The world of ska music has exploded onto the mainstream, but has it become too bloated and mixed-up to survive?

Trends in music come and go quicker than ever. But, before long every music style experiences a resurgence. Ska music is currently riding its third wave of popularity. With bands like No Doubt and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones enjoying Top 40 status, the Jamaican-based music is enjoying mainstream success.

But, are those bands really ska? Will there be a ska-overload? Why is a forty-year-old music style enjoying a resurgence? Before these questions can be answered, a little background material is required.

Ska music's first wave was hatched in the early '60s in Jamaica by bands like the Skatalites and Toots and the Maytels. Ska was born as dance music, a hybrid of rhythm and blues, jazz and calypso, for the working class people of Jamaica. It found popularity in the United Kingdom and eventually crept stateside.

Ska fans were known as "rude boys." They were originally thought of as hooligan boys who caused havoc in the streets, while dressed in black suits, porkpie hats and dark sunglasses. But, by the second wave of ska the term "rude boy" was revived, but by then being called a "rude boy" was the epitome of coolness. The Specials used a drawing of a rude boy to illustrate one of their album covers.

In the late '70s and early '80s, the second wave emerged with European acts like The Specials and Madness gaining popularity. This was known as two-tone ska, which was tighter, faster and involved more horns than the first wave.

In the last ten years, the third wave of ska has emerged. Underground acts like the Toasters and Bim Skala Bim started the resurgence that has since grown to unbelievable proportions. The sound changed again. Instead of the jazz and blues style, this ska music was more like punk rock with horns. Bands like Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Goldfinger and Less Than Jake emerged with a punk with brass sound. Ska was not clearly defined anymore.

"Ska is an evolutionary process," said Tom Rezabeck, an SIUE alumnus who has been researching ska music since 1994. "It's a hodgepodge [of sounds]. Part of that is because of short attention spans."

The '90s cannot be pinned down as having one particular sound as have decades in the past. The '60s had British rock, the '70s had disco, the '80s had new wave, and the '90s has had grunge, punk-revival, electronica, gangsta rap, ska, among others. There is a glut of styles, and styles within those styles. People have more varied tastes, and musical trends come and go quicker than presidential scandals. So, why has ska returned to popularity?

"I think itŐs taken all this time for people's ears to adjust to this sound of music," said Alex Desert, lead singer of the Hepcats. "Ska is more about a feeling. It's easy to play ska, but the good ska is that ska that hits you."

Greg Lee, the Hepcats other lead singer, agrees. "Ska is not easy. The way a lot of new bands play it is easy, because they're taking a ska-punk blend, and making it a hybrid. We're trying to play to the root, and this stuff is harder because you have to play it slower, with longer, sustained notes. I can run down a list of ska bands being played on the radio, and none of them are doing it with that kind of feeling."

The Hepcats are one of the few acts that are playing a traditional form of ska music. They are inspired by the Skatalites and use the slower, root-based sound in their music. Groups like the Hepcats are in the minority as far as traditional ska bands go. But, they have been around much longer than some of the more mainstream acts.

"As it gets older and older and evolves, people put their own slant on it," Jim Jones of Bim Skala Bim said. "They add punk to it or jazz or rockabilly, or anything else." Bim Skala Bim have been together for over 15 years, and Jones said when they started there were only about 10 to 15 ska bands in the entire world. According to a recent polling on ska bands through the internet, there are now more than 500 ska bands in the United States alone.

Although, Jones likes many of the new ska bands, he sees a glut. "I'd like to see the current million ska bands settle down and sift down into the ones that are gonna last, rather than people who are on the bandwagon," Jones said. "We were here before the trend, we'll be here after the trend."

Some bands are being put onto the ska bandwagon without even knowing it. Smashmouth was featured in the magazine, "Rolling Stone," earlier this year in an article that described them as punk ska.

"We kind of cringe at that label, and I'm sure hardcore ska people hate it too, because we're not a ska band," said Paul De Lisle of Smashmouth. "There's an element of ska in our music, only because in those particular songs it's a nice way to accent a verse. I think that's how the whole punk ska thing got started."

De Lisle thinks the current trend of ska music is confusing. "It's all over the place. What's next, like ska country, ska metal?"

Reel Big Fish doesn't mind being classified as a ska band or a pop band. They just want people to listen to their music and have a good time. "I'd like it to be that people go hear music because they like it and it's good music. But, it doesn't seem like we're pushing towards that right now. Everyone still tries to classify everything," said Tavis Wert, trumpet player for Reel Big Fish.

Rezabeck concurs. "It's a natural process to category things, but it's not necessarily a bad thing." He said because of the large number of ska or ska-influenced bands, it's easier for critics and fans to label any band with a horn section or a certain sound as a ska band.

Unfortunately, an answer to the question of what the future for ska will be has to go unanswered. There are probably many less real ska bands than people think. Ska-influenced acts like No Doubt and the Aquabats will continue to stay popular because they are easily digestible, but they may not be longstanding.

Whereas acts like Bim Skala Bim and the Hepcats, who combined have performed ska over 25 years, may keep their low-profile status for years to come. Nevertheless, after this wave of ska popularity has come and gone, a fourth wave is imminent. Maybe country ska is not that far-fetched.