What drives a musician to play music overtly rooted in traditional ska and rocksteady? And how do they honor the roots while simultaneously giving it a contemporary flavor? This is the subject this week for our conversation with Jeremy Peña of the band The Bandulus. Their new record Tell It Like It Is dropped on March 8, 2024. It is both lush and raw; rickety and tight. Jeremy walks us through the recording of the album, the thought process behind the songwriting and the influences that went into the record. 

The Bandulus formed in 2008 in Austin, Texas, but then relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2015. Jeremy tells us all about his history with music. His father played Tejano music. He fell in love with punk and ska-punk as a kid but discovered trad ska by way of Hepcat. As an artist, he’s continued to look for ways to contribute to this genre that carries on the legacy of artists like The Skatalites, Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe. 

We also talk about The Bandulus’ surreal 2018 Alaska tour, the similarities between Hepcat and the Tejano music Jeremy grew up with, his time playing in Los Skarnales, and the importance of capturing a warm sound to best capture this style of ska. We also talk about The Bandulus infamous unreleased album that was recorded at Daptone Records studio in 2014. (Jeremy got to use Sharon Jones’ microphone!) 

We also learn that Bandulus member Curtis Irie used to play in Bob and the Sagets with Tom May of The Menzingers. Plus, we get a Sammy Kay shoutout and Jeremy does his spot-on impressions of both Esteban Flores and Vic Ruggiero. 

Listen to  Jeremy Pena go deep into Save Ferris' history on this episode of In Defense of Ska, and make sure to like, review, and follow the series wherever you get your podcast. Fans can also get early and ad-free episodes by joining the IDOS Patreon, and don't forget to check out all the Consequence Podcast Network series here.

You can also support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition will be released in Oct 2024.

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. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called