At the block party Saturday at the Big Top in New Orleans, ska bands played for several hundred people for nine hours, blowing their horns, smashing their drums and rocking out on their guitars, basses and mics. Of the many bands that played, the Ta-Ta Destroyers were one of the bands to make the fans skank hardest, a form of dance that involves clenched fists, swinging arms and kicking legs known to “rude” boys and girls, or ska enthusiasts.
Founded in January 2007, the Ta-Ta Destroyers, comprised of Alex Martin (lead vocals, guitar), Tyler Blanchard (lead guitar), Luke Dupre (bass), Brandon Rivet (drums) and newcomer Mike Plaisance (rhythm guitar), are Houma’s own ska, reggae and rock band.
“With a pinch of everything else,” said Blanchard.
“Like Marylin Manson meets The Doors,” Martin added.
“Whatever we come up with, we play,” Dupre finished with a nod.
Like their diverse musical style, each member comes from a different genre of music. Where Rivet comes from a swamp pop and oldies band, Blanchard from a metal band, Martin from a soul/rhythm and blues group, Dupre a punk band and Plaisance a gospel and rock band.
“We’re able to read the crowd because of our diversity,” Blanchard said.
“Yeah, we’re real crowd pleasers,” Martin added with a broad smile.
And with inspirations like Sublime, Bob Marley, Darkest Hour, Jack Johnson, Punk Rock Paul, Gwar, video games and coffee, it would be hard not to please the people they play for.
Of the five young men, only Dupre is an active student at Nicholls, but Martin and Blanchard, who are former students, have thought about going back. But Nicholls wasn’t how they knew one another. The band was decided in the outcome of a game of Heroscape gone wrong.
The group, except for Martin, had been long-time friends and always hung out at Rivet’s house. Martin used to tag along to chill out, not quite bothering to become acquainted with Rivet.
One night, however, Martin kicked off the band’s conception, after exclaiming that he had not rolled a losing number with his dice in Heroscape.
“It was weird: one minute Alex was yelling at us; the next he wanted to make a band,” Blanchard said.
As the game went on, Martin’s irritated state rose to unbelievable levels.
“I kicked Brandon out of his own house at one point,” Martin said with a laugh.
At the time, Martin was part of an indie band with some friends of his. He resorted to kicking them out to make room for Blanchard, Rivet and Dupre – Plaisance having joined the Ta-Ta Destroyers only in December of last year.
“It was a last-minute thing,” Dupre said. A last-minute thing that’s traveled as far west as San Antonio, Texas, and east as far as McComb, Miss. In fact, the group has become so popular that their EP album, “Zombies Ate My Neighbors,” is leading to their first full-length album with Dead Swamp studios. The same person who did The Ta-Ta Destroyers’ EP album, Adam Clement, will be working the new album.
“The band plans on recording from nine to ten songs that we have been playing at shows, so there may be no surprises,” Dupre said with a shrug.
