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THE CHANCERS- living in a rudeboy paradise!


There were eight of them. They were desperate. They wanted something new. They wanted something extra. They came together in a land far away and produced something that no one expected.

Friendly Fire!

The new CD from The Chancers, eastern Europe' s top rockin ska band. Fronted by the enigmatic Simon Ruffskank and featuring an eight-piece line up of horns, keyboards and rhythm section. Four years of constant touring around Europe has culminated in the recording of their latest CD at Sono studios.
They did it old school, analogue, and live. Marco McKee, guitarist, commented: ' We' ve tried to move outside the usual cliches and conventions of ska and produce something new.
The different influences in the band come out on this record. I suppose it' s a mixture of ska, soul, rock' n' roll and even a little bit of jazz.' Simon Ruffskank added ' But it' s definitely in the tradition of two tone, which has always been about mixing it up.'

The first single from the album is ' Rudeboy Paradise' , a high energy stomp through the foothills of ska mythology. ' We tried to talk about the way people believe stereotypes about the music and Jamaica. With a bit of social comment. Innit.' Yes, The Chancers keep it political. If you liked the mixture of sex and politics on their debut CD, ' Rudeboy Polka' (' one hit after another' you won' t be able to stop dancing. You can' t sit while listening to this record.!' Rock&Pop magazine) you' re going to love songs like ' Teaser' and ' Teach the Rich' , (all new versions of songs featured on the ltd. edition EP which was single of the month in Rock and pop and Show magazines) Live favourites like ' Drug Wars' and ' Babylon makes the rules' , make a first recorded appearance. Also included is a bonus 5 minute remix of ' East of Kingston' , by Slovak project, Net, continuing the Chancers tradition of experimenting across musical boundaries.

Like the Clash having a party at Judge Dread' s house with Eddie Floyd doing the catering and Lee Perry burning down the house, Friendly Fire is not just another ska CD full of the same rhythms and happy tunes.

It' s about life.

Brief History
The Chancers were formed in the summer of 1998, when a group of like-minded musicians combined for a one off concert. Since then the band line up has changed dramatically as they have taken their ideas and music around the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Austria and Hungary, playing anywhere with a floor and an audience keen to embrace their interpretation of the ska sound. Highlights of the past years include playing on the first Prague concert of English Two Tone legends The Selecter (later supported them in Vienna as well), sharing the bill with visiting modern ska bands like Skunk, Spunge, The Hotknives and The Blaster Master, and an invitation to perform at the Sziget festival in Budapest, where The Chancers stole the show with their energetic dance stylings.

On the recording front the band followed up their ' Tuffer Than Tomorrow EP' with a full album, ' Rudeboy Polka' , released on their own label. The album has garnered favourable reviews from a number of publications including Rolling Stone , Show!, Big Beng and Rock and Pop magazines, not to mention a clutch of ska fanzines across Europe and North America .On their most recent release, the four track ' Teach the Rich' ep The Chancers have broken new ground by working with top Czech remixers Nana Zorin and DJ Wich (voted as DJ of the year 2001 in Czech Grammy Awards). Their position as the top ska band in the Czech Republic was confirmed by a band profile and interview on Czech Television' s flagship music programme, Letadlo, and frequent airplay on national and local radio.

The Chancers are:
Simon Ruffskank - vocals - Stephen Elder - vocals, banjo - Marco McKee - guitar/vocals/harmonica - Milan Srba - alt sax - Honza Vedral - tenor sax- Pavel Homer - keys - BigB - bass - Vagi - drums


Discography
1999 Tuffer Than Tomorrow EP (Slavska)
2001 Rudeboy Polka LP (Slavska)
2002 International Reggaemartxaska (Skunk Diskak, compilation, details at skunkdiskak.free.fr )
2002 Teach The Rich EP (Slavska)
2003 Friendly Fire LP (U:Bahn)

Live Regular gigs in Prague and around the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and all points further east. Extensive tours of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Festival appearances at Sziget (Hungary), Visegrad (Hun), Reggae Ethnic Session, Anti Society Fest and Czechtek.

Performed with The Selecter (Vienna), Skunk (Basque Country), Spunge, The Hotknives, Zen Baseball Bat, Rude Rich and the Highnotes, Los Pasajeros, Panteon Rococo, The Exploited'