Briefly, how did you guys form and what made you start up the band?
Four of us met when we worked as stage security at a Bad Manners gig in our home town of Brighton, in 1992. We all loved ska, and decided there and then to get a band together, and play our own interpretation of our favourite kind of music.

You were approached by Phantom Pictures to do some soundtrack music to a British Ganster film. How did that come about?
Our music is on an internet web-site, and a guy who was listening out for suitable soundtrack material, for a film called 'Baby Juice Express' liked what he heard. We were gob smacked of course!

You are also talking about supplying some music for an animated TV show. Do you see soundtrack music as a good career move in terms of getting heard, or is it just purely for fun?
It is fun! But it is also a great way to get exposure, and who knows what it could lead to. An appearance on The Simpson's maybe, or even Blinky Bill!

You released Spanish Fly in June 2002 how has the response been to it compared to the earlier releases?
Thanks to Kevin Flowerdew at Do The Dog, this album has been heard more then anything we have released previously. It has had great reviews all around the ska world!

It was realeased through Do The Dog Music, how did this come about?
Kevin has been a big fan of ours since we started, and we had an albums worth of songs, so he jumped at the chance of releasing it, God bless him!

The last track on Spanish Fly 'These little things'(written by Dave Cook), is pretty different from the rest of the tracks in the sense it is a ballad type song. Whats the story behind this one?
Dave Cook, singer and guitarist, played it to us in it's basic form in the studio, and we all thought it worked so well just like that. Sometimes less is more. The song speaks for itself.

Do you all have a favourite track from the album?
It changes depending on our mood, but we all really like 'Touch too much' and 'It's over'. Maybe it's because they are our most recent songs, and we haven't got bored of them yet!

You are planning to re-release Bounce your first album, what made you decide to do this.?
We paid for the original pressing of 1,000 copies, and once they were gone that was it. Kevin suggested we re-release it through Do the Dog, and hopefully it will get more attention this time round.

Which one of your releases is the one you are most happy with?
.'Spanish Fly' definitely captures the sound and energy of TMC live. But we are proud of all our albums.

What are your plans for the future? Any tours to Australia perhaps?
Writing new songs, gigging as much as we can. Australia would be fantastic, but who's going to pay to get us there? We don't mind sleeping on floors!

Where do you see ska heading in the future? Do you see the pop/punk version of ska taking over, or do you think we will see bands emerging with more influences from the likes of The Specials, Selecter, Bad Manners etc
The faster punkier ska appeals more to the kids these days. We are heavily influenced by the 2-tone style, but if ska is to break through again, it needs to evolve in new ways.

Are you guys all ska fans?...What tunes are you listening to most at the moment?
We all have the common ground of loving ska in all it's forms, but our tastes really are diverse. It's always musically interesting when touring in our van. Every thing from Strauss to the Sex Pistols gets a look in! Those Trojan box sets are brilliant!

What up-coming bands are you most impressed with at the moment?
A lot of us like a young English band called 'The Coral'. [spunge] are a great ska/punk band who have even managed a chart position here.

Anything you would like to plug or let people know about?
We'll leave the plugging to you guy's. We all want to thank you for your interest and support. Our countless rainy days here are brightened up in the knowledge that our music is basking in sunnier climes on the other side of the world! Cheers!

www.toomanycrooks.co.uk