The Bishops

The Bishops are on the train to skaville, and they don't plan to turn back anytime soon.

The Omaha-based group plays traditional ska and rocksteady, music that makes them stand out in a town filled with talented performers. They play covers of bands like Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker and Ethiopians -- they have an album titled "Train to Skaville."

The six-man band will take the Chesterfield, 1225 Fourth St., Friday (Feb. 7) with Sioux City's Premium Draft and Omaha's The Bricks.

The Bishops started playing in the '90s during the ska revival and popularity of groups like Sublime, The Hippos, Reel Big Fish and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

The band members went their separate ways in 1999 and, after a 9-year hiatus, reformed in 2008. For the past five years, the group has performed steady gigs throughout the region. This will be its irst show in Sioux City since the '90s.

"We share our love for that music," said bass player Dan Vaughn, who joined the band about two years ago.

Music that isn't played much locally in Sioux City and not even much in Omaha. Lead singer Mike Bechtel said a few bands play reggae but a smaller number perform traditional ska.

Most of the group plays multiple instruments. In addition to vocals, Bechtel plays rhythm guitar and occasionally the trombone. Ira Hughey takes on trumpet, vocals and percussion. Scott Norman plays keyboard and tenor sex. Drummer Dan Burger sticks to percussion.

Half the group were in the original The Bishops, but members like Vaughn joined later from their own ska bands.

Since reforming, The Bishops have won Omaha Entertainment Awards' best ethnic band title, competing against Celtic, polka and mariachi bands.

"Just winning an award is pretty cool," Vaughn said.

The band also traveled to Belarus with a state department musical exchange program. Bechtel said he'd love to perform overseas again.

The Bishops have their first full-length album coming out soon with mostly original music and a couple covers.

Songs like "Mama Say" are so catchy and pleasant, they'll be stuck in your head for weeks.

Instead of playing Bob Marley standards, The Bishops will pull from his older music for a song that even Marley fanatics might not recognize.

"Only people who know the genre know we're playing covers," Vaughn said.

Ska, in general, Bechtel said, is pleasant and enjoyable. Vaughn started listening to ska at 10 years old and, almost two decades later, he said he still loves playing this kind of music.

While The Bishops have run into the roadblock of people liking what they know, Bechtel said they've been able to cut through that once people are listening to their music.

"That's really cool when you have someone who has no idea what's going on musically," Vaughn said, "and just falls in love." - Sioux City Journal

On July 28, a ska and reggae band from Nebraska called The Bishops, which was invited to perform in Belarus by the US Embassy Minsk, increased its number of fans during a concert played at one of the Minsk night clubs. The audience, which mostly consisted of youngsters, stormed the stage where the band performed its own material along with covers of well-known reggae hits.

Since the airline lost their baggage with all the musical instruments, the embassy arranged to borrow all the necessary instruments from the local musicians. As a result, one of the bands that loaned its equipment was invited to play with them on stage, thus resulting in a very interesting musical collaboration. The bands jammed on stage to the delight of many fans, guests and the club owners. After the performance, musicians signed autographs and give away some of their CDs. The Bishops also performed at the annual Embassy Music Festival Ambasovischa along with a number of local musicians. - U.S. Dept. of State

It's not every day that big-name regional bands make a stop in Topeka to play a show. Most of them opt to play other nearby venues – Lawrence, Kansas City, Manhattan – and completely pass by the capital city, even if their tour buses drive right through it.

However, local music promoter Sean Spinelli, perhaps better known by his moniker DJ S. Ranx, is working hard to change that. Through hard work, persistence and more than a little sweet-talking, he managed to stage a major coup for the live music scene in Topeka. He booked two big-time acts to play two weekends in a row downtown, and he's just as surprised at his success as the next guy.

"A few shows that I've got coming up are actually two of the bigger shows that I've ever promoted, due to the fact that the bands are two of the more amazing bands I've been able to book," Ranx said.

The first show will feature a blues-reggae hybrid band from St. Louis, called Aaron Kamm and the One Drops. Ranx said the band has dubbed its sound as Delta Roots, reflecting the influence of the Mississippi Delta area which helped shape their rootsy brand of blues, Americana and reggae.

"I just can't believe I booked them," he said. "A lot of bands are leery about playing Topeka. From what I've noticed, they've heard it's not really a good live music town. In order to get them, I had to bug 'em and bug 'em and bug 'em, and say, 'Yes – you guys could do a good show here.'"

