Pheaturing Neville Staple

Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? Okay, I think I told you people on the Phile before that I don't like Bill Nye. Well, here's a story that almost made me like him just a smidge. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is truly the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to making the Internet pop off. She's constantly spinning gold via her tweets, Instagram posts, and public appearances, and she doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. What did we do to deserve her?! In typical AOC fashion, she wowed audiences and went viral this weekend during her panel at South by Southwest . The heavily attended event was called, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the New Left,” and the packed audience hung on to Ocasio-Cortez's every word. But perhaps the most memorable moment was when Bill Nye made a surprise appearance. When the moderator turned to the audience for questions, Bill Nye approached the mic to ask the freshman House Rep his own. He said, “I’m a white guy. I think the problem on both sides is fear. People of my ancestry are afraid to pay for everything as immigrants come into this country. People who work at the diner in Alabama are afraid to ask for what is reasonable. So do you have a plan to work with people in Congress that are afraid? That’s what’s going on with many conservatives especially when it comes to climate change. People are afraid of what happens when we try to make these big changes.” AOC agreed, as she gave him a standing ovation of her own after he asked his question. She then responded to him by saying, “One of the keys to dismantling fear is dismantling a zero-sum mentality... It means the rejection outright of the logic that says someone else’s gain necessitates my loss and that my gain MUST necessitate someone’s loss. We can give without a take. We’re viewing progress as a loss instead of as an investment. When we choose to invest in our system, we are choosing to create wealth. When we all invest in them, then the wealth is for all of us too.” And just when we thought we had reached peak content, the two had perhaps the most amazing Twitter exchange ever.

Bill Nye the Science Guy and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez make the cutest friendship duo, and I had no idea that I was craving it so much until now. Can we get these two a TV show, please? Ten out of ten would watch.
Maybe you're one of the millions of people in the United States who use marijuana for medical reasons. There are many who benefit from marijuana's medicinal properties. However, marijuana remains criminalized in most states and as a narcotic, there's still stigma and misunderstanding around its medical... and, let's be real, recreational... usage. One recent news story brought its contested status to the forefront in a way that's super dramatic... and people aren't pleased. This week a video began circulating on Twitter that depicts police officers searching a cancer patient's room for marijuana. The patient in question is Nolan Sousley, who's currently battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He uses CBD capsules to manage his weight loss, nausea, and appetite as he approaches the end of his life. Naturally, no marijuana was found... and Nolan stopped officers from searching the bag that contains his "final hour stuff." As the video made its way across Twitter, thousands of people weighed in on the incident. My question is: which medical personnel and/or fellow patient narc'd on Nolan? Sure, it's arguably immoral to interfere with a dying man's attempts to manage his late-stage cancer. But more importantly, it's uncool as fuck, and whoever's that pathologically lame should be outed and shamed accordingly. Call 1-800-LAME-NARC if you have tips.
One could argue that a great deal of progress has been made over the past few decades regarding the rights of LGBTQ people in the U.S. and around the world. The tides seem to be turning towards a world where nobody gives a fuck about the gender of who other people fuck and it's ABOUT DAMN TIME. But sadly, homophobia is still alive in 2019, even if its most vocal proponents are the very bottom of the barrel of human scum. If you're still a homophobe at this point, your company includes Mike Pence, a bunch of crusty old white guys in Congress, and losers who show up at LGBTQ events with signs that say things like "God hates fags" and "homosexuality is a sin." Yes, this shit still happens. People literally take the time out of their day to go to Kinko's and spend money to MAKE A SIGN telling other people who they can and cannot love. In the name of JESUS CHRIST, no less, a man whose whole schtick was supposed to be spreading kindness, love, and helping those less fortunate. Sometimes, the best way to respond to utterly ridiculous bigotry is with humor. One woman did exactly this, trolling a "Christian" protester with a homophobic sign by creating the perfect counter-sign:

Her sign beautifully highlights the hypocrisy of opposing LGBTQ events by... constantly going to them? And as a result, this photo has gone hugely viral on the Internet. Commenters are delighting in the perfection of her clapback. One Christian commenter perfectly broke down the ridiculousness of claiming homophobia in the name of Christianity and "God." Next stop for this sign-wielding hero: Mike Pence's house?
When surfing the web, it can often feel as if you're constantly dodging waves of garbage and hellfire that come in the form of Internet trolls and offensive memes. Fun! But sometimes the trash sea parts and makes way for a delicious treat in the form of an iconic tweet. Bon appétit, bitch, as the French kids say. The social media trash tsunami settled down for a moment Tuesday night when Hillary Clinton clapped back at Donald Trump via the most effective form of communication: a Mean Girl gif. At 5:18 p.m. on Tuesday night, Trump tweeted...

