A.K.A:RUDIE

Ever wonder what the Rat Pack's popularity would have been like, had the Internet existed back in their heyday? Sure, they would've been able to reach even larger audiences. But they also might have had some competition. As it stands, they're the only Rat Pack I know of. But what if there was a group of young male hooligans performing at Brown Derbys and Holiday Inns all across Vermont? Or Pennsylvania? Back then, no one could outshine the glow of Sinatra, Martin, and the like. But if the Internet existed, maybe they'd have had a fighting chance.
Like now. I look at cats like Victor Rice, King Django, and the Slackers as the Rat Pack of this Jamaican genre I know and love. The names fans recognize as being the cream of the crop. The Internet has opened the lines of communication between fans-at-large, and bands that have yet to achieve that level of attention or respect.
Which is where a.k.a:RUDIE comes in. Save for a few low-quality MP3s, I'd never really listened to them. So I pop in their new live disc-- Live Inna Windows-- and I swear to God, it sounded like the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble (NYSJE). A compliment, to be certain.
They aren't biting a style. They're doing their own thing with traditional Jamaican music, but they don't sound like a bunch of passionless chumps doing it. Their sound has a maturity and sophistication similar to that of the NYSJE. It also has the ferocity that comes with being hungry for exposure.
The live disc flows through eight tracks, all solid. And I developed a small habit of replaying "Tales To Tell", "Cool And Deadly", and "Is It Okay?". The disc also has an enhanced portion, showing two video performances from the album. The audience loves them, and the interface-- oh, the interface. Kinda cool, kids. Set up like a turntable, surrounded by the colors of the Jamaican flag. Pretty nice effort for a band I'd never heard of.
Check 'em out here.