Jokes for feelings had humble beginnings in 2006 but soon became a synergized magnet. Led by Band Frontman, Lead Guitarist, and Vocalist Josh Raphael from Palm Springs, California, the Bay Area ska band has been 17 years in the making with roots in Southern California pop-punk. Satirical, upbeat, transformative, and vibey good times music embodies the saying, “If life gives you lemons, then make lemonade.” With albums like “We Don’t Need Your Label Anyways” and “Kill Your Ego Split” speak to overcoming a musician’s everyday misfortunes, relationships, and economic struggles with a smile.  

“We just write about what’s going on in our lives, we do add a lot of comedy and make some jokes, but it’s also a reflection of how we felt about getting older, not fitting in, or in my case, being sick. There was a time when I got very sick, lasting years. I couldn’t play music, run, or do any activities. I had to get treatment, so I wrote uplifting songs that I felt would make me happy. In the beginning, we would make fun of things happening in the scene, the bands deemed as cool took themselves so seriously, and we were nobodies, so we decided to be funny and honest and start our own scene,” said Josh Raphael.

After posting a Craigslist ad, Drummer Antonio Acosta, aka Tony Two-Tone, joined the band’s ranks, a former Chabot College Student and San Francisco Art Academy graduate from San Leandro, California. Growing up in the 1980s breakdance era, the man is a fan of spinning vinyl, Latin ska, reggae, pop, funk, and Latin jazz. He would go on to support elevating the band to new heights and many other bands in the ska scene down the road, which many still hold in very high regard.  

Jokes For Feelings has had a myriad of members collaborate with the group over the years. Experimenting with members, sometimes a musician could play with the band for only a month or stay for years. Their first live show in 2006 at Blake’s in Berkeley was primarily packed with Coast Guard. One of the original members, Josh Vanskike, who played in the band for the first couple of years, wrote a good number of songs before leaving, was enlisted, and brought the majority of his unit from Alameda to the show. “Unfortunately, he shipped out a lot sometimes for up to a year, and eventually, he just couldn’t do it anymore,” said Josh Raphael. While other early years members like Misty and Sean are just names in the backdrop of what has become, at times, a local all-star lineup of guest musicians over the years.        

In 2009 Bassist, Keyboardist and Violinist Billy Raphael joined the band just as they were touring Southern California. The regular tour route then was LA, Riverside, San Diego, and Palm Springs. Billy Raphael, also a Bay Area transplant from Palm Springs, brought not only his previous band experience and history but previously written unproduced tracks, which Jokes For Feelings released with the addition of a music video, “Vitamin Girl.” Written by Billy, the song is about a routine nightlife experience he would have, “I used to go clubbing a lot in San Diego, and I would hear techno groups playing until four in the morning, and I wanted to write a song about that,” said Billy.    

Billy’s arrival coincided with the band’s transition from pop-punk to ska which Tony largely influenced, “It was fairly easy to transition over because we played in ska bands growing up. Ska is more mellow to play, and pop-punk is a little harder, in my opinion, because you have to play it fast and clear, compared to just jamming and having some fun when you play ska,” said Josh Raphael. Ska originating from Jamaica and Afro-Caribbean music is the forerunner to reggae with youthful punk rock vibes, horn sections, and saxophones. 

The band expanded, taking on three new horn players, and became entwined as a support pillar within the local Bay Area ska scene, standing behind causes, playing charity events, and finding a home at the famous 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley founded by Tim Yohannan who is also the founder of punk rock magazine “Maximum Rocknroll and Music Enthusiast.” The schedule became playing “Pride Runs” in San Francisco, events supporting unity, medical fundraisers, and Gilman benefits. The band began to ignite the Latin ska scene, even performing their songs in Spanish. Simultaneously, members like Josh Raphael took lessons in Peruvian jazz and folk, infusing what he learned into the band to produce a new sound with a Latin jazz influence and even a little gypsy punk combined with ska punk.

There are strong values and principles among some bands playing in the Bay Area who believe in freedom, human rights, anti-discrimination, and anti-racism, just to name a few. With venues that wholeheartedly support these values so much that you can’t even perform there if you don’t uphold these views, this is a requirement within the Gilman community. A volunteer collective with solid connections in Bay Area social justice movements, you will not be playing any music on the Gilman stage if you disregard these core principles.

