Ska music has experienced a big surge in popularity in the past year or so, and as the number of ska bands continue to multiply, it can become tough for fans to differentiate one band from another.

“The Attempted Ska Page” was created to give fans of the genre a starting point so they can skank their way around the Internet.

The site was first posted in the summer of 1994 by Bill Tanner, a computer consultant and “occasional cartoonist” from Austin, Texas.

According to Tanner the page has received more than 200,000 hits.

“The ‘Attempted Ska Page’ started off as just a couple of links I had run across that I wanted to keep track of,” Tanner said. “At that time, there was maybe one other general ska page out there, but as the summer wore on, I found more and more ska info on the Web, so the page continued to grow.”

The site contains many different kinds of links related to ska music.

“The purpose of my page is to give people one location where they can find a ton of info on ska without having to hop all over creation,” Tanner explained. “I just try and make it easy for people to find what they are looking for.”

A thorough and comprehensive page of frequently asked questions is one of the page’s informative links.

An alphabetical list of more than 700 ska band sites is also found on the page.

Plus, the page connects Web surfers to several articles that have been written about ska and published in the New York Times as well as other newspapers and magazines.

Record labels, chat lines, newsgroups, as well as individual ska fans’ pages are also linked through the page.

Plastered all over the page are black and white checkerboards, a symbol that is reminiscent of the two-tone era of ska. During the two-tone period, these checkerboards were used as a symbol of unity between black-and-white musicians, who commonly got together during this period to form bands.

A lot has changed in the world of ska since the site was established. Tanner gave some of his opinions about the current state of ska music.

“It’s nice to be able to mention the word ‘ska’ and have at least a few more people know what you are talking about,” Tanner said.

“I have to admit that it’s disappointing to see how the music sometimes changes when people try to commercialize it and make it ‘the next big thing.’ As long as there are bands out there playing good music, I’ll keep listening,” he added.

Tanner also expressed his gratitude to all those who have visited his site.

“I’d just like to thank everyone who’s dropped by the page over the last four years,” Tanner added. “As long as people keep using the page, I’ll do what I can to keep it up and running.”

“The Attempted Ska Page” can be accessed at www.icct.net/~tanner/ska.html.