The Trombone Alternative Ska and Punk Trombonists of the 1990s: A Conversation with Rick Faulkner!

This Blog aims to shed some light on a little researched topic of trombone history: The ska and punk trombonists of the 1990s. During a period between 1992 and 2005, horn bands rooted in the rock sub-genres of ska and punk enjoyed a surge in popularity, and inspired a generation of young musicians to pick up the trombone. I will introduce the roots of this trend, progression, and explore performance practices of some of the players who were prominent in this sub-genre. Some of the players interviewed in the research included Daryl Burch (formerly of Radio Noise), Jon Blondell (trombone soloist on “Wrong Way” by Sublime), Rick Faulkner (formerly of the Toasters and the New York Ska and Jazz Ensemble), Buford O'Sullivan (of the Scofflaws, the Toasters, and a number of others), and Karl Lyden (of Streetlight Manifesto). I have found that this is unexplored territory in terms of trombone historical research, in spite of its impact on rock and popular music, and some of that has continued to extend into today. For younger trombonists, and those with interests beyond jazz and classical playing, this is a chance to explore different styles, different performance practices, and also affirmations of their own strengths as performers. For older trombonists, this is a chance to see the trombone musically used in a way that may not have otherwise been even considered.


On February 19, 2018, I conducted an interview over the phone with Rick Faulkner. Rick Faulkner is a New York-based trombonist who performed with the Toasters from 1992 through 1998. He later became one the founding members of the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble. He is still active in New York as a trombonist, bassist, and vocalist and teaches within the NY Department of Education. Below is the text from the interview session:

When did you first start playing the trombone?

I started the summer before sixth grade. I went in for trumpet, and then I switched to trombone.

Who were your biggest influences?
Oh wow! The list is at least a mile long. I was mostly listening to jazz in high school and college. Dixieland playing was my first contact outside of school band. Al Grey, and J.J. were my favorites for jazz. When it came to ska; Don Drummond, Rico Rodriguez. Best of Don Drummond on Treasure Isle is a must listen. Very fluid player. Rico was a lot more gutty.

When you were first playing, what kind of trombone player did you initially want to be?

In 10th grade, I got the idea of being a professional. I had a hard time finding a teacher early on though. I wanted to play primarily jazz, but I studied classical pretty heavily. I’m originalluy from Charlottesville VA, which is one reason why it was hard to find a teacher. In college, I got butt kicked at Indiana. Dee Stewart was my primary teacher there, though I did have one lesson with Steve Turre.

What initially led you to the ska/punk band?
With the Toasters, it was mainly about timing. I was more familiar with ska through reggae, the Skatalites, and Will Clark, who had played trombone with the Skatalites in the ‘90s. Erick Storckman was the previous bone player in the Toasters. Mike Christiansen was the other player that the Toasters had at the time, but Christiansen couldn’t do the road. I learned the book, listened, and took over for him within a year.

Who was the first group you started playing with? For how long?

That was the Toasters. I started in 1992, and stayed through 1998. I was not full-time due to focusing on my Master’s studies. My second band, the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble was a spinoff. It started very serendipitously as more of a “horn section for hire” kind of thing. We ended up putting this all-star band together, complete with rhythm section. The band was supposed to be a one-off thing, and then grew into something much bigger on its own.

What were the performances like?

The show had a whole wide-range of venues and audiences from the bottom to the top. Some of them would be at discos, and people would disappear when the band started playing. At others, the crowd would have a lot of high energy. There would even be some moshing at other shows. One of our events was playing for 10,000 people at an outdoor show opening for Soul Asylum. At another show in Wyoming, we were cancelled in some kind “dirty dancing” place where the locals thought we would be a bad influence. At one point in 1992 I think it was, we were scheduled to play in your hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. I can’t remember the venue. We had a leisurely drive, across Illinois, and thought we had just enough time to stop for gas and spend the night at Super 8. Unfortunately we ran into van trouble in Iowa, so we had to stay at the airport in Des Moines, and rode in mortician limo to our gig there. On the way to Omaha we hit an April blizzard! In spite of the weather, we had a gig to get to, so we pressed onward. When we finally got to club, we found out our show was cancelled. Given everything that we had already been through to get there, we said “Oh no! We are going to play! If people want to risk coming out, they can, because we did!”

Describe the sound and style of the band as explained to you by the band leader?

Truthfully, there was no direction from Bucket on how to play with the band. I listened to the demos, as well as a lot of Specials recordings. Buford O’Sullivan was really the ideal trombone sound he wanted for the gig – someone much rougher around the edges. Made melodic statement. No bebop shit. NY Ska-Jazz, coming from my own thing. More expressive, artistic. Jazz approach. Skavoovie tour in 1993. Getting back to the Jamaican jazz roots, but more advanced jazz vocabulary, and energy of third wave.

Describe what you consider to be ideal for “ska” or “punk” trombone”?

There is a LOT of overlap between the two. I consider Toasters to be more straight-up ska. Players must use a full sound, and play with more bluntness. The sound is not smooth and refined. Be sure to make a statement with every note. Players I suggest listening to are Rico (Rodriguez), (Don) Drummond, Buford (O’Sullivan), and Vinnie Nobile. It’s very difficult to put into words. Vin Gordon is another good one too. Large or medium bore. No trigger.

If you were advising young students in the realm of becoming a ska/punk trombone player, what would you tell them?

First thing I’d tell them is to focus on fundamentals. This includes long tones, breathing, and concentrating on tone and sound. You must have them down otherwise you can do a lot of damage. It’s also important to stay grounded.

What do you think were the biggest contributions were by the 1990s trombonists, and how do you think the era impacted how trombonists are perceived?

Many young trombonists I’ve met have heard stories from (me), and from Lucky Chops Brass Band. Their bone player was also inspired by the ska sound. The impact and perception that me and all the others have had is difficult to gauge. Bucket (Hingley of the Toasters) once told me that, “Trombone is the archetypal reggae instrument.”

Faulkner’s solo on “Maxwell Smart” (shown below) is a very clean, precise example of a relatively simple, melodic solo over an instrumental two-tone ska work. The form, which diverges from the melody, is a twelve-bar blues form following in the two-tone ska tradition of no more than two different chord changes overall. (The F6 chord shown in bar 11 is an inversion of a Dmi7.) Faulkner makes extensive use of the D minor blues scale, stressing the b5 often to give it that “hip” sound. It is a very melodic, precise solo that sounds more like it could have been written out. This emphasizes the importance of Faulkner’s philosophy that a player needs to “make a melodic statement.” (Faulkner, interview. 2018.) Faulkner demonstrates more technicality in his solos with the New York Ska and Jazz Ensemble, but for the purpose of the Toasters, that is not what is needed. Instead, the solo is more reminiscent of Tom “Bones” Malone’s work on “Sweet Home Chicago” from The Blues Brothers soundtrack, rather than a full-on bebop solo.