| Before you
read the Reel Big Fish info, there are a few things you should know. First off, Reel
Big Fish is the best damn band to ever walk the face of this unworthy planet. And
second, Aaron Barret (lead singer and guitarist) recently explained the real
meaning of the band's name : Aaron Barrett told and interviewer the truth behind
the name "Reel Big Fish", here is what he said. "We were gonna call it
"the fisher king" so we made a little tape and a j-card and the name of the
album was "real big fish" Matt drew it, i just thought it sounded more original
since "fisher king" was a movie out at the time." So now we know the truth.
Not long ago the
Huntington Beach police paraded handcuffed members of Reel Big Fish down the middle of
Main Street as an example of what happens to troublemakers. This was the outcome of the
first time the members hung out together outside the band. "It was kind of
cool," recalls trumpet player Tavis Werts, "because everyone that drove past us
called the cops 'assholes!'"
As one of Southern
California's premiere ska-punk bands, Reel Big Fish is a frightening example of why young
children shouldn't drink Jolt Cola. Each band member has such a consistently high level of
energy that they could take Ritalin off the market, and yet collectively, they channel
this energy through ska melodies with enough raw, kinetic power to turn a club upside
down. In fact, the band has been chased off the stage more than once by battered security
guards.
As with most
hyperactive youth, Reel Big Fish pride themselves on their sarcasm. These are the type of
guys who entertained such possible band names as the Moisty Buttholes and Aaron and the
Baritones. Yet even the chosen name, Reel Big Fish, has questionable origins.
Though the band once
said the name originated from a boat attack off Catalina Island, they now claim it comes
from the 1949 edition of Rock and Roll Band Names which noted Reel Big Fish as an oddly
repeated line in several now classic films. Barrett remarks, "It's from that famous
line at the end of Casablanca, you know, 'The problems of seven small people don't add up
to a hill of beans in this reel big fish.'" They also claim it can be found in Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and in Brando's famous "Stella" scream when played
backwards.
More likely, the
name probably reflects the band's odd backyard keg party origins. Originally a three-piece
band, Barrett, bassist Matt Wong and drummer Andrew Gonzales were a straight-ahead rock
band doing Wham!, Warrant and Jimi Hendrix covers. Their goal was to cover a different
song from every musical style possible. Then inspired by ska, Reel Big Fish added horn
players until they arrived at their distinctive big band-meets-tattered caffeine freak
sound. Though the original turnover for horn players was worse than your local McDonalds,
the band finally gelled with Grant Barry and Dan Regan on trombone, Tavis Werts on trumpet
and Scott Klopfenstein on trumpet and vocals. In fact, the chance of playing trombone in
Reel Big Fish persuaded Barry to quit his day job as a nursing home dental assistant.
With a solid
line-up, Reel Big Fish recorded and self-released their Everything Sucks album in 1995,
and it became an underground hit selling several thousand copies and spawning a number one
hit single on Radio Free Hawaii. Soonafter, the band signed with Mojo Records, who quickly
put them back in the studio.
Under the direction
of Mojo president Jay Rifkin and Oingo Boingo bassist John Avila, Reel Big Fish recorded a
new, sixteen song album entitled Turn the Radio Off. Their time in the studio included
sound room mosh pits, horn players recording naked and the demolition of a toilet they
tried to repair with super glue and soap, and yet Reel Big Fish finally captured on tape
the energy and power that made them one of the best live shows in Southern California.
Though their live
sets often include covers of A-ha's "Take on Me" and The Cure's "Boys Don't
Cry", Reel Big Fish stuck to originals on the new album which showcases their twisted
sense of reality. As Barrett puts it, "The album's about being in a band that doesn't
go anywhere, and the girls who fuck you over on the way." This attitude is found in
songs like "Beer", "Join The Club" and "Trendy", the last of
which Barrett adds,"It's the trendiest thing of all to make fun of trendy
people."
As a band who
learned firsthand not to throw a cup of piss out their van window while other windows are
open, Reel Big Fish gathered all the experience needed to make something from their
collective ball of energy. And while the name origin may change repeatedly over time, Reel
Big Fish can be counted upon to deliver one caffeine-coated charge of ska-punk after
another...whether the Huntington Beach police like it or not.
More to come............. |
