By the time Slow Gherkin broke up almost a decade ago, ska was the epitome of uncool. Even the band itself had given up on it by their last album, 2002’s Run Screaming. This despite the fact that through the late ’90s and into the new century, Gherkin’s explosive, hypersmart brand of ska had made them the most popular Santa Cruz band of their generation.
Now, as the band reunites for the 15th anniversary of their former label, Asian Man Records, and a homecoming show at the Rio, the ensuing years have given lead singer James Rickman a different perspective.
“It’s so silly to think how ashamed of ourselves we were for a short time. And the fact that there’s technically no ska guitar whatsoever on our last album,” says Rickman, shortly after arriving back in Santa Cruz from New York. “That was silly. We could have done it again, like ‘C’mon dude, let’s stick to our guns here.’ ’Cause now I love it. I love that it’s danceable, and that it’s so joyous and energetic. All the stuff we loved about it in the first place now seems blatantly clear. Like, of course that is awesome. How could I ever doubt that?”
It’s not just Rickman, of course; ska has gone through the same process of re-discovery at a cultural level, though without the same extreme highs and lows of popularity.
“It’s so weird that when we were doing it, there was this idea of waves, and that was the third one. I feel like since then, you have, like, ripples. There’s no definition. It’s cool or fatally uncool depending on the week. Even No Doubt went back to doing a sort of first-wave rock steady album,” he says.
But if it’s strange how much ska has changed, it’s even stranger that Slow Gherkin hasn’t. Their only previous reunion was in January 2010, when the happy accident of all the band members back in the area at the same time led to a secret gig at the Crepe Place for friends and family. The success of that show led to rounding up all the former members they could for these shows.
“Oh my God, it was like riding a bike,” says Rickman. “I thought it might start out and we’d sound godawful, but we had two practices, and it was like we’d never stopped. It was still there—the words, the chords, all that stuff. I was really proud and relieved that everyone still had it.”
Slow Gherkin
Saturday, June 18, 8pm
Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz
$12 advance/$15 door
