Revisiting the past

Going back over two years to one of the first posts on the site… I wrote a post back in April of ’05 about Sam Endicott of the Bravery and his ska past.

A kind reader sent in an e-mail about the whole thing, and I felt it important to straighten out a few details regarding Skabba the Hutt. Name and e-mail address withheld by request:

Hi – I came across your post about Sam Endicott and Skabba the Hutt and have some information I thought might interest you. You may have noticed that the track that was recorded for the Oi! Skampilation isn’t the same singer as the mp3 that you posted. That singer is Dave Jellis. He was their lead singer for 2 years. When Skabba was approached by the production company that signed them the producer said that Dave “wasn’t marketable”. So Sam and John voted to kick him out. No one seems to acknowledge that Dave was ever in the band. He actually wrote most of the lyrics for Skabba’s songs (excluding Fat Guy, which Sam actually wrote for a band he had been in previous to Skabba). Another fun fact – John Conway liked to tell people at Vassar that because he only listened to “true, original” reggae, he was Vassar’s only real skinhead. There’s something you won’t read anywhere else…

I only mention this because Dave really loves music – much like what I read in your biography of you. He is one of the most knowledgeable music people I have ever met. Not just when it comes to punk and rock, he understands music theory. He’s the only one I know that appreciates metal for the harmonics it can create.

Oh, and if you care to use any of this info online, could you kindly refrain from using my name or email address. I don’t want to embarrass Dave… he would just as soon forget it ever happened.