The show is scheduled for Saturday night at the Celtic Fox, 118 S.W. 8th Ave. Ranx will kick off the evening with a DJ set at 9 p.m., and the One Drops will take the stage at 10 p.m. Ranx has been working overtime to promote the show locally, and is anticipating a boost in attendance due to a rained out show in Kansas City a month or two ago. He has received word that many of the band's fans will be making the trip down the turnpike to catch Saturday's show.

The second show, scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at the Celtic Fox, will feature an Omaha band called The Bishops. Ranx described it as a ska/rock-steady band with nine members, including a full horn section. The Bishops have been around for almost 20 years, and Ranx has been a fan almost as long. The band members went their separate ways for the better part of decade before recently reuniting and hitting the road. The last time The Bishops graced a Topeka stage was 15 years ago, and Ranx believed the band was long overdue for an encore.

"I remember going to shows when I was 15 years old, and they would open up for Jamaican ska bands," he said. "Out of all the local bands that promoters would bring out, The Bishops were the one that made me think, 'Wow – these guys are incredible. Holy shit!'"

Earlier this summer, The Bishops played Omaha's Red Sky Music Festival, an event akin to the upcoming Kanrocksas Music Festival in Kansas City. Ranx said the fact that the band managed to secure a spot among the festival's top-tier of talent cemented its status as headlining band.

Ranx acknowledged that booking two high-profile bands two weekends in a row is something of a risk for a local promoter like himself. He's been spreading the word, and wants to draw a big crowd to encourage these bands – and acts like them – to make the trip to Topeka. But if he's stressed, Ranx doesn't show it. Indeed, he seems more exhilarated than intimidated by the challenge.

"I've booked some pretty amazing bands in my time, but this week and next are two bands that I'm like, 'Wow. I can't believe I'm doing this.' Just the talent of these bands alone – I just know they're going to blow anybody and everybody away."


THE BISHOPS
with DJ S. RANX
WHEN: Beginning at
9 p.m. Saturday, July 30
WHERE: The Celtic Fox,
118 S.W. 8th Ave.
HOW MUCH: $5 cover
ON THE WEB: Check out
The Bishops on Facebook - Splash! Topeka.net

Old-school ska fans will be in for a lively evening at First Night as The Bishops take the stage for three performances.
The Omaha-based band will play ska/reggae grooves during three sets at the First Congregational Church on New Year’s Eve at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.
Singer, guitar player and trombone player Mike Bechtel said the band will play a mix of orginal ska/reggae songs, as well as covers from some of the most famous bands of the genre.
The six-member band – joining Bechtel is Dan Burger on drums, John Green on guitar and vocals, Ira Hughey on trumpet and vocals, Dan Vaughn playing bass and Scott Norman on keys and saxophone – brings a highly energetic, island-influenced show with a solid horn section that packs a powerful sonic punch.
Bechtel said the band plays across the Midwest, regularly playing Kansas City, Des Moines and Minneapolis, but spends a majority of their time in Omaha. However, the band did have a chance to rock an eastern block country in 2010.
In the summer of 2010, Bechtel said, The Bishops found themselves welcomed with open arms by the people of Minsk, Belarus.
As part of a state-sponsored exchange, The Bishops traveled to Minsk and shared the stage with fellow musicians from that area.
“Belarus is the last old, Soviet-style dictatorship in eastern Europe, and the government cracks down on free speech. So if an artist or a band does something the party doesn’t like, they will be censored and not allowed to perform in public,” Bechtel explained.
The American Embassy in Minsk sponsors a festival every year on the consulate ground for banned artists. They also invite American artists to play.
Bechtel said an old high school friend working at the consulate told him about the opportunity to play, and the band submitted a tape and was chosen to participate.
“I don’t think a lot a bands know about the program,” Bechtel joked when responding to how his band was chosen. “Plus there is a lot of paperwork to fill out.”
But the Belarusians appreciated The Bishops’ blend of ska/reggae, and Bechtel said the band dug the Minsk music scene equally.
Hopefully, First Night attendees will also enjoy the rhythms of the Caribbean.
“It’s a lively show,” Bechtel added, and appropriate for all ages. “We take our influence from the roots of ska – 1960s Jamaica. Our music is more jazzy, with no strong distortion or harsh lyrics of more recently popular ska.”
The fifth-annual First Night will be celebrated from 3 to 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 in downtown Council Bluffs. The grand finale, including fireworks, will be held at 10 p.m. in Bayliss Park.
First Night 2012 will be a unique experience, with artists, performers and vendors from across the country celebrating the area’s culture and history. Designed to be affordable for families, admission buttons are $10 for adults, with children 12 and younger admitted free. - The Daily Nonpareil