WARSAW Warsaw, not content to be limited by one form of music, plays ska as well as regae and Irish tunes and has several gigs coming up this week.

Warsaw packs
a potent musical mix

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By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

So much in contemporary music seems predictable and prefabricated these days -- Britney Spears and O-Town, for example. Warsaw is neither.

They don't play the metal, hardcore, or industrial rock that might be expected from a group named for a European city with a dark 20th-century history. And, though probably best known as a ska band, Warsaw prides itself on playing more than ska.

"We've always done reggae and ska and Irish tunes," Warsaw spokesman Drago said after and his band mates arrived here several days before the first club date on their fourth annual Warsaw Hawaii Tour. They've been hitting the beaches and other points of interest, rehearsing at Junk Music and checking out their favorite Hawaii bands.

They performed last weekend at Anna Bannanas, Kemoo Farms and the Hawaiian Hut. They'll also be playing the Wave Waikiki on Valentine's Day, Haleiwa Joe's on Friday, and return to Anna Bannanas on Saturday.

"We're getting into hip-hop and dancehall in addition to all the other stuff. It works real good (because) the groove does all the work for us. So here we are (also) covering reggae, Jamaican dancehall, and West Coast Dre and Snoop Dogg-influenced hip-hop -- also playing Irish drinking tunes, punk rock, a couple of hippie-funk tunes, rock steady and dub."

As for the name, Drago says that founder-leader Chris Poland intended to name the new band Poland but got outvoted.

"He was originally in a band called the Beat Poets, and then he hooked up with all these music school majors in Flagstaff (Ariz.). When he formed the new band, he was the weakest musician in it. Everybody else could play circles around him back in those days. They were all first-shelf musicians, and they were like, "We're not naming the band after you!"

Warsaw was the compromise.

Twelve years later, Poland and trombonist Monkeybone are the two remaining members of the original group.

To date there are five full-length Warsaw albums -- "The Kind," "Warska," "Battleska Galactica," "Hors G'lore" and "Pimpin' on Crutches" -- and a six-song collection of Irish songs that the group hopes to expand over the next year.

There is also an upcoming compilation album titled "Dub Confrontation," a best-of dub remix project with Invisible Mass label mates Stucky. A new Warsaw video was released recently, and the group has a track on a new Jaegermeister compilation.

In all these different projects, Drago says, diversity and the willingness to improvise is key. Take the "Battleska Galactica" album: "It was a 21-song, 74-minute epic, featuring all the different kinds of ska -- traditional, third wave, second wave, punk ska. All the hybrids of ska, plus punk rock, mod music and some experimental party music."

Experimental party music?

"Two tracks recorded live at one of our parties. Normally we wouldn't have put it on (an album), but we had the material in our hard drives, so why not? Wouldn't you know, 10 percent of our fans' favorite songs are songs we would have never released normally.

"'Hors G'lore' is a predominately reggae album, but we'd gotten some new software for our computer, and we needed to make some stupid little song just to check the software -- it's on the album."

Warsaw's zest for experimentation and variety doesn't stop with the repertoire. The departure of the drummer and bass player was embraced as an opportunity to stretch. Poland, who was originally a bass player, currently plays either drums or guitar. His younger brother, Aaron, who was the front man and guitarist, now plays drums as well. Drago describes himself as primarily a brass man (trumpet and trombone), but he doubles on keyboards and also plays drums on a couple of the Irish songs. He describes trombonist Monkeybone as a "phenomenal" Latin pianist.

The new bass player was a lead guitarist until he joined Warsaw three months ago. No experience on bass? Drago says that's not considered a problem by Warsaw.

"There're a lot of guys out there who can rip on bass, but when you're touring 300 days a year (spending) six to eight hours a day in a van, personality and the ability to adapt to the road are more critical than finding a guy that can rip."

Warsaw Place: Wave Waikiki, 1877 Kalakaua Ave. When: 10 p.m. Thursday Tickets: $10 adults 18 to 20, $5 adults 21 and older; doors open 9 p.m. Call: 941-0424 Also: 10:30 p.m. Friday at Haleiwa Joe's, 66-011 Kamehameha Hwy., with Go Jimmy Go, $5 cover, 21 and older; and 9 p.m. Saturday at Anna Bannanas, with Ooklah the Moc, $7 cover.

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