THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1999

Fans get riled up at concert

By Ken Hanson

On-Line Forty-Niner

With the tide of third-wave ska beginning to ebb, Hepcat stands out as one of the best traditional ska bands to date.

The University Student Union brought the band out to the masses on Wednesday.

Hepcat, with smooth reggae styling, traditional rhythms and exceptional talent, wowed the large crowd that gathered in the USU South Plaza.

The band, without backing vocalist Alex Desert, was magnificent despite the handicap. Trumpet player Kincaid Smith did a remarkable job of filling in for Desert.

The band was able to get about 15 people up and dancing at the noontime concert. Most of the dancing students already knew of Hepcat from previous performances at the Vans Wrapped Tour and Reggae Sun Splash. On some of the more popular tunes, people in the crowd sang along with the band's lead singer and founder, Greg Lee.

Lee even let the audience request a few songs. The first request was an old traditional song, "Monkey Ska." Only a few in the crowd knew it, but that did not inhibit the mood or message to all.

Hepcat has been around for several years. It had a modest start at Moon Ska Records with the debut album "Out of No Where."

The band's second release was on BYO records, and finally released "Right On Time," on Hell Cat records, which is co-owned by Tim Armstrong of Rancid.

Hepcat's popularity has been a long time coming. The band just sold a song from the new album for use in a TV commercial.

"I love it," Lee said after the concert. "But we still have a long way to go."