Review by Jason Meier
Photos by Matt Bechtold
(For all the photos, check our photo-spread spectacular!)

On July 27th, the Topeka Youth Project decided to throw a benefit party for their organization. When I heard about this show I was kind of excited because they typically put on good shows. I have even played one of their shows with my old band back when I was high school. The part that was very intriguing was where they decided to have the show. Remington's is a HUGE country bar. When this place is full to capacity, it can hold about 1200 people and the stage on which the bands get to play is probably the biggest stage I have ever seen in a club.Tonight the crowd was between 350 and 400, which is not bad by any means. The only problem I had was that this show was never well promoted because I didn't hear anything about it till the afternoon of the show. One has to wonder what would have happened if they had started advertising this show a little bit more in advance. The lineup for tonight was a good mix of bands from Manhattan and Topeka.

There would be a great mix of ska, ska-punk, rapcore, and pop making the evening one that everyone could enjoy. The ska-punk outfit, the Ray-Guns, and rapcore artists, 8 Degrees, would be representing T-town, while the Topeka Youth Project imported some excellent ska and pop from Manhattan with Ruskabank and Ultimate Fakebook. This was a good show for the bands involved because it gave them a chance to play to a lot of kids in Topeka that had not seen them before. It was also a good time for me to catch up with some good friends and find what had been going on in the Topeka music scene and with all four of these bands.

The first band of the evening was the Ray-Guns. They hit the stage like a house on fire sporting brand spanking new bowling shirts and if you ask this reviewer I thought they looked pretty damn cool. The core unit of this band has been playing together since October of 1996 and the current lineup has been together for just about a year. These guys project a lot of energy in their live show and are a lot of fun to watch. The style of ska that these young guys play is often called skacore or radio ska. It is very much in the style of bands like Reel Big Fish, Skanking Pickle, Save Ferris, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Buck O' Nine and MU330.

The members of the Ray-Guns are as follows: Travis - vocals; Charlie - trombone;  Ty - trombone; Kerry - trumpet; Brint - saxophone; Mike - guitar; Aaron - bass and Jory - drums.

Set highlights included such songs as "Where Did She Go," "Biscuit," "Talentless Fool," and "I Did My Time." The Ray-Guns sound as if they are just now really starting to hit their stride. They have been playing a lot of shows and it sounds like it is starting to pay off. The only problem they had tonight was that Travis was recovering from a cold, which was making it very tough for him to get through their short set. But like a trooper he kept on keeping on and got through it just fine.

Future plans for the Ray-Guns are to release their first full-length CD some time this fall (which will be reviewed in Synapsis as soon as it comes out) and to keep playing as many shows as they can. The Ray-Guns are more than willing to play house parties and say they'll even play for free if need be. They also want to try to play more in Manhattan and Lawrence and maybe even break into Kansas City in the not too distant future. Keep an eye for their debut CD this fall and make sure to get out and see the Ray-Guns live the next time they have a show near you. For more info on the Ray-Guns, make sure to stop by their web site at www.rayguns.com.

The second band of the night came to TYP-TYP by way of Manhattan. I haven't
seen Ruskabank in in about five months, so it was good to see them again. They
have been quite busy playing shows as their popularity and prowess on stage continue to rise.

The members of Ruskabank are: Dave Spiker - vocals and guitar; Jayson Sullivan - bass; Jeff Bilberry - drums; Donnyves Laroque - keyboard; Jaime Rogers - trumpet; Ben Schierling - tenor sax; David Studnicka - alto sax and Chris Mayne - trombone.

Unlike the Ray-Guns, the brand of ska that these guys play is very much along the traditional vein - yet remains very poppy. It has a very distinct 1950's style of rock and roll sound to it. You mix that along with some jazz and reggae influences and you get the Ruskabank sound. These guys also put on a very entertaining show. Dave and Donnyves in particular have a good time interacting with the crowd. Set highlights included older songs like "HotHead," "Speedy Gonzales," and "Wishing Well," as well as a couple of newer ones like "Give it Up" and "How I
Spent My Summer." On the song "Speedy Gonzales," Chris Mayne and Jamie Rogers took over the lead vocal chores and sang a very funny song. All in all, Ruskabank received a very good reception by the Topeka crowd.

During the last few months Ruskabank has been busy breaking their new drummer, Jeff Bilberry, and have also just finished recording 14 tracks for their first
CD at Mercy Studios in Lawrence. They hope to have it released in October. Of course, Synapsis will be the first place to find a review of the album, which we are awaiting anxiously. But now that they have the CD pretty much in hand, they are going to start playing a lot more shows. Upcoming gigs include a performance on Sunday, September 6th at the Spirit Fest. To contact the band, you can E-mail Dave at dspiker@ksu.edu or call (785) 776-0726. Also make you visit their web page at www-personal.ksu.edu/~das3957.

