The Westchester Township History Museum will host its Meet the Author series at 2 p.m. Feb. 20 at 700 W. Porter Ave. Local author Heather Augustyn will present her book "Ska: An Oral History."
Before Bob Marley brought reggae to the world, before Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, before thousands of musicians played a Jamaican rhythm, there were the men and women who created ska music, a blend of jazz, American rhythm and blues, and the indigenous music of the Caribbean.
"Ska: An Oral History" tells the story of ska music and its development from Jamaica to England, where the music took on a distinctly different tone, and finally to the rest of the world. Through the words of legendary artists, gleaned from more than a decade of interviews, the story of ska music is finally told by those who were there.
Author Heather Augustyn spent more than a decade interviewing ska artists and musicians and researching the music and culture of Jamaica and England. Included in her book are never-before heard words from such greats as The Skatalites' Doreen Schaeffer, Roland Alphonso, Lloyd Brevett, Lloyd Knibb, and Lester Sterling; Derrick Morgan and Patsy (Millicent Todd); Lyn Taitt; Laurel Aitken; Toots Hibbert; Millie Small; Alex Hughes (Judge Dread); The Specials' Roddy Byers (Roddy Radiation); The Beat's Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger; The Selecter's Pauline Black; Lee "Kix" Thompson of Madness; and Buster Bloodvessel of Bad Manners.
Augustyn has been a correspondent for The Times of Northwest Indiana. She is also contributing editor for Shore Magazine and columnist for Get Healthy Magazine. She has written for a variety of national publications, such as The Village Voice, In These Times, The Humanist, and World Watch Magazine. She was the last person to interview legendary novelist Kurt Vonnegut before his death in 2007. She lives in Chesterton with her husband, Ron, and their two boys. She teaches writing at Chesterton Montessori School.
Copies of "Ska: An Oral History" will be available for sale. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call the museum at (219) 983-9715.