Then, at 5:57 p.m., Hillary Rodman Clinton made history yet again. Like any wise, modern woman, she responded to an Internet troll's petty attack with a Mean Girls reference. And not only did she clap back in the perfect way, she also did so with a subtweet, meaning she didn't even @ him. She beat him at his own Twitter game.

Naturally, the Internet took note of this epic subtweet and everybody dove in to sing Hillary's praises. I have never seen Mean Girls so I would not know what this meant. Haha. But beyond that, this gif is incredibly apt. The explicit accusation that Donald Trump is pathetically obsessed with Hillary Clinton is spot on, and her calling him out for it creates the perfect shade for us all to bask in. And the tea is made that much more sweet when considering the fact that she couldn't be bothered to tweet directly at him and instead went for the subtweet. It's an expert move, fit for a queen. For a pop culture blog, I feel I need to brush up on some stuff.
When teens aren't busy writing gun control legislation, they're rebelling against their parents and getting vaccinated. Ethan Lindbenberger, an 18-year-old from Ohio, testified at a Senate hearing about vaccinations and misinformation, standing firmly pro-vaccines and anti-propaganda. Last month, he went viral for the shots he decided to take on his 18th birthday: vaccinations against such diseases as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza and HPV. Lindbenberger addressed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday about his personal decision to get vaccinated, and why the misinformation his mother believed is so dangerous. The high school student didn't blame his mother, for it's his understanding that her intentions were to protect him. Lindenberger places the blame on social media companies and conspiracy sites that profit off of parents' desires to best look after their children by spreading lies that put them in danger. "For certain individuals and organizations that spread this misinformation, they instill fear into the public for their own gain selfishly, and do so knowing that their information is incorrect," Lindenberger said. "For my mother, her love, affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress, and these sources which spread misinformation should be the primary concern of the American people." Lindenberger described in his prepared testimony how being raised anti-vaccine affected his life. "I was pulled out of class every year and told that if I did not receive my shots, I wouldn’t be able to attend my high school," he explained. "But, every year, I was opted out of these immunizations and, because of current legislation, I was allowed to attend a public high school despite placing my classmates in danger of contracting multiple preventable diseases." Ohio is one of 17 states in the union that allows parents to opt-out of mandatory vaccinations for philosophical or moral reasons. Sadly, "I read it on Facebook" counts as a philosophy, but thankfully, today's kids learn from their parents' mistakes.
So, instead of doing this blog thing maybe I should be listening to this album...

Ummm... maybe not. If you're thinking of cheating on your loved one you might wanna think twice after seeing this...

Oh, man, that breaks my heart. Dave, you fucked up, man. If I had a TARDIS I would probably end up in St. Louis, Missouri in 1852 and come across a group of men posing in front of Lynch's Slave Market. I wouldn't know what to do...

Hope they all bought a Django each. At the State of the Union address a few weeks ago some Democrats sure gave same shady looks. Like Senator Ed Markey for example...

There was some satisfying clapbacks at Fox News throughout Internet history. Take a look...

This is listed in the dictionary under "self-own." So, one of the best things about the Internet is you can see porn free and so easily. The problem with that is if you're at school or work you might get in trouble. Also, I'd rather you read this blog then look at porn. But if you have to then I have a solution...

You are welcome.

If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, so, there's this nun from a local Catholic school who likes to drop by the Phile now and then. I never really like what she has to say, but I let her say what she wants to say anyway. So, please welcome back to the Phile...

Me: Hello, Sister, how are you?

Sister Xtian: Depressed.

Me: Depressed? I'm sorry.

Sister Xtian: The worst thing about depression is that knowing 150 years ago treatment would have been vibrators and heroin.

Me: Well... why are you depressed?

Sister Xtian: A cop pulled over my car which was full of nuns. The cop says, “Sister, the speed limit on this highway is 55 mph. Why are you going so slow?” I replied, “I saw a lot of signs that said 41, not 55.” The cop says, “Sister, that’s the name of the highway, not the speed limit.” “Silly me,” I said.  “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be more careful.” But then the copy glanced in the back seat where the other nuns are quaking with fear. He asked, “Excuse me, Sister, what’s wrong with your friends?” I said, “Oh, we just got off Highway 101.”

