Sunny business

>> Warming up to the Stomp All Stars

by RUPERT BOTTENBRRRG

Say what you want about global warming--bloody cold is bloody cold. "The snow brings me down," whines Planet Smasher/Stomp Records ska tycoon Matt Collyer. "I'd rather be anywhere else. Hawaii, preferably, with all that surfing, and tiki drinks, and hula girls..." His voice drifts off into wistful silence.

Sometimes warmer weather makes its way to you, though. Like the special package Stomp recently received from the High Times staff in sunny California. No, no that kind of "special package," you stoned fool. "The Mayor of Ganja City, by one of our bands, JFK and the Conspirators, was picked as 'Best Album of the Month' for December, I think. So they wrote us and sent a clipping, which is funny, because we didn't even service them!"

Pothead postcards aside, the humanitarians at Stomp are redirecting the warm winds of the Caribbean right up the Main. Members of the Kingpins, Planet Smashers and Gangster Politics, as well as a few friends from out of town, have begun their weekly Stomp All Stars soirées.

The rotating lineup try their luck at Jamaican ska classics like "Guns of Navarone" and "My Boy Lollipop," schooling the youth on the history of the oft-misunderstood musical genre. "It's something everyone in the group wanted to do," says Collyer. "Their heads spun when I first suggested it last winter."

Among the guests at the well-attended debut night last week was Venice Shoreline Chris, or Chris Murray to his folks. In town to produce the next Smashers disc (he also produced last year's Attack... ), Murray took some time out to throw together a semi-reunion of his old band, semi-legendary ska-nadians King Apparatus. "It was a lot of fun to play those songs again," says Murray, "and to play with Mitch (Girio, KA bassist). And it was cool to see people who maybe hadn't seen King Apparatus before digging the songs."

The winter thing must be toughest on transplanted Canuck Murray, who only a couple of weeks ago was working on his tan in his current base of operations, Los Angeles. "We get weather in the 70s or even in the 80s most days, and it's generally sunny. And there's no snow." Murray last braved the cold a good two years ago, and seems to be up for it again. "It's nice to be home again. I'm having fun. My re-exposure to the cold, there's gotta be some good in that..." Yeah, well, when you figure out what that is, Mr. Murray, let us know, okay?

The Stomp All Stars play every Thursday in January at Le Swimming, 10pm, $4