The third band of the night was the other Topeka band on the bill. This summer has been very good and very busy for 8 Degrees. Fresh of a very short, but solid performance at the Warped Tour in Lawrence, these guys have been doing very well. Having only seen them about two weeks earlier I figured things would be much the same, but man-oh-man, how things can change in a short amount of time.

The Warped Tour performance was the last for original 8 Degrees bassist, Tim Gentry, and he has been replaced by the former bass player of another Topeka band, Down By Anger - Ben Hammond. The other members of 8 Degrees are:  Aaron Lambotle - vocals; Erik Francis - guitar; James Johnston - guitar; Chris Stuke - drums; DJ Roo - turntables and noise.

These guys have been around since late 1995 and in that amount of time have made a lot of noise. Set highlights included the songs "Delinquent," "Cloud 9," "Closure," and "Naked." These guys put on a very intense show and give about 110% to their audience. 8 Degrees is a hard hitting sextet that lays down some ferocious grooves with and phat guitar riffs. They also incorporate plenty of funkiness and intense lyrics into their sound.

The style of their music is similar to bands like Korn, Limp Bizkuit, Phunk Junkies, The Deftones and Rage Against the Machine. By the time you read this 8 Degrees first CD "Swam the Waters" should be in your favorite local record store. You know the drill by now - we'll have a review of it ASAP also. They also plan to keep breaking in the new bassist, Ben Hammond, and to play as many shows as possible. Upcoming gigs include September 4th at the Spirit Fest in Kansas City and on October 25th in San Francisco, California at the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands Finals. They won the right to compete when they won the Warped Tour battle of the bands in June. If they win this, they get to play even more of the 1999 Warped Tour. They will also be playing at KC-rock station 98.9's annual Halloween
party known as the Freakers Ball in October.

For more info on 8 Degrees, make sure to go visit their web site at http://members.aol.com/atedegrees.

The final band of the night once again came to Topeka by way of Manhattan. The summer of 1998 has been a very busy one for Ultimate Fakebook as they have been doing some traveling, playing a lot of shows out of the region.

The members of this band include: Bill McShane - guitar and vocals; Nick Colby - bass and Eric Melin - drums. The band has been around for three and a half years but Eric has only been with them for two. Eric is also a former member of another great Manhattan band from the past - Truck Stop Love.

These guys play pop rock,  with incredibly sentimental and deeply meaningful lyrics. The music has teeth too, and is catchy as hell. Once you've got the lyrics down, forget it... there's no going back. Tonight's set was a good one for them because the last time I saw them in Topeka they played to about 15 people, while tonight they played to about 300. They played some of their classics including "Far Far Away," "Soaked," and "Downstairs in the Basement." They also played a couple of brand new tunes entitled "Of Course We Will" and "I'm All Out Of It Right Now." I thought the new songs were great and also thought they were a good sign of things to come.

The Fakebook boys have been playing a lot lately in their continuing efforts to get signed by a major label. They also have a lot of shows in the near future including August 22nd at the Golf Klub in St. Joseph, Missouri; August 27th at the Doubledoor in Chicago as part of the Diskmakers showcase; August 28th at the
Liebrary in Emporia, Kansas; September 3rd at Rusty's Last Chance in Manhattan
with the Domestics; September 6th as part of the Spirit Fest in Kansas City; September 10th at the Bottleneck with the Glitter Kicks and the Creature Comforts; September 12th at the Hurricane with the Creature Comforts; and the weekend of November 5th - 7th they will be in New York as part of the CMJ Music Marathon. As you can see, the UFB is certainly working hard.

They also have started to think about recording their next CD, writing a bunch of new material and preparing to start the recording process. It will be about a year before we see any of it, however. If you get the chance to see these guys rock out, make sure to do it, 'cause it is well worth it. For more info on Ultimate Fakebook pay a visit to their website at www.noisome.com/ufb/.

I was glad that I went to this show because it gave me a chance to see some excellent bands, but I was even more happy that for the teens of Topeka - where there has always been little offered in the way of positive entertainment. I for one hope to see a lot more of this sort of thing from the Topeka Youth Project and others who want to see Topeka's youth staying out of trouble.

Remington's is a great place for a show because it is so big and the stage is enormous - which lets the show become more energetic and entertaining. However, on that note, my only complaint about Remington's was that they wouldn't let the kids mosh. Granted, it is a country bar, and the security more than likely isn't too familiar with the way things work in a mosh pit - but it was quickly broken up and frankly in a not so friendly manner - which was rather shocking because you were able to see the true difference between the seemingly violent moshing - kids just sharing the music that moves them physically - and the truly violent act of outsiders who bust into that sphere of mutual appreciation and tear it apart. But outside of that, things went great and I hope that they will try to do some more big time shows there in the future. Just think - with Gators and Remington's, Topeka may actually be able to develop a good solid music scene finally, and with a group like the Topeka Youth Project showing people that modern music can really bring the kids together in positive ways - Topeka might get a whole lot more out of the deal.

Jason Meier can be reached for comments and questions at
jason@synapsis.net.