Me: I do not get that one bit.

Sister Xtian: You wouldn't. Now excuse me why I go find my soulmate who is somewhere out there probably balls deep in some how right now who isn't even funny.

Me: Sister Xtian... the nun who doesn't give a damn, kids.

The birthday girl is straight-up APPALLED at her mother’s behavior in the before pic. But if her mom is anything like the rest of us, that kid doesn’t know the half of it! Okay, there's a local teacher who is not having a good time and wants to come by and say something. So, once again please welcome to the Phile...

Me: Hello, Ms. Laststraw, you didn't quit teaching, right?

Ms. Laststraw: No, but aI almost quit.

Me: Really? What happened?

Ms. Laststraw: My class was wild and unruly. Totally out of control. I rubbed my forehead in frustration and I stood up yelling, "FUCK EVERY ONE OF YOU!" I almost grabbed my bag and walked out.

Me: I'm glad you didn't. Did you get in trouble?

Ms. Laststraw: No, a child in the class said it was singularly her fault and she still feel really bad about it.

Me: I'm sorry, Ms. Laststraw, take a day off.

Ms. Laststraw: I did. I'm going to the bar.

Me: Ms. Laststraw, the teacher that wants to quit, kids.

Since your own voice sounds much better to you than it actually does, imagine what Morgan Freeman hears when he speaks!

If you're a news junkie, then you know that Robert Kraft... owner of this year's Super Bowl championship team the New England Patriots... was recently arrested for purchasing sex acts at a Florida massage parlor. Not a great look to be charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution, tbh. But wait! The plot thickens thanks to our Cheeto In Chief. Friday the Miami Herald published a photo of Trump posing with the woman who founded the parlor Kraft was busted for patronizing.

When the news of Kraft's illegal indiscretion was reported, Trump said, "Well, it's very sad. I was very surprised to see it. He's proclaimed his innocence, totally. But I'm very surprised to see it." OH REALLY? Kraft is a frequent guest at Mar-a-Lago and owns a home in the Palm Beach area. Math was never my strength in school, but I'm doing some quick mental calculations and... does anyone else think that Trump A) already knew about this shit and B) purchased sex at the same parlor? It's just a hunch! The Internet is similarly unsurprised. Could this man be any more predictable? Would you expect anything less from a serial cheater and alleged abuser of women? C'mon. 

A blonde, worried about the HIV crisis, walks into a drugstore and purchases a pack of condoms. "That will be $1.08, please," says the clerk. "What's the eight cents for?" asks the blonde. "It says one dollar right here on the packaging." "Tax," replies the clerk. "Gee," says the blonde, "I thought you just rolled them on and they stayed put." 

Today's guest is a Jamaican born English singer for the two-tone ska band, the Specials as well as his own combo, The Neville Staple Band. His latest album "Return of Judge Roughneck & Dub Specials" is available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify and his book, which came out ten years ago,  

Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to The Specials is the 94th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club. Please welcome to the Phile... Neville Staple.

Me: Hello, Neville, welcome to the Phile. How are you, sir? 

Neville: It's horrible to here. I'm joking!

Me: Most people would know you from the Specials, Neville. You don't play with them anymore, right? Why is that?

Neville: Went back for the reunion with three tours then after that I just fancied doing my own thing again. If you remember, when I was living in America in California I was doing my own band, the Neville Staple Band. When I came back to England the Specials were reforming I thought I missed seeing the fans that loved seeing the Specials. After awhile I thought let me go do my own thing. I came back and the people that knew the Specials thought me and the rest of them. There was no drama in me leaving.

Me: Do you prefer being in your own band?

Neville: Yeah, because my band they know what I'm like when I'm on stage and everyone seems to enjoy themselves, they really enjoy playing with the Neville Staple Band. It's more fun. They are not restricted like the song "Message to You Rudy" is three and a half minutes, well, my band will play what the crowd wants. Or if we played my song, "Ghost Town," we could do what we want. If the crowd wants more we just carry on with different instruments or get the crowd to sing. It's kinda more looser.

Me: Do any of the Specials play in your band?

