Hub City Stompers hail from the “hub city” of New Brunswick, NJ. The band was founded and formed by Rev Sinister, former vocalist/frontman for NJ Ska band Inspecter 7. After i7 had gone into a dormant state in 2001, RevSin, still bloodthirsty for making and performing music, went on the hunt to form a new band and in the summer of 2002 HCS was born. In the wasteland of the seemingly “dead” ska scene of the time, these necromaniacs romanced ska’s rotted corpse, playing for the love of the music rather than the popularity of it, and formed a force to be reckoned with in the New Jersey music scene.
Embracing various styles and eras of ska from the 60’s through the 80’s, and adding reggae, punk, oi!, hardcore, and even hip-hop, jazz and classical influences, they manage to avoid a typical, formulaic ska sound and steer clear of cliche poppy ska lyrics.
Hub City Stompers’ line up consists of members & ex-members of bands such as Inspecter 7, Bigger Thomas, Professor Plum, Predator Dub Assassins, Bomb Town, and The Best Of The Worst.
Proudly roaming the no-man’s-land between the popular ska-core world and the elitist trad-ska world, Hub City Stompers choose to entertain and offend everyone equally and stick to their underground roots. Allied with all in this underground, they share the stage with ska, reggae, oi!, punk, and hardcore bands alike.
In August 2002 Hub City Stompers emerged from the rubble that was the New Jersey ska scene in the wake of the 90’s ska boom debuting with the song “Night of the Living” on the Jump Up/Megalith Records Still Standing ska compilation.
Soon after, that original HCS lineup hit the studio to lay down the tracks that would become their first full-length album. “Blood, Sweat and Beers” was released in May 2004 on Megalith Records.
Following the release of that debut album the lineup changed and coalesced into what would become, to many, the classic HCS lineup for many years. That classic 6 piece version of the band self released an EP that would end up containing such classic songs that they are still part of live sets to this day. The “Mass Appeal” EP came out in July 2005 containing such live favorites as Latina Rose, Trojan Night, and the title track itself.
2006 was a busy year for Hub City Stompers. For some bands HCS’s tour schedule would have been enough but they also bookended that year with two recordings. The first of which was a studio recording of the crowd favorite “I’ve Got a Boot” which was featured on the Megalith Records Sampler released in January 2006. Later that year the new lineup began recording what would become a career defining album for the band. Their second full-length album, “Dirty Jersey”, was released in December 2006 on Megalith Records. The mixture of skinhead anthems, NJ references, and the band’s inimitable sense of humor are what make this album a fan favorite to this day.
With this new album under their belts the band continued to pound the pavement and tour relentlessly, spreading the Dirty Jersey gospel not only from coast to coast but also all the way to mainland Europe on their first international tour supporting NYC legends The Toasters. In 2009 the band hit the studio again, Version City to be exact, and recorded what would become their 4th release. “Ska Ska Black Sheep” was released in May 2009 on Stubborn Records. The mixture of new original songs and dub versions of the classics make this a unique album in the band’s discography.
It would be another three years before a new HCS recording was released. In August 2012 their song “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” was released exclusively on the This Is Not Dead four band compilation 7-inch (on This Is Not Dead Records) which also happened to be the band’s long overdue vinyl debut.
Towards the end of 2013 the band reemerged with a modified lineup. This 7 piece lineup (2 horns and keys) would be the norm for the next ten years right up through today.
December 5, 2014 saw the release of “Life After Death”, an album which the band began recording in 2012.
In November of 2015 the band released their first full length vinyl LP “Caedes Sudor Fermentum” on Crowd Control Media. The record featured several “best of” tracks from the first 3 Hub City Stompers albums.
In April of 2018 they released their 6th album, “Haters Dozen” on Altercation Records. The album has become another fan favorite in the HCS discography thanks to the mixture of excellent musicianship and the band’s unique sense of humor. This was the first full length release with new music since 2014 however the band hadn’t been resting on its laurels that whole time. Between big shows in Canada and Mexico the band continued to tour the US relentlessly. They also found themselves acting as the backing band for both Roy Ellis and The Judge Dread Memorial.
In 2019 they released their 7th album, “Blood, Sweat, and Years” on Altercation Records. This album featured re-recordings of many of the songs from their long out of print first album in addition to a few brand new songs.
In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to live performances but it didn’t stop HCS from continuing (at a safe distance of course). They remotely recorded music videos for newly recorded versions of fan favorites such as “Leave Me The Fuck Alone” and Wholottamulatto”, a brand new song called “Limbo”, and the live show holiday favorite “Do You Smell What I Smell”.
In April of 2023 the band celebrated the 5th anniversary of “Haters Dozen” by teaming up with Hellminded Records to reissue it on vinyl.
They are currently working on their 8th release, “Drinking Rage” and hope to have it out by the end of this year to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the band.
HCS don’t plan on slowing down any time soon. They tour nationally and internationally and are ready to bring their special brand of “Dirty Jersey” ska to anyone brave enough to show up!