Robot Manhattan Looking to Clinch at Philly Real Deal

I knew from the moment I walked in that interviewing Sicklerville ska-punk band Robot Manhattan was going to be interesting. Why? Because they were lounging indolently on the couch, cracking up to Gilbert Gottfried. Yes, Gilbert … in all his nasal, squawky glory.

The band is based in Sicklerville and the members are all recent graduates of Timber Creek Regional High School, much like fellow ska devotees , who sat down with me a few months ago.

I met with four young men from Robot Manhattan: Joe Lees (trumpet, vocals), Justin Smith (trombone), Mike Campanelli (vocals, guitar), and Joe Keating (alto sax). They answered my questions with an odd mix of humor and sarcasm.

"I was tossing around names with our old bass player and we ended up with 'The Manhattan Project,'" Campanelli replies when I share my curiosity about their unusual moniker. "Obviously, that ended up being taken, and we were so stuck on it. It sucked."

"Then I, being brilliant,” bursts in Joe Lees, adjusting his geek-chic spectacles and grinning. "I came up with the ‘robot’ part. Everything sounds cool with ‘robot’ in front of it or ‘in space’ after it."

I'm of course chortling in amused agreement as I move on to the band's plans for the immediate future. It turns out they’ve just finished recording an album that they will call … Let’s Call It Pop Punk and are in the process of mastering the album. No release date has been set for ….Let’s Call It Pop Punk but they promise big things. 

Ska music and it’s angry cousin, ska-punk, are a music form which peaked in the late 1990s with bands like Sublime, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and No Doubt. This “third wave” of ska also mostly folded in 2000, while the boys from Robot Manhattan were about 8 years old, and hasn’t seen a great deal of commercial attention since. So why is ska-punk seeing such a revival at Timber Creek?

"I was listening to a lot of Streelight [Manifesto]," says Campanelli. "Then I started getting into Catch 22, and it was really cool. I just started writing guitar parts like that and bugging Joe to play. He said 'no,' and I kept bugging until he said 'yes.' Then he said we were going to do this band thing, like now."

The band features the four members I sat with and three more: Dominic Henry (baritone sax), Joe Romano (bass) and Salvatore Raphael Dragone (drums), whose name apparently inspires envy among his bandmates.

Despite their short time together, they’ve made some waves. The band formed last July and has managed to make it to the finals of the Philly Real Deal Battle of the Bands presented by Danimal Records. They will be facing nine other bands, including West Deptford’s . The battle goes down Saturday at Philly’s Trocadero Theatre. It’s an all-ages show, and doors open at 1:00 pm. 

Stop by to support this energetic septet, and if you can’t make that, you can catch them on Aug. 31 in Montclair, at The Meat Locker.

Happy skanking!