A nice man told me I could post this here.

I'm looking for some ska or ska punk?

Yeah, more on the punk side though. I was thinking punk bands that incorporate the ska sound, like steel drums, pedal steel, etc. Upbeat but still mellow(if that makes sense)

artists ive been diging:
Bad Brains
Judge Dredd
Voodoo Glow Skulls
Sublime(kinda)

Leftover Crack: http://www.myspace.com/leftovercrackofficial (TBH, I'm not crazy about all of their material, though I do really enjoy some songs)...

Citizen Fish: http://www.myspace.com/citizenfishofficial (Again, not my favorite band ever... I prefer Subhumans over CF, but they are not bad if you like Ska-influenced stuff).

As far as ska/punk goes, I recommend:

Operation Ivy, an essential addition to your collection. The ska equivalent to Minor Threat's Out of Step album.

Streetlight Manifesto, some of the greatest horn parts ever written. Extremely catchy and an amazing debut album.

Catch 22, Streetlight Manifesto's earlier incarnation. More ska than punk, and some of the best tunes to skank to.

The Suicide Machines, their first album, Destruction by Definition, is a great ska.punk album, with a bit more accessible sound, but still a good listen nonetheless.

Leftover Crack, one of the best bands in the Crack Rocksteady scene. Politically angered and hardcore punk driven, this is not your average ska/punk band. Very aggressive and some amazing music.

No Cash, another member of the Crack Rocksteady, though more hardcore punk than anything, still have written some excellent songs.

Choking Victim, Leftover Crack before they became Leftover Crack. Their album No Gods/No Managers is a angry/suicidal mess that manages to excrete fantastic ska/hardcore punk music.

Not a genre im fond of but i remember Capdown - Civil Disobedience being pretty definately had enough punk/hc to keep it interesting

Clockwork Times is an great Ska Punk band. They are russian(yes, they sing in russian), but, they have some great songs.

Try Derby Day, and Бойцовский Клуб(Fight Club)

Check out The Specials. Some seriously rad two-tone madness there.

You might wanna look into Crack Rock Steady. My favorites from the genre include:

Atrocity Solution
The Stupid Stupid Henchmen
The Infested
Leftover Crack
No Cops for Miles
Choking Victim
Star Fucking Hipsters
Dancehall Satan (Fucking awesome thrash-ska)
No Cash

I know a local band here who mixes spoken word, jazz, ska (to the lesser extent), hardcore, rap and even techno... The Radioactive Sago Project. The themes are Filipino politics, society and pop culture.

Here they are...
www.myspace.com/radioactivesago

Bad Brains do not play ska, but they have some reggae songs.

Ska does not have steel drums, you are confusing it with calypso/soca.

Know what you want first. I would recommend listening to the earliest stuff first, try the Skatelites and Laurel Aitken.

Not a huge Ska fan, but Culture Shock were quite pleasing to my ears, they were a great anarcho-ska-punk band, ex-Subhumans, pre-Citizen Fish.

Prince Buster. The Two Tone bands are basically copies of his stuff...

Firing Blanks form the u.k. top notche young ska/punk band from the u.k. check out do the dog records they have tonees of stuff ska orientated.

Six Pack Deep. My cousin was in this band, though they split up now. He is the one on sax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPGNUAa9oOs

And for a more relevant recommendation check out Mad Caddies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoBMamwaWW8

I feel obliged to mention RX Bandits, the only Ska I listen to. Quite good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvrOHjfxLvI