The Slackers

Biography

The Slackers are an American ska band formed in Manhattan, New York, in 1991. Their music blends ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz, drawing heavily from 1960s Jamaican music while incorporating American and British influences.
Emerging from New York City's early-1990s ska scene, the band became associated with the revival of traditional ska and rocksteady in the United States in the 1990s, distinguishing themselves from the more punk-oriented third-wave ska movement through an emphasis on roots reggae, rocksteady, and soul-based arrangements.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, the Slackers have released numerous studio albums, toured extensively across North America, Europe, South America, and Japan, and maintained a largely independent, do-it-yourself approach to recording and touring.

Career

By the mid-1990s, The Slackers had become an established presence within the American ska and reggae underground. The band’s second studio album, Redlight×Redlight1 January 1997 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Cooking for Tommy4:012Watch This4:003Married Girl3:134I Still Love You3:185Soldier2:586Fried Chicken/Mary Mary3:317You Must Be Good3:598Redlight5:009Tin Tin Deo3:5010She Wants to Be Alone4:3011Rude and Reckless4:3912Come Back Baby4:15, was released on September 23, 1997, received notable critical recognition. It was ranked number seven on Billboard editor Carrie Bell's "The Year in Music (1997)" list, and its title track charted at number 116 on the CMJ Radio Top 200 during the week of November 10, 1997, marking its third week on the chart.
Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, The Slackers maintained a steady release schedule, accompanied by extensive touring. During this time, the band became known for long, varied live sets and a large rotating repertoire, reportedly comprising over 200 songs, including original material alongside covers adapted to their roots-oriented style.
Interviews from the era emphasize the group's reliance on live performance rather than mainstream promotion as the central driver of their career, with touring serving as both their primary source of income and their preferred creative environment. Members have also described their studio work as an extension of their live performances, with arrangements and recordings shaped by material tested and refined on tour.
The Slackers continued to release albums and tour extensively in the decades that followed, maintaining a steady output and a consistent live presence. In 2022, the band released the album Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya, which reached number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

Related projects

Members of The Slackers have also been involved in a range of other musical projects, including Reggae Workers of the World, David Hillyard & The Rocksteady Seven, Crazy Baldhead Sound System, Da Whole Thing, The Hall Trees, Stubborn All-Stars, and the SKAndalous All Stars. Vocalist and organist Vic Ruggiero has also pursued a solo career, performing both original material and reworked Slackers songs, and has contributed keyboards and piano to several albums by Rancid.

Current lineup

Vic Ruggiero – keyboards, vocals
Jay "Agent Jay" Nugent – guitar
Dave Hillyard – saxophone
Glen Pine – trombone, vocals
Marcus Geard – bass
Ara Babajian – drums

Former members and contributors

Marc "Q-Maxx 4:20" Lyn – vocals
TJ Scanlon – guitar
Luis "Zulu" Zuluaga – drums
Jeremy "Mush One" Mushlin – trumpet, vocals
Allen Teboul – drums
Dunia Best- vocals, flute
Jeff "King Django" Baker – trombone
Tobias Fields – congas
Eric "Erok" Singer – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Dave Hahn – lead guitar
Ben Lewis – trumpet
Justin Redekop – trumpet

Former producers and collaborators

Victor Rice – producer and bass
Zack Levine – producer
Eric Sierra – songwriter
David Lindome – producer

Studio albums

Better Late Than Never (1996)
Redlight (1997)
The Question (1998)
Wasted Days (2001)
The Slackers and Friends (2002)
Close My Eyes (2003)
An Afternoon in Dub (2005)
Slackness (with Chris Murray) (2005)
Peculiar (2006)
The Boss Harmony Sessions (2007)
Self Medication (2008)
The Great Rocksteady Swindle (2010)
The Radio (2011)
The Slackers (2016)
Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya (2022)

EPs

International War Criminal (2004)
The Slackers/Pulley Split (2004)
My Bed Is A Boat (2013)

Singles

"2-Face" (1996)
"International War Criminal×International War Criminal8 June 2004 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Propaganda4:072Rider4:033International War Criminal3:184Keep It Simple3:145Crazy3:24" (2004)
"Pully Split" (2004)
"You Must Be Good" (2006)
"Little Joe" (2006)
"Minha Menina" (2007)
"Dreidel" (2009)
"New Years Day" (Urban Pirate Records, 2010)
"Xmas Every Day" (2011)
"Crazy Baldhead" (2012)
"Sarah" (2012)
"My Bed Is A Boat×My Bed Is a Boat4 September 2013 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1My Bed Is a Boat2:342Stereo On3:063Hit Me, Kiss Me2:254For the Money3:145Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer3:216Baka (The Fool)3:43" (2013)
"By You With You For You" (2013)
"Heroes b/w Always On My Mind" (2015)
"I Can't Hide" (2016)
"The Boss" (2016)
"Wrongfull Suspension" (2018)
"Peculiar×Peculiar21 February 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks186 the Mayo4:232Peculiar4:083Propaganda4:324Crazy3:325Set the Girl Free2:386In Walked Capo3:217I’d Rather Die Happy2:598What Went Wrong3:569Keep It Simple3:0610International War Criminal3:5811Sauron3:4612Rider4:0213I Shall Be Released4:18" (2019)
"The Way Of A Woman" (2019)
"Baba Roots" (2019)
"Sleep Outside" (2020)
"Nobody Listening" (2020)
"Blue" (2020)
"Widowland" (2021)
"Watch This" (2021)
"人にやさしく / Wicked Must Survive" (2021)
"Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya"(2022)
"New York Berlin" (2022)
"Kill You×Kill You22 September 2023 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Kill You7:112Statehouse5:29". (2023)

Demo cassettes

Do the Ska with The Slackers (1992)
The Slackers (1993)

Live albums

Live at Ernesto's (2000)
Upsettin' Ernesto's (2004)
Slack in Japan (2005)
NYC Boat Cruise 2009 (digital only, 2009)
Slackfest NYC 2009 (digital only, 2009)
Holiday Party With... (digital only, 2009)
Live On the West Side 4/6/10 (digital only, 2010)
Live In San Francisco 12/31/10 (digital only, 2011)

Collections

Before There Were Slackers There Were... (1999)
Big Tunes! Hits & Misses from 1996 to 2006 (2007)
Lost and Found (2009)
Stash Box (2011)
Before Hellcat (2011) (USB flash drive release)
Ganbare! (2011) (Japan only release)

Compilations

Give 'Em the Boot
Give 'Em the Boot II
Give 'Em the Boot III
Give 'Em the Boot IV
Give 'Em the Boot V
Give 'Em the Boot VI
This Is Special Potatoe Vol. 1
From New York to Luxembourg (Live @ the Kufa) (with P.O. Box, Kunn & the Magic Muffins and Toxkäpp)
New York Beat: Breaking and Entering Volume 2

DVDs

Give 'Em the Boot (2005): "And I Wonder"
The Slackers: A Documentary (2007)
The Flamingo Cantina Series with The Slackers (2009)
The Slacker Live On Video (2014)