Interview: Reel Big Fish at Exit/In

by Dave Sharp on Jul 22^nd, 2010

Audiocast: Reel Big Fish at Exit/In

It’s been just over a decade since they “hit it big,” but with nearly two decades of creating and performing unique, era-defining ska music, Reel Big Fish have many more flags worth waving.  For instance, in a city notorious for its popular country music, they consistently draw a raucous, energized crowd that often equals a sell-out.  They’re aging in terms of time, but they keep their sound timeless with youthful musical and lyrical vibes and admittedly immature stage shows that would keep George W., anyone who laughs at fecal matter and any 16-year-old fully entertained.

We discussed RBF’s “I keep getting older, they stay the same age” audience phenomenon, their position in the third wave of ska, keeping the energy high and much more backstage at the Exit/In on July 10, 2010. The room was dingy, overused by musicians of all types, but oddly comfortable and Johnny Christmas (XXXmas) and Dan Regan (trumpet and trombone, respectively) seemed right at home, lounging, laughing and answering questions.

Thanks to Tom Ames and Vince Pileggi for their aid in the coordination of this interview.

S: You guys started by playing a lot of covers, it was what I’ve read, a “frat rock” band…

J:  Here comes Dan.  He hears frat rock and he has to come over.

S:  I want to know, when you guys took that step from doing covers to creating your own stuff, was it hard to kick some of the songs you were playing?  Did you find yourself emulating some of those songs?

D:  Well, in all bands early days of composition, a lot of the songs sounds like the influences.  We have to claim that of all the bands that are making a career off of copying Sublime, we were the first ones to do it.

S: All right, all right, that’s on record.

D:  We were mostly influenced by the local scene, I don’t think we really knew what ska music was as far as, ‘Oh it comes from Jamaica and there’s this whole social history that goes along with it’ and England and the whole thing, but we knew what bands were playing in our area and it had that sound that a lot of the pop tunes on the radio had.  Cause we grew up in the 80s, so bands like madness and specials were on the radio, so it sounded normal. It didn’t sound like this whole subculture, so we started to try and play like that.  And then we did our homework.

S: So when did that come in?  You did the Fame, Fortune and Fornication album and you had Desmond Dekker and Toots and the Maytals covers, when did that stuff start coming into play?

D: Well, pretty quickly right afterward.  That’s the thing about a local scene is that there’s always the local experts that will quiz you.  So what we started playing ska music, we were getting on the local radio shows and guys, if it’s the mid 90s and you’re the guy who’s had the college radio station that does ska music, you’re an encyclopedia, so we had to show are stuff with guys like that.  And, after a while we started to get influenced by every aspect of ska music.  Not just the sort of disco-funk-pop-punk-ska stuff that we were hearing in our scene.

S: So at this point, are you guys those encyclopedias now as the veterans?

D:  I think all together we make one encyclopedia. [Laughter]

S: What was the learning curve like, obviously it’s been years, but going from a band that was starting to write their own songs and your going to shows in the local scene, now you’ve got multi-releases, band management, band members producing tracks, movie rights, all that fun stuff.  What was the learning curve like coming into that?

D:  You kind of take it as it comes, you know.  You think you’re ready for all these things and then they happen and you have to make a decision and I don’t know, its like you kind of react before you think about it sometimes.  We grew up physically along with it.  We started the band when we were teenagers, so all the growth that’s gone on since the band started, it all autobiographical at this point.  We don’t know how to live another way.  I guess we could kind of take it for granted, I suppose.

S:  Was there anything where the timing was a little off – where you said man, maybe we jumped into that too soon?

D: There’s always the question of technology and it is interesting to watch how things have changed with that.  When we started we were making fliers at Kinko’s or at the coffee shop and making our own record covers for tapes and things like that.  We were lucky to get a CD, but before that we were handing out tapes and it was all through mail order catalogs and you’d have to drive the copies of your record to some crazy guys house who’d say “Aw, hell I’ll distribute it for you.”  Then we went through the industry, the record business side of music and then we watched technology catch up and it’s kind of gone back to the more DIY style again.  We were like ‘Oh we can finally use all these skills we had when we were 16.’  Now we just use them online.  It’s been kind of getting back to that, I suppose.

