Celebrating their 18th year in existence, Reel Big Fish are venturing across the pond to tour Europe, then they jaunt down to Australia and finally pop over to Hawaii on their way back home. Before they leave, they’re doing a handful of West Coast dates to psyche up. A new album and a rediscovered sense of awesomeness have pushed this sextuplet into new ground and onto exiting things.
Reel Big Fish has had a tumultuous past. Forming in 1992, the band was quickly picked up and put into a position they really didn’t want to be in.
“They didn’t know what to call us, how to market us or who to market us to,” said singer and guitarist Aaron Barrett. “They are used to prepackaged pop and radio-ready rock and I think we were just too weird for them to comprehend. So eventually they just ended up doing nothing.”
To make things worse, members began leaving, and new members came and left again, but the band endured and continued putting out records.
The current inception of Reel Big Fish features Barrett, Scott Klopfenstein (trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals), Derek Gibbs (bass), Dan Regan (trombone), John Christianson (trumpet) and Ryland Steen (drums). The current lineup has only been playing as a cohesive unit for about two years, but they have successfully recorded and released two albums, as well as extensively toured. Nothing will bring the Fish down—they only care about playing music and melting faces.
The band’s current release, Fame, Fortune, and Fornication, was independently released this month by the band. The songs for the album, which consist entirely of covers, weren’t difficult to decide on.
“I like these songs and I wanna record ‘em,” said Barrett. “This song did well on the radio for this person so why can’t it work for me.”
The album features covers by The English Beat, Slade, Tom Petty and Poison, and Barrett recorded it at Music, Inc. studios in Anaheim, Calif.
The band attributes their longevity to the cyclical group of fans that they get.
“The way our fanbase works is that people either rediscover us, or they are introduced by friends or family,” Barrett said. “It’s a great feeling to see old fans with their brother or sister and their sibling becomes a fan.”
This constant flux of fans is a blessing and a curse: While it’s nice to have new fans coming on board, it’s always a gamble to remind their longstanding fans that they are still around and rocking. After being shunned so quickly by the world after Sell Out fizzled, Reel Big Fish are simply biding their time.
“The world will rediscover us once again when they decide to be happy,” Barrett said.
Whether the fans come back or come around to Reel Big Fish does not concern the band. They are free of their obligations to major labels, making the music they want to make and are living life on their own terms. Their music is still poppy and snappy. It will still cause fits of skanking and checkered apparel to be pulled out of closets. Third-wave ska music came from a beautiful place and it will always be associated with a happy time, which is where the group will always live.