About Us

For decades, JJ Loy and Matt Wixson have enjoyed taking ska music seriously. Since 2019, they have been doing so as the hosts of Hornpod: A Ska Podcast. Each episode is a closeup look at some aspect of ska culture from the genre’s vast family tree. At times historical and wildly subjective, Hornpod is your audio destination for the stories and theories behind your favorite ska bands, albums, and sub-sub-subgenres.

Guests stop by now and then, bringing with them their expertise as scholars, historians, and musicians – but on the pod, everyone is a fan first and foremost. Join them for special episodes, including Things I Can’t Forget, a miniseries in collaboration with NYC ska/reggae veterans the Slackers. And then there’s the Ska Canon, the ever-expanding collection of the most essential ska and reggae albums of all time.

Matt Wixson

Matt Wixson is a singer-songwriter from Michigan who has been playing ska and punk, by himself and with others, since 2005. These days, though, he’s mostly just a fan of this stuff. It’s that fandom that spawned the Hornpub Ska City group on Facebook, as well as this podcast.

JJ Loy

Trying his hand at podcasting in the early days of the medium, JJ created Ska Blah Blah in 2007. Shortly after, he assumed hosting duties of the St. Louis’s legendary ska show, Ska’s The Limit on KDHX; immersing himself in ska and reggae for 11 years. Now, back in the podcast game, he’s ready to tell you what is and what is not ska.