I don’t use the words “Terrible band” very often, and I won’t be using them here either!

I would like to pay tribute to a band that has kept many, many people skankin’ over the years, with some of the catchiest ska riffs and songs ever written, and one of the few commercially successful Ska outfits of the last 20 years.

Reel Big Fish started their story in 1992 in Huntington Beach, California, the joint child of Aaron Bartlett and Ben Guzman. In late 1992 the band released their first demo album, entitled “In the good old days…” which hit with a lot of underground success. It wasn’t until 1995 that Reel Big Fish released their first full album “Everything Sucks”which met with huge underground success and lead to a deal with Mojo Records. The Band released their second album “Turn the radio off” in mid 1996 which was just as popular with their fan base and even garnered some commercial radio play with the song “Sell Out” and was seen as a sort of ska revival by many. The band released their third album “Why do they rock so hard?” in 1998, but it was poorly received by critics and fans alike, it seems that the ska revival had been short lived.

It wasn’t until 2002 that Reel Big Fish re-appeared with a new album, aptly entitled “Cheer up!”. The album was significantly better received than “Why do they rock so hard?” and met with some commercial success with the single “Where have you been?”, it is widely believed that the song achieved this success due to the lack of horn sections in the track. In 2005 the forth studio album to be recorded with Mojo/Jive Records, entitled “We’re not happy ‘Till you’re not happy” following the release of the album Reel Big Fish were dropped by Mojo/Jive Records.

In mid 2007 the band released it’s sixth album, “Monkeys for Nothin’ and the chimps for free” on thier own independent record company “Rock Ridge Music” the album met with moderate success, though the die hard fans of old knew the album was a new step in Reel Big Fish’s evolution and respected the band because of it.

In February 2009 the band released it’s seventh album “Fame, Fortune and Fornication” which is a compilation of covers by the band, including “Talk Dirty to me”, “Veronica Sawyer” and the previously released “Monkey Man”

Currently the band are completing the finishing touches on album number eight, which is billed to be released in late 2009 to early 2010.

Reel Big Fish may not have the perfect story of success, but they have a large base of loyal fans who have stuck with them through all of their albums and respected each in it’s own way. Reel Big Fish have always been and continue to be one of the most respected and successful ska bands in the world, one of my favorite bands, and have been since I heard “Everything Sucks” back in 1999. An awesome band that I hope will continue spreading ska juice for many years to come.

Sell Out - Reel Big Fish

Take On Me - Reel Big Fish

Trendy - Reel Big Fish

She Has A Girlfriend Now - Reel Big Fish