Post Your Covers! (2026)

Thanks so much John!

I actually thought I came off a bit stiff; maybe I’m just too critcal.
Thanks again.

Today I dug into some 2-Tone ska and covered a song about friendship.

The Specials - Racist Friend (1984)

This is one of the more syncopated lines I’ve played, and while there are a couple of spots where my timing could be tighter, overall I’m pretty happy with this. Especially considering it took me less than a week.

Also very happy with the La Bella Deep Talkin’ Flats I put on this thing.

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Great cover of an excellent song! :+1:

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More catch-up!!

I didn’t go to boarding school, but know plenty that did, and are scarred to this day. You have my empathy, @Mktony32

Well played, @Professor.

Love this song! I’m going to have to cover it too!! Well played, @justarookie!!

Fantastic playing, @BassFusion. Great tone too!!

Devilishly good, @vader!! :smiling_face_with_horns:

I’ve also covered this one, @Professor. It’s the kind of song that just pulls you into the groove!!

We’ve had a go at this one in the band, it’s interesting to see how others approach it. If I could offer a couple of critiques, the first is about seeking an evenness of note volumes throughout, and the second to focus on eradicating a slight hesitation around some of the chord changes. This can be difficult when playing repetitive 8ths, there is nowhere to hide. I think the trick is to be thinking ahead to where you need to land the finger next. I don’t always get it right, but it’s something to be aware of and aspire to. Well played, none the less!

Well played, @Vader!! Great tune!!

Apparently, it’s been let be!! Well played, @JerryP. I do like your wall of basses, but I said that before!!

Well played, @CrayWolf. This song takes me back to growing up in the West Mids (UK) and witnessing racism first hand. The whole Ska / Two Tone movement was my musical “first love”.

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The Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

The last of AirB&B Bathroom Sessions, today I give you a bass cover of The Ramones song, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker. Another simple line, but relentless.

Recorded on vacation. We were staying in a one bedroom apartment, with my daughter sleeping in the lounge, so my early morning bass practice sessions were relegated to the bathroom :joy:. As you can see, I’m playing my beaten-up, Hofner Shorty, a bass I’m happy to take the neck off and shove in a suitcase.

The signal chain in this was the Shorty bass into GarageBand, via a Scarlett Solo. I added a bit of compression in GarageBand, plus used the ‘vintage bass amp’ sim, that’s it.

And remember, even if Sheena is in her 60s now, once a punk, always a punk!! :safety_pin: :sign_of_the_horns:

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Sounded great…the thumbnail was awesome.

Great job! Enjoyed that one!

Well played! I think you needed to turn up the bass in the mix on this one as I struggled to hear it at times.

That was great, Jerry! Well played. You’ve got your comments turned off on YT or I would have left a comment there as well. I liked the subdued dynamics with the light touch.

Nice tone…well played. I always thought 2-tone ska was a lot more upbeat…this one sounds like classic reggae to me.

Nice bounce in that bass line with the little hammer-ons…well played, Duncan!

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Thank you Duncan!

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Thank you JohnF! I’m not well versed in YouTube setup. I’ll go back and try to turn them on.

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Well done Duncan!

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thank you John

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thank you

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Thank you!

I’m the furthest thing from an expert on the genre, though I do know ska came first and reggae spawned from it, so there’s a lot of cross-influence. And this band founded 2 Tone Records, so I’m taking that as a sign. Third wave ska was known for being much more upbeat, but if I had to guess I’d be surprised if 2-tone wasn’t a transitional genre. My husband was into it in high school though, and he tells me he remembers 2-tone as being laid back and reggae like.

I figure defining musical genres gets fuzzy around the edges. :person_shrugging:

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Thank you, @sunDOG!

Thank you, @JohnF!

More to come - been dusting off the cobwebs from some of the stale 50 Songs Challenge posts. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Great job! I think it’s safe to say you’re the only person I trust enough to watch their early morning bathroom video without hesitation. :zany_face:

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Listen…I play mostly country, Americana and folk rock style stuff, so I have no business opining on whether something is reggae, ska, or two-tone :rofl: . Either way, it was a cool cover and I enjoyed it!

Thank you, and thank you.

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Thanks. And you may be right about the bass volume. It’s the age-old dilemma of being loud enough to be heard vs. feeling like you’re overpowering the song. Plus, sometimes I think I hear myself more than is really there when doing videos just because I know what I should be hearing so I’m subconsciously filling in sound that isn’t there.

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Frankly I’ve got no business with it either, I know just enough to probably annoy someone who knows better than me haha. But I do enjoy over-analyzing musical genres.

Thank you very much!

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You’re right. The Specials were more or less the founders of the 2 tone sound, and they fused Jamaican Ska with punk rock and other sounds. Their earlier stuff is definitely more upbeat, although Ghost Town, their biggest hit, was anything but.

But the band pretty much broke up in 1981, and the song here is from after that. In that time they were known as the Special AKA and had a lineup without many of the original members. They definitely mixed up their sound around that time.

Great cover @CrayWolf by the way. Perfect tone.

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Thank you! And thanks for filling in some of that ska history too.