Neville: No, not really to be honest with you. I aways try to get Roddy to come on stage with me because he lives in Coventry, lives just up the road, and there's no animosity amongst us. I see Terry because he lives in London. but Lynval, he lives in Seattle so can't really see him.

Me: Where do you live?

Neville: I'm living in Coventry.

Me: So, I have to ask you about the two-tone thing. Was all that planned out with a bunch of friends getting together? How did it start and explain what it is.

Neville: Jerry Dammers had the idea became he went to college. Basically he had the idea because around Coventry there was a lotta fighting against the National Front and they used to fight the blacks and whatever nationality. Jerry got the band together to sing those songs basically what he done he got different backgrounds in the band. My background was off the street background and he needed that kinda toasting, I was on the sound system so he kinda knew that was my background I was bit of a rude boy. Not naughty naughty, but the way I used to dress. Anyway, so we got together and he got some couple of guys, Terry was not with them at the time. Brad was not with them at the time. I was with them but I was just tidying up wires, I was a roadie. After being a roadie, when they rehearsed in the youth club with a different singer that's when I used to go around these little gigs with them. One day when I was with them in London I started toasting, what they call DJing now, and then Jerry says "come on" because the crowd cheered and they shined a spot light on me. The crowd started to get excited, because I don't know if you know what I'm like, I'm a bit energetic entertainer basically. He called me on stage and that was it.

Me: Wow. Were you inspiring to be a musician at the time or did this just sort of happen?

Neville: No, no, no. I grew up with music from Jamaica and came to England and I was still involved with music with a sound system from my cousin so I've always been an entertainer at home, at clubs. In someway of it weren't the Specials I'd still be entertaining but with the Specials it did bring the blacks and whites together in Coventry. Regardless of that I still would've been entertaining and DJing and things like that.

Me: Did you know the guys from the Beat as well?

Neville: Yeah, they lived just down the road in Birmingham they used to rehearse with us and done a few shows with the Specials. That's how I got to know Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger 'cause they supported us in a couple shows.

Me: You must still be good friends with them, right?

Neville: I'm friendly with Roger and I'm friendly with Dave when he's in England, I go to his shows and we talk about old times. Roger lives down the road so I see him regularly.

Me: Was there any competition between all these bands like the Specials, the Selector, the Beat, Madness?

Neville: No, we were always doing our own thing. When the Specials started we were just dong our own thing and so it happens Jerry wanted these bands on the 2 Tone label so there was no competition at all. This is what it's like, we were the first ones to start it, the Specials, and we had the label so we got Madness, the Beat, Bodysnatchers, everybody on board.

Me: What was it like when your first hit single "Gangsters" came out?

Neville: Well, to be honest with you it was quite fantastic because I've always wanted to be on TV and I thought that'd be great. I don't know how to explain this to be honest with you.

Me: Okay, so, your nickname is the Original Rudeboy. Where did that come from?

Neville: I always had nice clothes so that's why they called me Rudeboy. I dressed rude, I looked rude, that's where it comes from. I dressed looking slick. They would say, "Boy, you look rude." Rudeboy also from Jamaica, Bob Marley, Pete Tosh, they used to call them Rudeboys. I'm a good Rudeboy if you know what I mean.

Me: So, how did you guys get hooked up with Elvis Costello to produce the first album?

Neville: To be honest with you we loved what he'd done and he loved the Specials and we needed a producer. I can't remember how the idea came but everybody was up for it for Elvis to produce us because we loved his music so much. It was brilliant working in that studio with Elvis.

Me: Cool, my dad was a big fan of the Specials and played the first album a lot at home and in the car. So, what role did Jerry Dammers have? Was he in charge?

Neville: He started the 2 Tone label and said lets get individual people, black, white, let's get together and form the Specials. He was writing the songs but a lot of people didn't know this but I was putting little bits in the songs as well like "Too Much To Young" and "Monkey Man." For me working with Jerry I don't know if I should say this but I was putting the black side across. It's hard to explain, everybody had different input to the band.

Me: Myself I prefer the second Specials album, "More Specials," which has slightly less of the ska sound, then with Fun Boy Three, your next band it had a whole new sound. Why did you guys move away from the ska sound?

Neville: We stepped a little bit too quick with the second album. I thought we should of done another album like the first album. But Jerry had the insight, or his vision was to step up but I think it stepped up too quickly.

Me: Did you guys talk about bringing Elvis back to produce that second album?

