In Defense of Ska Ep 199: Karina Denika (Dance Hall Crashers, NOFX)

In an alternate universe, 90s ska band Dance Hall Crashers might have been just a footnote. The group was founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman in between their time in Operation Ivy and Rancid. They left the band almost as quickly as they started it. But the band stayed together and thrived. A big reason is their co-lead vocalists Elyse Rogers and Karina Denike. Today, we talk to Karina. 

We break down Dance Hall Crashers' history, which involves a lot of member changes, breaking up, reforming, and shouts of being “sellouts” when they dropped their horns and signed to MCA subsidiary (510) Records. The group did well with songs like “Enough” and “Go” but didn’t hit big. They called it a day in the early 2000s and have never played again. 

We talk about all this, plus Karina’s time in NOFX, her friendship with recently deceased Hepcat singer Greg Lee, and her work on some other projects, like Fat Mike’s Home Street Home project. We talk about the Earth Day ska festival in 1990, how Karina and Elyse constructed vocal parts as co-lead singers (Hint: Beatles were an influence) and we learn about Karina’s childhood in England. How different was it from Berkeley? 

But, we ask the important question: Would Dance Hall Crashers reunite if they get an invite from Mosswood Meltdown?

Listen to Karina Denike in conversation, and make sure to like, review, and follow the series wherever you get your podcast. Don't forget to check out all the Consequence Podcast Network series here.

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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