"Ska music is a gateway drug," said Glen Pine, trombonist/vocalist for Brooklyn-based reggae revival band, The Slackers. "Everybody who checks out reggae or ska, you talk to them, they have amazing record collections."

Pine would know. Initially trained as a jazz trombonist, he traded Miles Davis for Bob Marley decades ago and hasn't looked back.

"A buddy of mine, Jeremy (Mushlin), who used to play with The Slackers, I met him in college and he … invited me to play with some bands up there in Boston and then also invited me to play with The Slackers," Pine recalled, speaking to me over the phone from his Brooklyn home.

That invitation took place over 13 years ago. Ten albums and two DVDs later, The Slackers have ironically become one of the hardest working bands in reggae and ska music. Currently on a tour of the east coast in promotion of their 2010 album, The Great Rocksteady Swindle, The Slackers will be performing at Call the Office on October 21.

Going to a Slackers show is a little like stepping into a time machine. From an anthropological perspective, their sound captures the best of Jamaican music throughout the '50s and '60s, well before the glory years of reggae luminary, Bob Marley. Instead, artists like Lee "Scratch" Perry, Prince Buster and The Skatalites serve as models for The Slackers sound: old Jamaican ska and reggae, complete with syncopated guitars, a laid-back groove and small horn section. In Pine's eyes, incorporating that classic sound is The Slackers' way to celebrate reggae's past.

"We've been lucky enough to work with some old Jamaican artists that ended up moving here at one point or another … (but) unfortunately that generation is moving on and passing away, so there is that feeling of responsibility of trying to keep the music going," Pine said. "We're constantly making references directly to the music that we're inspired by, so if you dig what we play, you've gotta check out the folks that invented this stuff!"

The Slackers began with that mentality nearly 20 years ago, during which they've seen ska and reggae fade in and out of favour several times. But though reggae is generally accepted as a niche market, the boys in The Slackers still tour relentlessly, promoting, performing and writing. Why? Pine said (with a laugh) that they're "just damn stubborn."

"We've had to replace people over the years .. but we just keep hitting the road, and (by) doing that, we've definitely grown to a certain level, and we've got some really nice folks that check us out when we come to town."

A lifelong devotion to music with modest goals, Pine has found happiness in what The Slackers do, wherever they do it.

"It's like, how do you measure success? I think for myself and for most of my band members, success is if you're able to do something that you like and try to eke out a living somehow ... if we start to build a little bit, maybe get a few more (fans), that's what we're going for. (Trying to) dream up playing in arenas is just absurd."

So experience a bit of history with The Slackers, and check them out on October 21 at Call the Office. Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the door.