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. Although thought by many to be an actual "ska" band, Reel Big Fish is more of a pop-punk group that utilizes ska elements, playing off of the genre from when it was popular in the mid 90s.

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. 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". They have even recorded a cover version of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade theme, the Baroque Hoedown 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".

Reel Big Fish has now released several albums and EPs.

Members

Reel Big Fish is composed of:

• Aaron Barrett - Vocals and Lead guitar
• Dan Regan - Trombone
• Ryland Steen - Drums
• Matt Wong - Bass Guitar
• Scott Klopfenstein - Trumpet, Guitar, Piano, and Vocals
• John Christianson - Trumpet

Reel Big Fish once included: Ben Guzman (Vocals), Robert Quimby (Trombone), Adam Polakoff (Saxophone), Andrew Gonzales (Drums), Grant Barry (Trombone), Tavis Werts (Trumpet), Carlos de la Garza (Drums) Tyler Jones (Trumpet), and Justin Ferreira (Drums).

Scott Klopfenstein and Dan Regan are also members of The Littlest Man Band. Aaron Barrett and John Christianson are also members of The Forces of Evil, along with former members of Jeffries Fan Club and other Orange County ska musicians. 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.

Discography

• Albums
  • Everything Sucks (1995, reissued in 2000)
  • Turn the Radio Off (1996)
  • Why Do They Rock So Hard? (1998)
  • Favourite Noise (2002 - Europe Only)
  • Cheer Up! (2002)
  • We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy (2005)

• EPs
  • Keep Your Receipt (1997)

• 7" Vinyl Records
  • Vacationing In Palm Springs
  • Teen Beef

See Also

• The Littlest Man Band
• The Forces of Evil
• The Scholars
• Aaron Barrett
• Scott Klopfenstein
• Dan Regan

External Links

• The official Reel Big Fish website