In Defense of Ska Ep 187: Jesus Arriaga (Inspector, Skapital Sound)

Mexico developed a thriving ska scene in the mid-to-late ’90s. But most of those bands played ska-punk and were based in Mexico City. Inspector called Monterrey home and took their influences from 2 Tone bands, The Toasters, Let’s Go Bowling and The Skatalites. And they would go on to be one of the biggest bands in Mexico. Last year, they celebrated their 28th year as a band to a packed arena of 20,000 people in Mexico City. 

Today we talk to band leader/saxophonist Jesus Arriaga. We discuss the band’s early years, releasing tapes with Pepe Lobo, signing to Universal Records and scoring huge hits on Mexican radio, songs like “Amnesia” and “Amargo Adios.” 

We also talk about the role that El Chopo played in spreading ska in Mexico, the time Jesus spent in Texas as a young man—he went to several ska shows, of course. We talk about how little the Mexican audience understood about rude boy culture when they started, and Jesus tells us all about starting a ska festival in Monterrey called Ska Wars. 

We’re also joined by Mari Wendler this episode, who helps with translation. In our Patreon-exclusive extended episode, we chat further with Mari about her relationship to ska and her band Los Ocupados. Sign up to the IDOS Patreon to listen. 

Listen to Jesus Arriaga for more above, and make sure to like, review, and follow the series wherever you get your podcast. 

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.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy