby Records: http://www.trilbyrecords.com/
Biography
Rude Boy George is a NYC-based band that reinterprets 80s New Wave
classics in ska, reggae, and rocksteady versions. They are motivated by a
shared love and respect for ska (reflected in the reference to 1960s and 2
Tone rude boys) and the extraordinary amount of good music produced in the
late 70s and early 80s New Wave/post-punk era (Boy George). And they want
to have some fun doing it. That's Rude Boy George’s agenda and mission
statement—simple as that.
Rude Boy George formed in January 2013 with members drawn from several popular and
long-standing NYC area ska bands, including Bigger Thomas, Beat Brigade, The Toasters,
The Royal Swindle, and Across the Aisle—and its live debut took place at Electric Avenue
in Manhattan on April 13, 2013. Since then, the band has played such venues as The Grand
Victory (Brooklyn), Fontana’s (Lower East Side), Otto’s Shrunken Head (East Village),
Asbury Lanes (Asbury Park, NJ), Hat City Kitchen (West Orange, NJ), Fairfield Theater
Company’s Stage One (Fairfield, CT), Beatnik’s (Worcester, MA), Café Nine (New Haven,
CT), The Sellersville Theater (Sellersville, PA), and was a featured act at the 2014
Maplewoodstock Festival (Maplewood, NJ) where Rude Boy George performed before
2,000+ music fans of all ages.
In May 2013, Rude Boy George recorded its debut EP (released in January 2014) at Bill
Laswell’s studio in West Orange, NJ with engineer James Dellatacoma and producer Wayne
“Waylo” Lothian (English Beat, Special Beat, General Public, Untouchables). The band has
since returned to the studio with Dellatacoma and Lothian to record a cover of Madness’
Driving in My Car for the Specialized 3: Mad Not Mad charity CD in support of the Teenage
Cancer Trust in the UK, as well as tracks for Rude Boy George’s debut album Confessions,
which was released on December 5, 2014 via Bandcamp, CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, and
other fine retailers.
Confessions was voted the #6 debut album of 2014 in an international poll of ska fans done
by
“Reggae
Steady
Ska”
(Germany)—sample
the
https://rudeboygeorge.bandcamp.com/album/confessions-2.
entire
album
here:
In April of 2016, they began the release of their second album, Love and Dancing. It is the
second collection of 80's new wave tracks that the band has recorded in a ska and reggae
style. Instead of releasing all the songs together as an album, the band will be releasing a song
and video a month over the rest of 2016 with a goal of having all 10 songs compiled in the
collection by the end of the year.
The album is called Love and Dancing because the songs the band has recorded so far are all
about the ups and downs of love and the joys of dancing. It also pays homage to the Human
League who had a side project called The League Unlimited Orchestra and released a remix
of their Dare album with that title in the early 80's. So far, the videos have amassed close to
500K views on YouTube and Facebook as the attention continues to mount for each release.
Sample the entire album here: https://rudeboygeorge.bandcamp.com/album/love-anddancing
Rude Boy George is:
Megg Howe - vocals
Roger Apollon, Jr. - vocals
Jackie Chasen - saxophone and backup vocals
Pamela Buckley - piano and synthesizers
Jesse Gosselin - guitar
Marc Wasserman - bass
Dave Heise - drums
Discography
January 2014: Take One five-track digital EP (Bandcamp, iTunes, CD Baby)
August 2014: Various Artists: Specialized 3: Mad Not Cancer 4xCD
(RBG versions Madness’ “Driving in My Car”)
Fall 2014: Rude Boy George “Driving in My Car” b/w The Hotknives “Razor Blade Alley”
split vinyl 7” single (Jump Up Records)
12/5/14: Rude Boy George Confessions digital album (Trilby Records)
Summer 2015: Various Artists: Specialized 4: This Is Combat Cancer 4xCD
(RBG reinterprets The Clash’s “Magnificent 7”)
2016: Rude Boy George Love and Dancing digital album monthly releases (Trilby Records)
What They’re Saying About Rude Boy George
Lynval Golding, guitarist and songwriter for The Specials, tweeted: “OMG best album ever:
rudeboygeorge.bandcamp.com/album/take-one”
Paul Williams, Specialized charity founder and Specials’ biographer (UK): "These guys from
the USA were on Specialized 3 and what a version of “Driving In My Car.” I love this
album because it covers no bread and butter staple ska/reggae tunes but good old 80s
classics like you’ve not heard them before and some have top production. It’s just
something different done very well."
