Reel Big Fish with their high energy fusion of Ska and Punk rock have been entertaining audiences all around the world for almost twenty years. Though they might have gone in and out of mainstream popularity, they have retained their dedicated cult following and continue to sell-out tours and festivals year after year, playing to the same crowds of rebellious teens as they did in the late nineties. Fortunately, success has not gone to their heads; they’ve never taken themselves as seriously as other bands of their ilk, rocking side burns and floral shirts well into their forties and playing with the same energy and enthusiasm that first helped make their name.
On the other hand, one should not be under the illusion that the Californian six piece don’t take what they’re doing very, very seriously: “We have a lot of fun on stage and goof around, and we do make fun music which a lot of time has humour in it, but I wouldn’t say that we don’t take ourselves seriously. We’re all professional musicians and we take great pride in writing good songs. We always want to put on the best live performance we can and entertain our fans and giving them a great show and great records to listen to. In a way, we take ourselves and what we do very seriously.” Having dedicated twenty years of their lives to goofing around, and playing wacky punk rock, their dedication seems pretty appropriate. “I am a total weirdo; I don’t do anything besides music. I have no hobbies, no other interests, and I don’t do anything else but listen to music and write music and play music”, says frontman Aaron Bennett, showing his completely obvious dedication to the craft.
Nowhere is this dedication more evident than when speaking about the sometimes forgotten, always irresistably energetic Ska. “I just loved the horns and the bouncy rhythms that make your body move and jump. And with Ska-punk a lot of the stuff I first fell in love with was just so joyous and fun, and sometimes so silly and funny I really liked that. But even the old, more soulful stuff I love too: so I don’t know, I just love Ska in its many forms and I really don’t know why, it just hits me in the right spot.” But it’s not just Ska that fills the places in their musical heritage with the band citing hard rock bands such as Poison, AC/DC, Led Zepplin and Van Halen alongside hard core acts like Rancid among their many influences.
As much as these stars haven’t faded, Reel Big Fish are adamant that they’re as big as they ever were, underplaying their brief foray into the American musical mainstream, “I think some people have this idea that we were “once famous” and now our “popularity has waned” but that’s just not the way it happened at all. In the USA we had a moderately successful single on the radio in 1997 and then were in a movie in 1998 that helped us to get to a certain level there. But we’re still at that level. Still playing the same sized venues now as we did in the 90’s and in some areas even bigger ones because we constantly tour and play colleges and festivals. These days, we get more and more new fans all the time so you could say that we’re more popular now than we ever were. In fact, more people know of our band than ever. Their increased age is another issue that leaves them completely unfazed, “As far as growing up and growing older, it’s not much different now than it’s ever been, I still get up on stage and have the time of my life up there every night. I love making people dance and sing and I really feel the same as I ever have, especially on stage.” I get a very strong sense of a band that is moving forward, rather than a nostalgia act, “We continue to play new countries and go to new places all the time and get new fans.”
Their best known hit ‘Sell Out’ is a song that, despite it being on repeat for the last 17 years, is one they have a very healthy relationship with: “I’m very glad I wrote ‘Sell Out.’ That song helped us get our music out to a whole lot of people all over the world and that is something we definitely wanted to do; share our music with as many people as possible. Also it was funny having a big hit on major radio and MTV promoted by a major label called ‘Sell Out’. But I wouldn’t say we are only known for that song, our songs ‘Beer’ and our cover of ‘Take on Me’ from the movie Basketball are far more popular and remembered than ‘Sell Out’. Those songs and that movie have made our band much more well-known and gotten our music to more people around the world.”
In an ever changing music industry, with major labels floundering, Reel Big Fish are in an excellent position: “For us, we’ve kind of always been on the outside of that; we never really sold a lot of records so we never saw much money, if any from record sales. All the money we’ve made has always come from the concert tickets our fans buy and the T-shirts, that’s what we survive on. So as far as music piracy, I have the same attitude about that as I had in the 90’s about the fact that all the money that came in from our record sales went straight to the record label.” Regardless of such cynicism, on the industry as a whole they feel hopeful. “I think the music business will continue to evolve as it has the last 15 years, especially the major labels will continue to find new, creative ways to make money off of their artists as they always have.” But obviously for a band like this money doesn’t really seem to be a motivator, “As long as our music is out there, being listened to and enjoyed by people then I’m happy. “
Reel Big Fish are a band doing what they love for an audience that very much loves what they’re doing. In a scene that is filled with here today and gone tomorrow acts Reel Big Fish are reassuring sign of longevity, and a confirmation that bands can do what they want and succeed without having to pander to current trends. I ask them the reason they have maintained such a loyal fan base over all these years: “I’d like to think we have such a loyal, fanatical cult following because we’re such a good band that has amazing songs and is extremely entertaining to see play live over and over again. But it could just be the subliminal messages in our music that turns people into RBF loving zombies.” They seem well aware of the reasons for their own success, and so am I. After all, if you’re fundamental enough in music to have your own acronym, you’re doing pretty well.