Neville: Yeah, it would've been nice but I guess he got busy as well. It would've been nice for him to do the second album, we would had the same kinda flow.

Me: So, how did you guys, Terry, Lynval and yourself go and form Fun Boy Three?

Neville: What it was was members of the band weren't getting on 100% and we just needed a change. We weren't fighting to leave or anything like that, we just fancied a change so we thought alright, let's give this a go. We could write some different stuff but I was never fed up with ska, it was just like a stepping stone for a little bit of change.

Me: Would you have guessed that the music you made in the late 70s would be as popular as it is today?

Neville: There's a lot of young bands coming up that are doing their version of ska. Ska hasn't died at all in England or in Jamaica, it's only in America where you're getting these raps.

Me: So, how did Fun Boy Three come to an end?

Neville: To be honest, I got fed up I'm not scared to say. I got fed up doing the Fun Boy Three thing. It was great when it happened at the time but I wanted to go back to my ska roots because ska had never died for me. I grew up with it, so after I was in Fun Boy Three I thought let me go back and that's when the Special Beat came.

Me: Okay, so, I was a HUGE fan of Bananarama back then and that's how I first started to hear Fun Boy Three, from my dad's 45 of you guys. How did those girls get involved with you guys? And man, I wish I could interview any of them ladies. Haha.

Neville: Okay, with Bananarama we needed some backing vocals and we heard about these three girls who just started to sing so we said let's give them a little break, a little try. So, they came on with some backing vocals. They weren't used to being in the studio, so when they came into the studio they were a bit shy. One of them said, "We'll always remember this, Neville, we came in when we were shy, you took us under your wings and told us not to be shy." I get along with most people and know how to deal or talk to people. That made it more comfortable.

Me: Did you have any idea they would go on and be gigantic?

Neville: With a bit of work. Then my mate, Pete Waterman he saw the insight of them. He was a part of Stock Aitken Waterman. That's my mate Pete, I knew him before all of this. So he saw the insight of getting these girls together, pushing them, writing songs for them, and because they were very poppy that's what kinda lifted them up to stardom if you want to call it.

Me: Did you guys date any of those girls?

Neville: To be honest we were just friends, I was a gentleman.

Me: Hahahahaha. you're a better man than I am. Okay, so, after Fun Boy Three what did you do after that?

Neville: Let's see, I moved to America, I was playing my own thing called Neville Staple and the Hitmen. I just enjoyed it because it was a different type of feeling, When I played ska in the states it was a lot faster.

Me: I didn't know until I read your bio that David Byrne produced the second Fun Boy Three album. How did that come to be?

Neville: We loved Talking Heads and when we were doing the next album we thought who could we get to do it that we liked a lot. So we thought... ding! David Byrne. We went to see him concert a few times and we spoke to him and he was such a lovely, lovely chap.

Me: Was he a big fan of you guys?

Neville: Yeah, he did like what we did with the Specials and Fun Boy Three. We just got on like a house on fire.

Me: When you first came to America what was your initial reaction?

Neville: In some places they didn't like blacks and white guys playing. It didn't bother me but I knew some of those places we played they were very racist. But like with the Specials we were gonna play anywhere. We weren't gonna be stopped because they were black and white mixing. Even in Chicago was a bit racist.

Me: You mentioned the band you were in Special Beat... what was that?

Neville: In America they hadn't had a lot of Special stuff. They were listening to it but they didn't see anybody who was in those bands. We got the two bands together and we thought let's play America again. It went down pretty well to be honest with you.

Me: Okay, so, I have to talk about your last album "The Return of Judge Roughneck." I'll show the cover here so people can know what to look for...

Me: What can you'll us about it and who is Judge Roughneck?

Neville: That's just me playing what I like and how I see the music changing. Judge Roughneck is really what's in my heart when I play that or recorded that album. I gotta say though, not that I'm getting old, but my wife she helped me produce that and we write the lyrics together. I guess we were gonna get something, a different feel. She grew up listening to ska as well. We sorta combined what she knew and what I know and we put them together because we're married now. "Judge Roughneck" is a song I've done with the Specials.

Me: Neville, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope you this was fun. Please come back on the Phile soon. All the best.

Neville: Thanks, Jason, take care.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to my guest Neville Staple. The Phile will be back tomorrow with singer-songwriter Rupert Holmes. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon