The Uptones

The Uptones
The Uptones, reunited in 2007
Background information
Origin	Berkeley, California, USA
Genres	Ska
Years active	1981-1989, 2002-present
Labels	415 Records (1984) Son of Beserkley (1995) Fun Fun Fun Recordings (present)
Website	Official Web site
Members	Eric Din Paul Jackson Ben Eastwood Adam Beach Musashi (Moose) Lethridge Mike Stevens Jeanne Geiger Scott Bertrand
Past members	Scott Jensen, Charles Stella, Erik Rader, Michael Wadman, Thomas White, Tim Carter, Emily Jayne, John Mader, Jay Lane, Kenny Brooks, Dave Ellis, Joshua Redman, Josh Miller, Greg Blanch, Ricky Alexander, Brent Bergman

The Uptones, formed in 1981 and based in Northern California, was one of the first U.S. bands devoted to playing ska.

The Uptones formed in Berkeley, California while band members Eric Dinwiddie (aka, "Din"), Paul Jackson, Ben Eastwood and Charles Stella were attending Berkeley High School and Cazadero Performing Arts Camp. They were originally inspired to start a ska band in 1981 after attending an English Beat show in San Francisco. The Uptones were heavily influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, and the original Jamaican ska sound from the late 1950s."

Their first gig of 1981 was at Barrington Hall in Berkeley with MDC headlining. The Uptones, consisting entirely of 15- and 16-year-olds, would continue to play sold-out shows throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for the next seven years.

East Bay venues included The Keystone Berkeley, Berkeley Square, and Ruthie's Inn. San Francisco gigs took place at the On Broadway, The Farm, the Old Waldorf, The Stone, the Kabuki, and Wolfgang's, which sold out to large audiences consisting mainly of high school students. With this success, Bill Graham Presents started booking the band as support for major acts such as the Go-Go's and UB40 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley; X, Madness and the English Beat at the Kabuki; Oingo Boingo at the Warfield; General Public at the Henry J. Kaiser Center; and Billy Idol at the Oakland Coliseum.