Everything about Reel Big Fish totally explained
Reel Big Fish is an
American ska punk band from
Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "
Sell Out." The band gained
mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the
third wave of ska. Since the band's founding in 1992 and their demo
In the Good Old Days..., the only original member remaining is
Aaron Barrett.
Career
The band's debut
album,
Everything Sucks, was an
underground hit and led to a deal with
Mojo Records. The album
Turn the Radio Off established the band in the ska punk scene, and they began touring throughout the United States. After the single "Sell Out" - the video to which takes 1 minute 45 seconds to actually play any music - began breaking into the mainstream, including
MTV, the album made an appearance on the charts. However, the ska revival was short-lived, and their 1998 album
Why Do They Rock So Hard? didn't lead the band into the mainstream. In 1998, the band appeared in the movie
BASEketball, performing in the stands to pump up the crowd.
Why Do They Rock So Hard? was the last album for three members of the band. Trombonist Grant Barry and trumpet player Tavis Werts were either fired or left the band voluntarily, depending on the source. Drummer Andrew Gonzales left the band to spend more time with his family. Reel Big Fish then had a rotating cast of drummers and trumpeteers over the next six years.
In 2002 the band fared much better on the rock charts, particularly because of the single "Where Have You Been?", which didn't prominently feature the horn section. Former
Suburban Rhythm drummer Carlos de la Garza played drums and ex-
Spring Heeled Jack U.S.A. Tyler Jones tracked trumpet for two songs on
Cheer Up! (because Werts had already done the majority of recording before his departure). De la Garza's last concert with Reel Big Fish was on June 20, 2003 at the
House of Blues in
Anaheim. That concert was later released as the DVD
The Show Must Go Off!. Jones played live in Reel Big Fish for some further time before being fired by Barrett for his excessive drinking. He was replaced by former
Forces Of Evil trumpet player
John Christianson.
On
April 5,
2005, Reel Big Fish released their fourth album on
Mojo Records;
We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy. Justin Ferreira (who replaced De La Garza) was on drums for the recording but left before the albums release to join the Orange County band
Takota (Island Records) and subsequently is listed as an additional musician on the CD. He was replaced by
Ryland Steen.
Aaron Barrett has stated that
We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy was "the third record in a trilogy" that began with
Turn the Radio Off. "The first one was about being in a band and trying to make it. Then
Why Do We Rock So Hard? was like, 'we've made it, we're rock stars'.
Cheer Up we made because we'd to make it. But
We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy is about us being old and jaded now."
While on tour in early 2006, Reel Big Fish received a call from
Jive Records, informing them that they'd been dropped from the label, much to the band's delight. The band formed their own label and released a 3-disc live performance CD/DVD set,
Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album. This package became available on July 18, 2006 on the Internet and in retail stores on August 22. Jive later released a Reel Big Fish greatest hits album,
Greatest Hit...And More, because they owned the rights to all previous songs. The band didn't approve of, or make any money from the album, and have spoken out against it.
On February 20, 2007, the band released
Duet All Night Long, which is a split EP with
Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer. It features six cover songs (three from each band), with the vocalist of each band performing in the other band's songs (except in the case of
Scott Klopfenstein singing in the song, "Say Say Say".) Reel Big Fish announced on their
MySpace profile that they'd be playing a summer tour in 2007 with
Less Than Jake as their headlining partner along with support from
Streetlight Manifesto and
Against All Authority.
Reel Big Fish released their first studio album since leaving
Jive Records;
Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps For Free worldwide on
July 10,
2007, on the
Rock Ridge Music record label. On June 26, 2007 shortly before its release the band announced in a Myspace
blog that
Matt Wong was leaving the band to spend more time with his wife and newborn child. He was replaced by
Derek Gibbs who played bass in
Jeffries Fan Club and Aaron Barrett's now defunct side project,
The Forces Of Evil. Since Matt Wong was very popular with fans, some are skeptical of the new bassist's ability but the band has stated that Derek is "Matt Wong Approved" and fans have nothing to worry about. Gibbs had been filling in for Wong on various tours since early 2002.
On December 19, 2007 it was announced that the band would play the entire
Warped Tour 2008.
Members
Former members (listed in order of departure)
Ben Guzman - Vocals (1991 - 1994)
Zach Gilltrap - Keyboards/Synthesizer
Lisa Smith - Guitar
Eric Vismantes - Trumpet
Stephan Reed - Saxophone
Robert Quimby - Trombone (1994 - 1995)
Adam Polakoff - Saxophone (1994 - 1995)
Grant Barry - Trombone (1995 - 1998)
Andrew Gonzales - Drums (1992 - 1999)
Tavis Werts - Trumpet (1995 - 2001)
Carlos de la Garza - Drums (1999 - 2003)
Tyler Jones - Trumpet (1998 - 2004)
Justin Ferreira - Drums (2003-2005)
Matt Wong - Bass, Vocals (1992 - 2007)
Band members by discography
Discography
Studio albums
Live album
Band members' other projects
Scott Klopfenstein and Dan Regan were also members of The Littlest Man Band.
Aaron Barrett, Derek Gibbs and John Christianson were also members of The Forces of Evil, along with former members of Jeffries Fan Club and other Orange County ska musicians. This band broke up in early 2005.
Before they were members of Reel Big Fish, Aaron Barrett, Scott Klopfenstein, and Grant Barry were members of a band called The Scholars.
Scott Klopfenstein was also a member of a ska band called the Nuckle Brothers.
Dan Regan has a techno project called Black Casper. Notably, he remixed Reel Big Fish's cover of "Talkin' Bout A Revolution", incorporating different sound bites, including Ali Tabatabaee from Reel Big Fish's live DVD, You're All In This Together.
Reel Big Fish in popular culture
The band appear in the film BASEketball performing "Beer" and "Take On Me". Included on the BASEketball DVD is their music video of the latter.
They are mentioned in the Kisschasy song, "Spray On Pants."
They are mentioned in the Vandals song, "Christian or Canadian."
They are the subject of the I Voted for Kodos song, "Wish I Was Aaron."
They are the subject of The Jewel Eating Bears song, "Someday We'll Be Mainstream."
Reel Big Fish performed the song "Snap, Crackle, Pop, Punk" in late 2004 for a Rice Krispies commercial.
Their song "Don't Start a Band" can be heard in the song D.A.N.C.E. by Justice (although it's hard to hear). In the music video with the extended intro for the song, it's playing on a radio.
Aaron Barrett appears in the video for the Suburban Legends song "Come Back Home" for a few seconds where he's dressed as Elvis Presley
Reel Big Fish make a guest appearance on the internet cartoon series Waterman.
The songs "The Kids Don't Like It" and "I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend too" from Why Do They Rock So Hard? appeared in the game Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
CBS has used the song "Good Thing" and a cover of the song "A-W-E-S-O-M-E" on advertisements for their various lineups.
The Philadelphia Flyers, among other teams, play "Sell Out" whenever there's a sell out crowd at the Wachovia Center.
The My Name Is Earl Season 4 finale plays "Sell Out" in one scene.Further Information
Get more info on 'Reel Big Fish'.
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