Indulge me, won’t you? The year was 1997: The Spice Girls dominated the charts; Princess Diana’s death shocked the world; Bill Clinton was nailing the saxophone (among other things), and alternative music fans found their Ska-Punk messiahs when REEL BIG FISH hit MTV with the self-deprecating classic, Sell Out. Reel Big Fish became the ska gateway drug for punks who probably weren’t ‘punk enough’, reggae fans that weren’t always ‘chilled out’, and kids looking for an excuse to grow sideburns and leave the marching band. Now, twenty years after their formation, they’re still doing that. Ahead of their almost-yearly pilgrimage to Australia, this time for WARPED TOUR AU, Reel Big Fish’s guitarist/vocalist/ska deity AARON BARRETT talked to CALLAN BRUNSDON about band longevity, Australia and why ska is awesome.
I believe congratulations are in order. Last year, Reel Big Fish celebrated 20 years as a band, which is an amazing achievement, and you’ve obviously been keeping yourself busy. In the past year you’ve released a new album and toured the UK, South America and the US. The lineup has changed a lot in that time, and that can’t be avoided, but what do you think the key to this longevity has been?
We want to be remembered for bringing the party to the people. We’ve always been about having a good time, letting people forget about their worries for a couple of hours and enjoying some chaotic, energetic, good-time ska music.
You’re basically touring internationally all year round. We’ve seen ex-members, most recently trombonist and original member Dan Regan, leave due to families and the nature of relentless touring. What kind of toll does travelling 300-odd days a year take on you?
When you’re on the road for as long as we are, it just becomes a part of your lifestyle, and a lot of it’s about keeping perspective. We’re so lucky to be able to do what we do. In terms of members exiting the band, I think that’s a natural order of things. Reel Big Fish started when we were all teenagers, there wasn’t a plan, and so its continuation is something that just happened. When you have people who’ve been in the band for twenty years, eventually they’re going to want to do something new. Knowing so many great musicians means that we always have an idea of who can step up when somebody is leaving. In the case of Dan, we’ve just got a new trombone player in Billy Cottage, from Big D & The Kids Table, who we’re really excited about. He’d filled in a few times but it’s nice to make it official. We were dating, now we’re exclusive.
The Reel Big Fish are coming down to Australia again for the inaugural Warped Tour. By now, you’ve been here enough times to know what to expect from our country and you always make sure to check it off the world tour. What do you most look forward to about coming back?
I think the main appeal is that it reminds us of Southern California, so it’s a little home-away-from-home. But more importantly, I think the Australian people are some of the warmest and nicest that you’ll meet anywhere in the world. I love having fun conversations with new people and being welcomed so kindly into their community for the night.
It’s always fun to walk around the CBD before a RBF show. All of the checkered pins and hats and Operation Ivy tattoos crawl out of the woodwork, it’s this little hidden subculture.
Definitely! They’re bringing their costumes out for the night, knowing it’s okay to be silly, have a beer and enjoy the evening without having to look cool. Ska music has this universal happy feeling, and it’s timeless and ageless, and that’s great for a band like us. We have young kids and older adults show up but as soon as the show starts they’re just a pit of people skanking and having fun.
At this point you’re Warped Tour veterans, but this is all new for us. What should we be expecting?
Be ready to have a good time. There’s a great lineup of bands and I think this is a very exciting time in music. Genres seem to be so blurred these days. We’ve played a few metal festivals and we’re always wondering if we’re going to be eaten up by the audience, but they generally get into it and we’re lucky in that sense. Nowadays, it comes down to good music and bad music. And there’s a lot of good music on the tour.
I’m sure you’ve probably played with almost everyone on the lineup, but who are you most looking forward to seeing?
Probably The Used. We’ve known those guys for years, we’ve got a lot of mutual friends, and it’s always fun hanging out with them. I’m looking forward to that.
I heard Bert (McCracken) is living here now?
Oh, I didn’t know that! We’re gonna have to go crash at his house!
With eight studio albums and a bunch of other releases, what’s the process like in crafting a set list for an international tour?
It’s always something we figure out the first day of a tour. There’s songs that go in and out of the catalogue, so you really never know. I think we’ve got a good sense of what the fans want to hear most, and we’re more than happy to play ‘beer’ for them. We just released a new album, so there’s always new material to throw in too, and we try to mix that up. But we’re always playing the hits. You’ve gotta play the hits.
Then you’ve got the drunk guy yelling, “play 241!”, although you did bring that back recently.
We did! Every now and then someone will say, “oh yeah! I forgot about this song! I love this song!” and it’ll find it’s way back in the set.
Thanks for talking to me today, man. What does the future hold for the Reel Big Fish?
In the short term, after Australia, more US dates and a UK tour with Less Than Jake in the New Year. In the long term, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing: having fun, making jokes and playing music.
FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT REEL BIG FISH!
Aaron Barrett is the only remaining original band member. Coincidentally, his sideburns have also been in the band for 21 years.
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone featured them in their motion picture BASEketball, and RBF released a tie-in music video for their cover of Aha’s Take On Me.
File sharing has falsely attributed cover songs to them for years. Most commonly was a ska version of Brown Eyed Girl, which RBF remedied by releasing themselves in 2009.
Now ex-trombonist Dan Regan missed his first show with the band because he was grounded.
In case it wasn’t clear, Reel Big Fish like having fun.