There are many connotations of the word RUDE that extend beyond the Oxford dictionary. The most obvious example would be in Jamaican music/culture-- 'rude' signifies something that is cool or of a certain (high) quality. In the Kingston dancehalls, the sharpest dressed men were and are referred to as 'rude bwoys', for example.

However, the origin for our "rude-thing" comes from a completely different and somewhat unlikely source (when you look into the history). Back in '81, two friends in England rented some studio space (that's how you did it back then) to play around with a new Roland CR78 synthesizer-- one of the first programmable drum machines. What resulted was an EP under the name Sun Palace, with a B-side that would go down in history.

I'll never forget hearing 'Rude Movements' for the first time. It sounded like something from the future, but was clearly rooted in the past. It stuck with me for years, and opened me up to the whole LOFT scene that happened in NYC in the 80s (i was too young to experience it for myself), and a lot of those classic records. What was funny however, was that it was made by a couple of unassuming guys, who were very far away from all of that. I think sometimes the best music is made with a certain naiveate.

Aside from the tune, I also loved that name, and kept it my mental database for years. When the time came to begin our Straight No Chaser party in NYC, it was a perfect fit. Its just seemed to capture the feeling of what we were doing. Over time, it naturally was shortened in speaking. When I was asked by PUMA to do a shirt to commemorate our first summer series (which featured what I think was a pretty forward-thinking bill for that time: Waajeed, SA-RA, and Ge-ology), I decided to simply put 'rude.' on a red shirt. The rest is history.

Two or three years ago, I somehow managed to get a hold of one of the original producers, Mike Collins, and struck up a little friendship over email. I had meant to do a proper story of the record's creation for Chaser, but I failed to make it happen. Luckily, Mike recently put up a site with his own memories of how the record came to be. He is nice enough to include us in his history, and I am very grateful. Check it here.

And for those of you not familiar with the tune, you need to be.