Reel Big Fish

Reel Big Fish is a California ska punk band from Huntington Beach, United States, formed in 1992 and active since then. The group is usually associated with ska, ska punk, punk and third wave ska.

Career

Reel Big Fish breaks into the mainstream in the mid to late 1990s after building an audience in the underground scene. Its debut album, Everything Sucks (1995), becomes an underground hit and leads to a deal with Mojo Records, an independent label. Turn the Radio Off (1996) helps establish the band more firmly, and the single “Sell Out” reaches MTV and helps the album appear on the charts.

The ska revival proves short-lived, and Why Do They Rock So Hard? (1998) does not carry the group further into the mainstream. Cheer Up (2002) moves toward harder rock and pop sounds, with less ska than earlier releases, and “Where Have You Been?” is aimed at a wider audience. The band’s next studio album is We’re Not Happy Until You’re Not Happy (2005).

Reel Big Fish later releases Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album (2006), a two-disc live set with a DVD. In 2006 the group parts company with Jive Records, which issues a best-of album that the band does not want released. The band then campaigns against people buying it.

Monkeys for Nothing and the Chimps for Free (2007) includes some songs that had already appeared on earlier releases and is the first album for the band’s new label, Rock Ridge Records. Fame, Fortune, and Fornication (2009) is a covers album with songs including Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” and Poison’s “Nothin’ But a Good Time”. Candy Coated Fury follows in 2012 as the second Rock Ridge album. The band then releases the holiday EP Happy Skalidays in 2014 and Life Sucks... Let’s Dance! in 2018.

Soundtrack work

The band works on the soundtrack to BASEketball, including a cover of A-Ha’s “Take On Me”.

Members

Line-up changes are frequent. Aaron Barrett is the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist from 1992 to the present. Other members include Ben Guzman, Zach Gilltrap, Lisa Smith, Andrew Gonzales, Matt Wong, Eric Vistmantas, Stephan Reed, Robert Quimby, Adam Polakoff, Grant Barry, Scott Klopfenstein, Carlos de la Garza, Tyler Jones, Justin Ferreira, Dan Regan, Tavis Werts, John Christianson, Ryland Steen, Derek Gibbs, Matthew Appleton, Billy Kottage and Ed Larsen, with roles including bass, drums, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, keyboards and backing vocals across different periods.