On Tuesday February 17, 2004, 3 bands that had been friends  for years, BIG D & THE KIDS TABLE, MUSTARD PLUG, and THE PLANET SMASHERS,  got on stage in front of 400 kids in Buffalo NY and performed the very  first gig on the very first Ska Is Dead tour. Three years, and 140 shows  later, the tour has gone beyond all expectations, selling over 55,000  tickets in 3 different countries and proving that indeed, ska is not dead.  In fact, the tour started out to prove just that. At a time when retail had  forgotten the genre and most live venues had only marginal faith, the tour  was put together on the simple principal that ska is as valid as it ever  was, it just needed to be rebuilt from the grass roots on up. To document  and commemorate this success, Asian Man Records proudly presents Ska Is  Dead: the compilation CD. Featuring 23 of the most important bands  performing in the genre. From the laid back Jamaican-style sounds of  Hawaii's GO JIMMY GO to the aggressive ska-core of Miami's AGAINST ALL  AUTHORITY, from newcomers like BOMB THE MUSIC INDUSTRY to legends like  FISHBONE, and pretty much everything in between, this compilation  represents the very best of a very dynamic scene, one that is back on the  upswing and proving that ska will never die.