Reel Big Fish

Reel Big Fish is a southern California ska punk band who broke into the mainstream in the mid to late 1990s after the success of No Doubt and Sublime. Reel Big Fish is now more well known, but not quite mainstream in the USA and Europe. Reel Big Fish has engendered criticism from some ska fans who claim it is merely a pop band riding the coat-tails of ska's '90s popularity.

Brief Background and History

Their debut album, Everything Sucks, was an underground hit and led to a deal with Mojo Records, an indie label. Turn the Radio Off established the band in the underground music scene, and they began touring throughout the US. After "Sell Out" began breaking into the mainstream, including MTV, the album made an appearance on the charts. The ska revival was short-lived, however, and Why Do They Rock So Hard (1998) did not lead the group to the mainstream. This was the last album for three members of RBF: Trombonist Grant Barry and trumpet Tavis Werts were either fired or left the band voluntarily, depending on the source, while drummer Andrew Gonzales left the band to spend more time with family. Electing to replace only Werts and Gonzales, RBF opened the door for a rotating cast of drummers and trumpets over the next six years. In 2002 the group released Cheer Up which fared much better on the rock charts, particularly because of the horn-less single "Where Have You Been". Former Suburban Rhythm drummer Carlos de la Garza helmed the kit while Tyler Jones took over lead trumpet duties (Jones actually played only 2 tracks on Cheer Up, as Werts had already done the majority of recording before his departure). de la Garza would leave the band to pursue other career paths, his last show coming on June 20, 2003 at the House of Blues in Anaheim. That show was later released on DVD (The Show Must Go Off). Jones was then fired in August of 2003 (reference Aaron Barrett's online journal http://www.reel-big-fish.com/index2.html). After a succession of fill-ins (at one point, Barrett claimed online that Werts and Barry had rejoined the band and left again without playing a single show), the band settled on John Christianson (a.k.a John Evil) on trumpet and Ryland Steen on drums. On April 5, 2005, Reel Big Fish released their fourth album on Mojo Records, titled We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy.

Related Topics:
Everything Sucks - Underground - Mojo Records - Indie - Turn the Radio Off - MTV - Album - Why Do They Rock So Hard - 1998 - 2002 - Cheer Up - Suburban Rhythm - The Show Must Go Off - April 5 - 2005 - We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy

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Well known for their cover songs, RBF have been known to cover such songs as the Cure's Boys Don't Cry and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town live. They have even recorded a cover version of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade theme, the Baroque Hoedown for a Japanese Disney rock tribute album and have appeared on many film soundtracks, most notably that of BASEketball with their cover of A-ha's 1985 hit single "Take on Me", and The Wild Thornberrys Movie with a cover of The Specials "Monkey Man".

Related Topics:
Boys Don't Cry - Disneyland - Main Street Electrical Parade - Baroque Hoedown - Japanese - Disney - BASEketball - The Wild Thornberrys Movie - The Specials

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