S: Its kind of come back full circle to some degree to a more DIY status.  With the volatile history ska has and just in the lifetime of Reel Big Fish, there have been peaks and valleys of popularity and how many people are paying attention, but it seems like right now that with you guys still hanging around, the Mustard Plugs hanging around and things like Ska Is Dead, which seems like a pretty solid institution and relative newcomers like Streetlight Manifesto that are bringing another new audience in – is there some stabilization?  Is there a good footing for ska music right now?

D:  I’d say it seems to have locked on with a certain age group.  We always thought we got on the radio in 1996 or 7; whoever was into it then we figured they would still be our fans now and we’d been trying to court the 16-year-olds.  But, the fact is that its always 16-year-olds.  It’s crazy.  It must represent a time in their lives before they can go to bars, but they’ve got a car and they can stay out late.  So what do you do, you’ve got this little window there where you’re almost an adult, but your not too cool to have fun.  So, you go to a Reel Big Fish show, I suppose.  It’s been great to see all the bands like Streetlight and Tip The Van and all these bands that we’ve been playing with for the last few years, there’s still a scene.  There’s still a country-wide scene and it’s a lot of fun.  Everyone knows each other and its good energy.

J:  I think that being a teenager is pretty hard.  You go through, just the hormonal changes alone, you go crazy from when you turn 13 to about the time your in your early 20s.  I know I did—I was a lunatic.  You can handle it a couple of different ways…you can get really angry and go to hardcore shows and wear all black and get really upset about it or you can have a tendency to laugh at yourself.  And I think that’s something that our fans can do.  They come t have a good time, they come to dance and they come to laugh.  I mean, were def on the lighter side of the music scene.  We take the music very sincerely, but we don’t take ourselves seriously.

S: Well said.  I’ve been listening to ska music since 15-16 and I’ve seen a lot of friends and fans that wouldn’t say they’re not a fan anymore, but they’ve graduated, in their own terms.  I’m glad you brought that up, because I was curious about this.  What does it take for you all to maintain that?  Is it a conscious effort or its it so ingrained in you now that its 2^nd nature?

J:  Its second nature, its like flipping a switch.  Everyone in the band really loves to do this, it had been two months since we’d been on the road and everyone’s been jonesing to get back on the road.  I think we realize how special what we get to do is in light of the alternative of growing up and getting real jobs, that’s terrible.  We’d much rather be really silly, make great music and entertain hundreds of thousands of people each year.  It’s very, very special; we’re lucky guys.

S: I’m going to switch gears a little bit and kind of localize it.  Have you been to Nashville too much?  Not too much…much?  If it’s too much, let me know.

J:  Was it two years ago?  No, we were here with…the English Beat.  There had been a long hiatus that we hadn’t been to Nashville and we came here with Streetlight Manifesto and the English Beat.  The shows are just awesome.  Everyone is having a good time.  I’m happy that were back.

S: There is, relative to southern California and New Jersey, the havens, but even in the middle, we’re on the spectrum where there’s not a lot of ska.  Not a lot of ska shows, not a lot come through here.  When you guys are putting together your tour agenda – do you look at it like you had a great show in Nashville last year, let’s do it again?  Or, wow there isn’t much a scene here or, after being here a few times, there is a scene and we want to come back?

J:  None of that is up to us.  We go where they tell us to go.  It’s all handled by our booking agents and our manager and our tour manager.  There’s a great scene – the shows here in Nashville are just awesome.  They’re sold out; all the kids are having fun and dancing.  We go wherever the kids want us to play.  And yeah, we’ll hit back to places and build on it.  I bet we’ll go back to Arkansas like we did last night.  That was a smaller show, but everybody had a great time and maybe it will be in a different venue the next time and a better venue that is more conducive to people not getting shot. [Laughs]

D:  There’s a standing order in the band to nurture the scene wherever we go.  I don’t know, no one has ever really given us this job, but we feel like its partially our responsibility because when we were coming up there were all these great ska bands that showed us the ropes, so we feel like maybe even if it means not a lot of people will show up, if we can do a show somewhere new and be a part of that scene, every little bit helps.

S:  Do you take any areas under your wing?  You’re veterans, you have connections.  Do you ever say ‘How can we bring people here, how can we inspire people in this area?’

