A lot of ska purists may be disturbed by the punk-ska fusion of Goldfinger or the funk-, R&B-, pop- and disco-ska blend of No Doubt, but don't tell it to Toasters vocalist Rob "Bucket" Hingley.

Hingley, whose band has led the "third wave" of ska music's revival for more than 10 years, says ska has always been a musical hybrid."A lot of people are scared, and they say, `Ska music's going to get commercialized and popular, and it'll get ruined.' But I don't think so, because ska's really a mutational beast," he said in a recent interview.

"When the music started, it took various types of African rhythms and American R&B and jazz and calypso, and stuck it all together into this funky ball called ska," Hingley said. "Since then, every generation has changed the music to fit the needs of the kids."

The Toasters will perform with the Aquabats as part of the Moonstomp Tour, which pulls into Salt Lake City for a Wednesday, Oct. 30, concert at Spanky's, 45 W. Broadway.

However, the Toasters haven't changed their more traditional, yet fast-paced ska style. Quite the opposite is true, in fact.

"Hard Band For Dead," the Toasters' sixth studio album, doesn't deviate much from its successful musical formula. Alongside brisk originals like "2-Tone Army" and "I Wasn't Going to Call You Anyway" are covers of "Secret Agent Man" and Prince Buster's "Hard Man Fe Dead."

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Even though the CD has gotten more in the way of radio airplay than any of the band's releases to date, the Toasters still make their real mark with live performances - they continue to play as many as 200 live shows per year. That's helped the group survive a few really lean years.

Ska music's longevity doesn't surprise Hingley. In fact, he said he's always been convinced that the musical spotlight would hit it eventually.

"In the early '80s, when we were starting out, people actually told me to my face, `You're never going to get anywhere playing this music,' These are the same people who now want to distribute our records," Hingley said.

Locals Model Citizen will open the all-ages show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance from the club during business hours, Modified Music in Salt Lake City and all Smith'sTix outlets. It is a joint Audio Spank and Unity Squad production.

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