Marc Wasserman

Marc Wasserman has the unique distinction of co-founding the first ska/reggae band from New Jersey: Bigger Thomas. The band, once known as Panic!, called the Trenton, NJ punk club City Gardens home. Bigger Thomas played shows from Boston to Washington, DC and released four albums of 2-Tone inspired ska and reggae. In 1991 they toured with legendary ska outfit The Selecter.

It was after discovering the New York ska scene of the mid-‘80s and attending shows at CBGB's, The Continental, and the Cat Club that Marc realized his love of ska and reggae was to be the path he would follow. A student of the genre and its multifaceted history, Marc instinctively took to music at an early age. His informal education started with classic albums by The Beatles, Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass Band, Tony Orlando & Dawn, and The 5th Dimension; sounds inherited from his parents’ music collection. He heard The Specials first self-titled album when he was 14 and it was love at first listen. He was drawn to the band's unique mix of punk energy and ska rhythms, their outsider status, and their fashion sense. He quickly became a fan of 2-Tone ska; early UB40, Steel Pulse, The Clash, reggae, and all the new wave music of the early ‘80s.

After reading that Paul Simonon of The Clash had taught himself to play bass, Marc picked up a cheap 4-stringer from a Sears catalog and followed suit. In 2014 Marc co-founded Rude Boy George; a New York-based band that re-imagines popular ‘80s new wave songs in a ska and reggae style. The band has recorded two albums and regularly performs around the NY Metro area. He is also a member of dub pop trio Heavensbee, an original studio music project that takes its inspiration from ska, dub, reggae, ‘80s new wave, and electronica. The band has recorded one album: Soul Mates, that was released on Specialized Records in the U.K.

Marc also writes the popular ska blog Marco On The Bass, which is the foundation of his documentation and research on the origins and birth of the American ska scene. Marc’s first book is a collection of essays and interviews that tell the history of the American ska movement and it is a study of the culture's impact and influence on a burgeoning American scene.