In Defense of Ska Ep 38: Augusta Koch

Augusta Koch’s first band was called The Blue Bananas, a ska band. They had a few originals and performed a Choking Victim song. They didn’t last long. She’s since gone on to play in some incredible non-ska bands like Cayetana and Gladie. And she even sang vocals for the fictitious group DUH in the horror-comedy film Uncle Peckerhead. But ska has remained important to her. During the pandemic, she found comfort in revisiting some of her favorite bands from when she was younger. RX Bandits have been a particular favorite for her.

Augusta talks with us, not just about her ska roots, but also what it’s been like for her the past couple of years, creatively and personally. We discuss a blog post she wrote about starting smoking again during the pandemic and she also tells us about Jeff Rosenstock asking her to contribute to SKA DREAM by screaming on a few tracks. We discuss the Sparks cover she made with Mike Park, and we also get into a discussion about what her favorite Mountain Goats record is. And most importantly, we try to understand why the ska scene just feels so much better to be a part of than other “cooler” scenes. We come up with a few theories.

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This week, you can hear our extended conversation about Adam's former bandmate, Steve Borth. Adam shares several road stories during his time on the road with Steve when they both played in Link 80 together.