In Defense of Ska Ep 80: Jake Matter (Ska or Nah, Grey Matter)

Jake Matter thought it was a good idea to start tweeting at celebrities to see if they liked ska or not. Surprisingly, quite a few answered. While most said yes, some did not, like Converge, who told him "Fuck No!" This exchange went viral and earned the Ska or Nah Twitter account 3,000 new followers in under 8 hours, and an article in Loudwire. 

Several of the people that Ska Or Nah has tweeted at have been on this very podcast, and their responses have served as part of our research for the episodes, including Ted Leo, Max Collins (Eve 6), Laura Jane Grace, John Darnielle (Mountain Goats), Elliot Babin (Touche Amore) and Arizona Ice Tea. 

Today we talk to Jake about Ska or Nah, his skacore band Grey Matter and why he thinks nu metal deserves to be defended. He tells us about the personal importance of tweeting at Tony Hawk and Rivers Cuomo, what it was like to release a record on Bad Time Records just before the pandemic, how amazing it was to play at this year's Stoopfest in Lansing, Michigan, and the many influences of his eclectic band, Grey Matter: La Dispute, Parquet Courts, Ceremony, We Are The Union, Blue Meanies, Flaming Tsunamis, and Fatter Than Albert.

He also tweets at two celebrities during the interview (Melissa Villasenor, Bill Clinton). But do they respond before the episode is finished? Listen and find out!

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon! 

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.