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The Preschoolers - 'Scott Chester, Boy Next Door (1994​)​'

from Various Artists - Towson​-​Glen Arm Freakouts: 1992​-​1999 by Nuns Like To Fence

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about

April 1994
(orignally released by Death Ska Records in August 1994 on the tape "Kumite: Banned In 36 Countries", produced by Bob Phair)

You can't talk about Towson-Glen Arm without mentioning The Preschoolers, the most beloved band to emerge from the entire scene and the single most innovative American ska band ever. The group formed in autumn 1993 from the ashes of The Nudists, a musical performance art ensemble then already legendary for giving birth to the whole Towson-Glen Arm movement back in summer 1992. The main musical trait that made The Preschoolers unique within American ska was the fact that their compositions were almost exclusively influenced by the 60s Jamiacan ska sound and all of its pan-African inspirations and related genres(i.e., rock steady, reggae, dance hall, dub, American jazz, blue beat, soul, 70's funk, early r'n'b, etc.), a swath of influences at odds with that of most 90's "3rd wave" ska bands whose work tended to be primarily informed by alternative rock and ska-core. With the eccentric leftist Dave Willemain as their front man and a composer of much of the group's material, The Preschoolers' shows and recordings were one-of-a-kind revolutionary tributes to everything that was irreverent and subversive at the end of the 20th century. This heady take on the Jamaican sound captured the collective imagination of kids from all over Baltimore County who in turn regularly filled Preschoolers gigs to capacity. Throughout their 2+ year existence they endured many personnel changes, but here on the 1994 recording of their most popular tune 'Scott Chester,Boy Next Door' The Preschoolers included Willemain on trombone and lead vocals plus Bob Phair on trumpet, Eddie Macintosh (then known as Eddie Piper) on saxophone, Lee Versoza on bass, Chris Teret on guitar, Luke Mysko on baritone horn, Joe Mysko on drums, and Stephanie Rabins on violin with a blaring back up vocal overdub consisting of all these members. Few tracks to come out of our scene got rowdier than this one with its mesh of absurdism, suburban teenage in-jokes, political name dropping, and Willemain's ecstatically blasphemous lyrics: "Who's the new messiah?/His name is Scott Chester/I say who's the new messiah and who is the bestaaaaahhh!!!?"

Add a monumental composition (complete with an intro lifted from the theme to Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'), a wild loose performance, and a perfectly distorted production, and what you get is complete musical pandemonium; in other words, the quintessential Towson-Glen Arm recording. - Mike Apichella

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from Various Artists - Towson​-​Glen Arm Freakouts: 1992​-​1999, released February 28, 2013

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