Tony Two-Tone added a new element to the band, and that’s booking in what was to become “Gilman Ska Night.” This night grew in popularity until LA was a regular departure point for bands heading to the Gilman, reaching across the United States and beyond. Pulling bands from Oregon to Mexico, all looking to participate in the ska nights. At this time, Tony worked with pioneers in the local scene like Jeff Armstrong, who has long roots at the Gilman in the punk and ska scene, and brother to Tim Armstrong of the famous punk band “Rancid,” along with band members with explosive energy and controversial performances like Mike Avilez of “Oppressed Logic.”

The Gilman has always been a destination for all ages, especially the youth, which has led famous names like Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day to donate to the venue. “When I first started, there weren’t as many bookers or a lot of help, and it was a struggle. That’s why we built up shows and brought a lot of new people, but, unfortunately, the kids around at that time weren’t inclined to help, and there were a lot of problems,” said Tony.

Between Jeff, Tony, and Josh, the first “Gilman Ska compilation” was released, giving away up to five hundred free CDs, with Vol. 2 soon-to-follow spotlighting bands like “Sarcasm,” ”Day Labor,” and “Shark Punch.”  The collaboration runs deep with Jokes For Feelings, as many musicians have played in the band. Some of these players were former Chabot Students like Angela Perez, who played horns and did backup vocals. Micheal Booker, another Chabot student, played saxophone and did backup vocals. The team-ups and support for other local ska bands, like “The Skunkadelics,” was well-known and thoroughly enjoyed by many, with members like former Chabot student Sean Funcheon, James Shane, David Marroquin Jr., and Jon Gonzales. Tony Two-Tone was even known to hand out free CDs at the Chabot campus to students.  

The most recent album for Jokes For Feelings was released in 2018, and since then, the crew has gotten busy with life. Tony has since left booking, but musicians and fans will remember Gilman Ska Nights for years to come. He is now a new father, increasingly busy, and joined by Josh and Billy, who are also fathers. They have since reunited for regularly scheduled practice sessions, which brings with it a level of excitement to return to just making good and fun music that people can enjoy.

Tina Turner, also known as the “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll,” died on May 24, 2023. The iconic singer/performer is believed to have died from natural causes at the age of 83 in her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland.

Turner started her career off with the iconic Ike & Tina Turner duo. After going solo, she struggled in the beginning but would go on to create hits such as “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” This record earned her first and only Billboard No. 1 hit and three Grammy awards.

Born Anna Mae Bullock, Turner had an incredibly successful career starting with her role in Ike & Tina Turner. She met Ike Turner after seeing his band perform at a club in St. Louis, Missouri. After hearing her sing, Ike asked her to join the band and worked with her to perfect her voice. During this time she was referred to as “Little Ann”.

After sending one of Tina Turner’s records to Sue Records President Juggy Murray, he convinced Ike Turner to give Tina Turner a stage name. Ike Turner then dubbed Little Ann as Tina Turner which would later become the name she is most notorious for.

Ike and Tina were married in 1962 and released their mainstream hit “River Deep, Mountain High” four years later. The two would continue to be a duo until 1976 when they split after issues with domestic violence and substance abuse from Ike. After their split, Tina Turner went solo. 

Turner died with eight Grammys and three Hall of Fame awards to her name. She had an immensely successful career spanning over three decades. Her funeral was attended by close family and friends in Switzerland where she was cremated. Beyonce Knowles, another iconic singer, honored Turner by adding her rendition of Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” to the setlist of her 2023 Renaissance Tour. She is survived by her second husband Erwin Bach.

The disastrous effects of climate change are no longer up for debate as changes are felt increasingly every day. Eroding shorelines, record-level heat waves, and the following droughts are just some of the very real changes we are experiencing. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Despite pandemic shutdowns, carbon dioxide and methane surged in 2020. Levels of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide, and methane, continued their unrelenting rise in 2020.”

