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The Slackers Trivia Quiz

The Slackers are THE best ska band in the U.S., and are still alive and kickin' today (at least in early 2008). How much do you know about this band's past and present?

A multiple-choice quiz by aeroflot. Estimated time: 5 mins.

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Author
aeroflot

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
286,690

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
138

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Vic Ruggiero, the band's vocalist, organist, and primary songwriter, has been credited under what nickname? Hint

Vic Wicked

Strikkly Vikkly

Lord Sluggo

Agent V

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Question 2 of 15

2. Aside from Vic, who was the only other founding member still performing with the band when 'Peculiar' was released? Hint

Q-Maxx

Luis Zuluaga

TJ Scanlon

Marcus Geard

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Question 3 of 15

3. On what label was their debut, 'Better Late Than Never', released? Hint

Hellcat

Moon Ska

Mojo

Grover

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Question 4 of 15

4. What band has never boasted saxophonist 'Disco' Dave Hillyard as a member? Hint

The Epistrophy 3

Donkey Show

Eastern Standard Time

Hepcat

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Question 5 of 15

5. Jammyland Records re-released 'Better Late Than Never' after the original went out of print. Among the bonus tracks on the reissue was a cover of a song by which group? Hint

Toots and the Maytals

Sonic Youth

Bon Jovi

The Yardbirds

NEXT>

Question 6 of 15

6. The album 'Live at Ernesto's' was recorded in what European city? Hint

Dusseldorf, Germany

Barcelona, Spain

Sitard, Netherlands

Venice, Italy

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Question 7 of 15

7. The rhythm section has seen some changes over the years, including guitarist Jay Nugent and drummer Ara Babajian. What band was founded in part by these two gentlemen? Hint

The Toasters

The NY Citizens

Agent 99

The Scofflaws

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Question 8 of 15

8. Trombonist and heart-throb Glen Pine has really shown some chops in the vocal department. Which of these songs is not sung by Pine? Hint

Mountainside

Shankbon

Midnight Rendezvous

What Went Wrong

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Question 9 of 15

9. Vic is one prolific songwriter. What is the name of the Skandalous All-Stars album written almost entirely by Mr. Ruggiero? Hint

Punksteady

The Age of Insects

Understanding NJ/Living in Sin

Open Season

NEXT>

Question 10 of 15

10. Before deciding to stick to an 'old school' style of ska, the Slackers started out by playing in the hyper 2-Tone vein. What did the band later come to call their first 'incarnation'? Hint

The Jicks

The Redlights

The Srekcals

The Nods

NEXT>

Question 11 of 15

11. Which album cover does not picture any members of the band? Hint

Peculiar

The Question

Redlight

Wasted Days

NEXT>

Question 12 of 15

12. Who is DJ Mush-1? Hint

Jeremy Mushlin

Tobias Field

Glen Adams

Marq Lyn

NEXT>

Question 13 of 15

13. What song did the Slackers contribute to Radical Records' "Oi!/Skampilation 2: Skalloween"? Hint

In the Hall of the Mountain King

Ray Gun Sally

The Munsters' Theme

The Monster Mash

NEXT>

Question 14 of 15

14. According to an interview on NPR's 'All Things Considered', which tune did Vic call the 'saddest song he ever wrote'? Hint

Old Dog

Mommy

So This Is the Night

The Question

NEXT>

Question 15 of 15

15. What is the name of the Slackers' own vanity label? Hint

Version City

Rude & Reckless

Ladybug

Special Potato

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Vic Ruggiero, the band's vocalist, organist, and primary songwriter, has been credited under what nickname?

Answer: Lord Sluggo

Also 'Sir Lord Sluggo' and 'Ruggaroo'. This moniker seemed to make it onto the Stubborn All-Stars releases. 'Strikkly Vikkly' is a dub by Victor Rice; the other two I made up.

2. Aside from Vic, who was the only other founding member still performing with the band when 'Peculiar' was released?

Answer: Marcus Geard

At the time of this quiz's creation, Marcus is still holding down the low-end. Q-Maxx and TJ dropped out after 'Close My Eyes' and 'Wasted Days' was Zulu's last album.

