PINK AND BLACK RECORDS

Spunky ska troupe
recalls carefree ’90s

Playing life by ear, an upbeat quintet
takes a break from the real world for
a lean, possibly final tour

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By Gary C. W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

Hey kids! Remember the '90s? A time of carefree splendor, not a worry in the world? Well, you can relive those years of blissful optimism with the one band that -- even in this worrisome world -- still matters. Yes, all together now, it's "DANCE HALL! DANCE HALL CRASHERS TONIGHT!!"

What a lucky group of troupers they've been. The Hammon brothers, Jason and Gavin, Mikey Weiss and the powerhouse harmonizing duo of Karina Denike and Elyse Rogers, are true survivors, taking their upbeat ska and punk-influenced tunes to thousands of fans.

Even though the once Berkeley, Calif.-based group has dispersed to different cities and different pursuits, the common touchstone that is Dance Hall Crashers can bring them together for the occasional fun tour.

And "fun" is the operative word for what they do, said Rogers on Christmas Eve by phone from her Hollywood home. Currently finishing her MBA degree from the University of Southern California, Rogers and the rest of the band and traveling entourage are looking forward to, once again, visiting this island state they so dearly love.

Before, "we were touring all the time," she said, always doing club and festival shows, ranging from the Warped to Lilith Fair tours. "We wanted to put that on hold for a while, and with last year's release of our live CD (the one with the cool Adrian Tomine-drawn cover subtitled "Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love"), the band's been on an indefinite hiatus. But when we occasionally get together to do a small tour, we still have a good time doing it. It's just that we needed a definite break from being on the road for long periods of time."

That's why the band's lean 2001-2002 tour schedule revisits their favorite places: Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Japan.

Dance Hall Crashers With opening band Buckshot Shorty Where: World Cafe, 1130 N. Nimitz Hwy. When: 7 p.m. tomorrow, doors open at 6 Admission: $16.50 Call: 599-5764

"When the live album came out, there were all kinds of rumors of the band breaking up, but we'll keep touring until it's not fun anymore." said Rogers. "We won't necessarily be doing upward of 300 shows a year, but it's always good seeing our fans, especially in Hawaii!"

This may -- or may not -- be our last opportunity to bond with the Crashers.

"There's a chance that these might be the last shows we do," Rogers said, although she quickly adds, "but this is a situation that we really play by ear."

Fans may not tolerate their beloved band saying "adios" while riding into the sunset. Dance Hall Crashers have such an upbeat and spunky sound "that we couldn't change even if we tried," Rogers said.

"And now we have a new audience of fans. It's come to the point where I'm not sure who's buying our albums anymore, and God knows where (these new fans) came from."

It certainly helps when your catalog is still in print, starting with an eponymous debut in 1993 (redubbed "The Old Record" in its '96 re-release on Fat Wreck Chords' Honest Don's imprint), through three major-label releases, and then back to the indies with '99's "Purr" and "The Live Record," one that the band's fans demanded to the point of compiling a set list through an Internet poll.

While the band is still a vibrant force on stage, Rogers said that "our collective emotional growth was getting stunted to a certain extent. We were very cognizant that we wanted balanced, well-rounded lives outside of the band, but our success kind of snowballed out of our control."

That's why Rogers is planning out her post-graduate entertainment career (she's producing an independent film that starts shooting next month, but details are hush-hush, don't you know), Weiss has his music store in New York, Jason Hammon's in law school, his brother Gavin is finishing up his schooling at UC-Berkeley, and Denike is teaching music in the Bay area.

But all of that is willingly set aside when it comes to flying out here. "I think it's been seven or eight times that we've played in Honolulu over the years. When we get there, we always go out to the North Shore and that bamboo area in the, um, middle of the island (Nuuanu Pali, perhaps?) and go eat ramen as well as at Eggs 'n Things in Waikiki. And we love the people; you've always been so gracious to us, we've never had a bad experience there."

So, all you kids on Oahu, get ready to dance and sing up a storm to such timeless classics as "He Wants Me Back!" "My Problem!" "Shelley!" "Queen for a Day!" "Go!" "Lost Again!" "Mr. Blue!" "Cat Fight!" ...

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