Since then, businesses have returned to normal routines along with employment schedules, which is an increase in human activity from this estimate taken during a time when everything around us slowed to a standstill. Yet climate change continues to become a more significant threat with no reversal. This has led scientists, politicians, and community members worldwide to hold summits, events, and meetings to bring people together in the hope of finding a solution together. This is precisely what Chabot College Climate Action Coordinator Katie Dickinson has set out to do with her call to action environmental community event, which was held in the Chabot event center Friday on, April 28.

“There were 120 people who signed up, and we invited a triad of people, schools, community colleges, and universities. Nonprofits who are working diligently in the trenches on these environmental injustices, cities and municipalities who actually have the capacity to make laws and ordinances that affect communities. So we invited those three main entities to get together in a room.”

Throughout the day, there were appearances from organizations and public officials like the Pachamama Alliance, San Mateo County sustainability office, Oakland District Attorney’s office, and Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas, just to name a few. The goal was to unite these groups in order to facilitate communication, ideas, and shared goals. 

Public officials, non-profits, and students were discussing how to practically and effectively bring the changes we all want to see on a local level and beyond. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California released up to 94 million metric tons of carbon in 2022. The majority of this gas was produced by transportation and the industrial sector.

Additionally, speeches were given during the event by public officials but also by students who make up the club membership and internships for the climate action program. The students wrote a sentence simply stating that “They want to live in a world where?” And the student elaborates on the rest; this was in response to a number of climate crises and environmental issues. “This was a very powerful moment when they all stood up across the room, and that set the tone for the day,” said Katie Dickinson. 

Representatives from the City of Hayward came forward to speak about their progress in collaborating with students to get feedback by conducting interviews in the community. “they’ve collaborated with students to do this work, and it’s been great to see,” stated Dickinson. 

The agenda shifted to breakout groups where a pre-questionnaire was given with a specific focus; according to Dickinson, “We sent a pre-questionnaire to every attendee asking what the main challenges you’re facing in the environmental justice space are. What steps have you taken to address environmental injustices in your area? And so we utilized that and printed out case studies from our attendees’ actual work. We placed those at each of the tables, and we asked the tables to read through all of the different case studies and asked them to answer the question. How would this collective, you know, nonprofits, schools, and municipalities work to help address these issues that we’re all dealing with?”

Moving forward in the schedule, there was some elaboration and expression of ideas. Getting things to flow in a synchronous manner by asking what the group’s shared goals are and what some students hope to accomplish overall by working in the group. After a round of some insightful and heartfelt commentary on behalf of students and community professionals, there was a break for lunch. The conversation didn’t really stop, it was just at leisure, and there was food, but the discussions were lively, and lots of people freely discussed ideas and personal ambitions. Community professionals were no exception, and it seemed that just about everyone who attended was fully engaged in the content and purpose of this community college climate action event.

After lunch, a few students spoke about some posters they had made in regard to specific climate issues that were of concern to them, such as threats to biodiversity and how to maintain biodiversity. “This is a complex issue; I don’t think there is just one solution. It’s a combination of a lot of work. That’s the reason why we invited these three entities to the room. Nonprofits have been in the trenches working with frontline communities, working with actual residents on the ground on these issues. Cities and municipalities have the authority to make laws and ordinances that affect our future. And the last ingredient is students and college teachers, and then you talk about solutions,” stated Dickinson. 

One of the positive results for students who participate in this group is the internship opportunities. Katie Dickinson’s group of students operates as interns, and she focuses on developing a student’s career from the very start of their commitment to the group. The event came to an end with a general discussion on how people felt about the day and any closing remarks or questions they might have for the panel of students and professionals. There were a few light questions but mostly gratitude and excitement from students looking forward to the next event. Handshakes, pictures, smiles, and information exchange would be the send-off until the next climate action event, which is said to be held sometime in December.

“Our focus has been getting students jobs, internships, and opportunities in the green workforce. Change isn’t going to happen overnight, but it will happen gradually as we educate our students and youth about these issues. They’re smart; once you give them a chance to really work and get down and do the nitty gritty work, they take off. They do it themselves, and they’re passionate. I have hope for the future; that’s why I got into this work. It’s because I’m a young person, and all the students I work with are even younger than me. There are social justice issues that they bring to bear, my students live in these communities that are going to be most impacted by the climate crisis, and that’s what makes this a need for them to be central to this work because they know that if they aren’t, then our ways are just going to continue,” stated Dickinson.