3. On what label was their debut, 'Better Late Than Never', released?

Answer: Moon Ska

The band had a falling out with Moon after what they perceived as bad business management (and referred to Moon in print as "a bunch of *unprintable*." Ouch!)

4. What band has never boasted saxophonist 'Disco' Dave Hillyard as a member?

Answer: Eastern Standard Time

Dave played with Donkey Show and Hepcat before joining the Slackers. The Epistrophy 3 was a short-lived jazz trio with Dave, Vic, and TJ's brother Matt.

5. Jammyland Records re-released 'Better Late Than Never' after the original went out of print. Among the bonus tracks on the reissue was a cover of a song by which group?

Answer: The Yardbirds

The Yardbirds' 'Certain Girl' is found on the Jammyland reissue. The Slackers redid Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead or Alive' for 'Metalliska,' a comp of ska bands covering metal tunes. To my knowledge, they have never covered Toots or Sonic Youth (though I'd love to hear them take on either!).

6. The album 'Live at Ernesto's' was recorded in what European city?

Answer: Sitard, Netherlands

Before the encore, an audience member (presumably Ernesto) can be heard giving an excited re-introduction in Dutch.

7. The rhythm section has seen some changes over the years, including guitarist Jay Nugent and drummer Ara Babajian. What band was founded in part by these two gentlemen?

Answer: Agent 99

Jay and Ara have played all over the NY ska scene in the days since Agent 99, gracing the ranks of the Stubborn All-Stars, Crazy Baldhead, the Version City Rockers, and the Skandalous All-Stars, to name just a few.

8. Trombonist and heart-throb Glen Pine has really shown some chops in the vocal department. Which of these songs is not sung by Pine?

Answer: Shankbon

Pine is credited with writing 'Shankbon', but it is an instrumental and thus vocal-less. My favorite of his compositions is 'Mountainside,' which as far as I can tell is the first ska song to include sitar.

9. Vic is one prolific songwriter. What is the name of the Skandalous All-Stars album written almost entirely by Mr. Ruggiero?

Answer: The Age of Insects

While I generally consider the Skandalous All-Stars to be an ill-advised novelty for the most part (all cover ska band--hmmm...), Vic did it right by suggesting he actually compose almost all of their third album. Made up of songs he felt did not suit the Slackers, 'Age of Insects' is largely a concept album about the apocalypse in its different forms (and is an excellent listen).

10. Before deciding to stick to an 'old school' style of ska, the Slackers started out by playing in the hyper 2-Tone vein. What did the band later come to call their first 'incarnation'?

Answer: The Nods

1999 saw the release of "Before There Were Slackers, There Were the Nods," a collection of all their older recordings. While I'm glad they are what they are now, those recordings were pretty great in their own right. The Jicks are Stephen Malkmus' (from Pavement) backing band, and the Redlights are a side project of Vic and Glen. Sreckals is just Slackers spelled backwards.

11. Which album cover does not picture any members of the band?

Answer: Wasted Days

The other three each show Vic (hmm, attention-hog?), and the 'Peculiar' cover shows Glen holding a shirtless Vic on a leash.

12. Who is DJ Mush-1?

Answer: Jeremy Mushlin

The band's original trumpet-player, Jeremy stretched his toasting skills on the Version City compilation and several Slackers' cuts, including a dub on "Live at Ernesto's!". He went on to perform with the group Fireproof.

13. What song did the Slackers contribute to Radical Records' "Oi!/Skampilation 2: Skalloween"?

Answer: The Munsters' Theme

Though very appropriate, I read that the Slackers were not thrilled that the only track of their including on this release was a minute-long toss-off.

14. According to an interview on NPR's 'All Things Considered', which tune did Vic call the 'saddest song he ever wrote'?

Answer: So This Is the Night

Vic said he wrote this about a girl who broke not only his heart, but his faith in humans. The guy's got a talent--all the other songs are pretty damn sad, too.

15. What is the name of the Slackers' own vanity label?

Answer: Special Potato

Special Potato is an imprint under which the Slackers camp releases their own projects, including Vic's solo work, Sic and Mad, the Nods, and the Rocksteady 7. I'm guessing the name is a reference to 2-Tone cliches.

Source: Author aeroflot

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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