Kevin Flowerdew of Do the Dog Skazine (UK), which ranked Confessions the #8 album in
the Top 20 Ska Albums for 2014: “The debut album from this NYC-based 8 piece is a real
breath of fresh air delivering nine killer cover versions. For this release Rude Boy George
selected a bunch of new wave hits from the early 1980s and then re-invented them as 2
Tone, rocksteady, and reggae anthems. The likes of The Eurythmics, Berlin, The Human
League and INXS never sounded so good! Imagine early No Doubt or The Beat’s brand of 2
Tone and reggae with a serious 80s pop injection and you pretty much capture the fun of
this release.”
Ska-Boom (USA): “Rude Boy George has the energy and musical chops to drive a new
group of listeners to the often sputtering world of ska. So do not walk, do not run, but
rather, skank your way down memory lane!”
Olivier Rodzen of Rude Boy Train (France): “Finally, an original concept, covers wellexecuted, and enjoyable to listen to, "Take One" makes one want to discover more about
this group…”
Joachim Uerschels of Reggae Steady Ska (Germany): “Everyone in the band has a history in
ska, but synth pop songs from the 80s were also the soundtracks of their earlier days. Today
forming a band like Rude Boy George means a chance to integrate those influences that
made…the band members who they have become. If you hear the airy keyboards and
guitar sounds next to the earthy riddims and bass, you know what I mean. This mix makes
Rude Boy George unique in the ska scene today and (by the way) would suit lots of radio
stations very well.”
Graham Yates of Madness Information Service (UK): “For me this [Rude Boy George’s
cover of Madness’ “Driving in My Car”] is one edition of “Pimp My Ride” that has been a
success!”
Press
Reggae Steady Ska (Germany):
http://reggae-steady-ska.com/2tone-ska-new-wave-rude-boy-george/
http://reggae-steady-ska.com/rude-boy-george-take-one/
New Haven Register (USA):
www.nhregister.com/arts-and-entertainment/20141218/taken-aback-by-rude-boygeorges-confessions
ReadJunk (USA):
http://www.readjunk.com/reviews/albumreviews/rude-boy-george-confessions/
http://www.readjunk.com/interviews/rude-boy-george/
http://www.skapunkphotos.com/2014/12/07/rude-boy-george-ottos-shrunken-headnyc-12-5-14/
Ska-boom (USA):
http://www.ska-boom.com/i-have-a-confession-to-make/
Rude Boy Train (France):
http://www.rudeboytrain.com/?p=17804
Madness Information Service (UK):
http://www.madness-mis.com/madness-information-service-online-newsletter-issuenumber-795-sunday-3rd-august-to-saturday-9th-august-2014-2/
Select Videos
Things Can Only Get Better: https://youtu.be/Jsc9mUOyK8c
Iron Lion Zion: https://youtu.be/sIi9p9_FfkQ
Kids In America: youtu.be/NYSHeyKA3gc
Dance Hall Days: youtu.be/uJsEhM4_2U4
Close To Me: youtu.be/C-P3hTCrRiM
Tainted Love: https://youtu.be/BgenDdVPhLY
Rude Boy George’s LIVE at Founder’s Taproom, Grand Rapids, MI”:
https://youtu.be/pYv7XCqX29s?list=PLXSuIqsQSSe2zt2VXYOWVkTdnGaBNuN_R