Big D and the Kids Table

Intro

This is the sound of a humid basement show where the walls are sweating and the floor is bouncing. It is fast, loud, and unapologetically rhythmic, defined by a horn section that hits like a physical force and a rhythm section that never lets the tension drop. The vocals are gritty and lived-in, sounding like someone who has spent too many nights shouting over a drum kit but still has plenty to say.

What sets them apart is their 'stroll' - a specific mid-tempo reggae-influenced groove that allows the music to breathe between the frantic punk outbursts. They balance the chaotic energy of third-wave ska with a sophisticated sense of arrangement, often incorporating unexpected instruments like the melodica or diving into deep dub textures that reveal a serious reverence for Jamaican roots music.

Start with 'How It Goes' for the definitive Boston ska experience, or 'Strictly Rude' if you want to hear them lean harder into their soulful, rocksteady-influenced side. It is music for people who like their punk rock with a brass section and their social commentary with a beat you can dance to.

Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records and SideOneDummy. The band has been noted for its strict DIY work ethic, such as engineering, producing, and releasing their own albums and videos and self-promotion of their own shows. The band released Good Luck in 1999 on Asian Man Records and quickly gained a large underground audience. The album featured a 10 piece band, including six horn players. The album is characterized and widely liked due to its catchy horn melodies, along with its fun and energetic nature. In 2000 the band recorded a gangsta rap album, Porch Life, and distributed it unofficially via cassette tape. In 2003 the album was officially released on CD through Fork in Hand. They have also recorded splits with Melt-Banana, Brain Failure, and Drexel. In 2002, they released The Gipsy Hill LP, a collection of some of their thrash material, as well as their covers of "Wailing Paddle" by the Rudiments and "New England" by Jonathan Richman. This album featured what is considered to be the "classic" Big D lineup, which featured long-time members such as Sean P. Rogan, David McWane, Steve Foote, Chris Bush, Paul Cuttler and Dan Stoppelman. This lineup was also featured on How it Goes, which was released in 2004, as well as Strictly Rude in 2007 and Fluent in Stroll in 2009. In 2005, long-time saxophonist Chris Bush left the band to move to Denver, Colorado (and eventually to Hawaii) and was replaced by Ryan O'Connor, who has remained in the band since. O'Connor's first appearance on a Big D record was for their 2007 release Strictly Rude. Big D and the Kids Table played 200 shows a year around this time on average, in support of bands including the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dropkick Murphys, Rancid, and Alexisonfire, and have become regular performers on the Warped Tour. The band has also performed in the Summer of Ska Tour 2012 and the Ska Is Dead tour. In the fall and winter of 2007 the band embarked on their first-ever large scale headlining tour, The Steady Riot Tour, named after the 2007 release.

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