D:; I cant say its totally saintly.  Usually if we take a new band out, we get something out of it too.  Obviously they’re young and full of energy.  We can steal their essence out of their brains with our vampire teeth. [Laughs]  So, there’s always something in it for us as well.

J:  We’re down for going anywhere that people want us.  We want to go all over the world.  And we have gone across the majority of the earth.  And to go new place where you’ve never been – like we went to South America with Goldfinger and to have sold out shows in a place that you’ve never been, its amazing.  I can’t believe it.

S:  What was the best experience overseas?

J: Overseas?  Oooh..  There’s been a lot, let me think about that.  Sand boarding in Dubai.  That was pretty cool and playing show in Dubai with a bunch of metal bands; with Megadeth and Testament and 3 Doors Down.  That was pretty cool cause we were just thrown into there and the kids went crazy when we played.  It was awesome.

S:  Since we’re in Nashville, you mentioned Hank Williams, what country artists or country music has played a role in your musical development?

J:  I learned Hank Williams songs on the guitar just for the fun just because they’re mostly blueses and it’s mostly easy for me to learn how to sing it and play to guitar.  So when I practice at home, I play a little trumpet, then I play guitar and sing some Hank Williams songs.  Talk about putting your heart on your shoulder. The song writing its….

D: It’s Parrot on your shoulder and its a heart on your sleeves. [Laughs] We’ve learned recently that our song beer is actually a country song.

J:  Who did that, do you remember?  Yeah, some country artist covered beer and put it on his DVD and it’s really, really good.

S:  That seems like a good country song.

D:  He put a whole “I Shot The Sherriff” breakdown in the middle don’t they?

J:  We need to meet those guys!

S: Speaking of Hank’s heart on his shoulder, how much of your music is an outlet for you?  It’s very expressive and there are definitely messages in it.  Then again you have that light side..  How much of it is actually an outlet of you guys?

J:  I think all of it is.  Aaron writes about what’s going on in his life.  I’m very interested to hear what the news songs sound like since he’s gone through a divorce – that just gives him ammo to write more songs.  He’s definitely writing about his life experience.

D:  That’s why a lot of the songs are about being in a band instead of world politics, because this is what we know for sure about.  We all have our different opinions about the world and what not, but one thing’s for sure we know about being in a band, so he’d rather tell his honest truth I think than try and lecture other people.

S: You guys are in a van together a lot of time and there’s always stuff going on socially, politically.  You know, Aaron feels strongly about things and puts it into his songs, how much of that arises and does it cause friction ever?

J: You mean like political views and stuff?

D: I’m not going ask you about any particular topic, but anything that comes up in the times.

J: We really shy away from that stuff.  Because its about giving everyone a break from what’s going on in their lives, what’s going on in this world so they can forget about what happening and take you to that different place where you can laugh about what’s going on.

S:  What about you guys though? Those things that are affecting you, they have to be on your mind to some degree – you know those friendly conversations…do they get heated?

J:  This version of the band that we’re in now gets along together so well that we really, really reach back to each others opinions, so if Dan talks to me about something, I listen and enjoy hearing his point of view.

D:  No matter how we were all brought up or whatever our personal views on subjects are, we all live the same lifestyle – the kind of brigands, pirate lifestyle, not really existing in any one place too long and kind of existing between cities, I guess, and identities.  We kind of unify behind this excluded kind of belief system.  We don’t really follow any kind of rules.

S:  And everybody has that philosophy?

D:  Yeah, I think that unifies us.  We just want to make good music and have a good time.

S: When you bringing in new members, when that time arises if it comes around again.  How do you decide this is somebody that’s going to fit that bill?

J:  Do they have a passport? [Laughs]

D: Most of the guys who have joined the band we’ve known or played with them for years before, so it was just like a lot of the people that end up joining the band, they’ve kind of been around a while and either filled in or done recording projects with everybody.  So, they’re usually already like a family member.  I can’t predict what happens next through.  I feel bad for whoever that is. [Laughs]

S:  You guys have been referred to as icons, legends of ska – third wave ska at least.  I’ve read it, those words have been used.  Have you heard that ring before?

J:  I have not heard that one before.

S:  Well, from Toots to The Special to Reel Big Fish, Catch 22 and Mustard Plug, all the third wave – when we’re 2 or 3 waves down the road, when we’re 20 years down the road, what’s going to be the legacy of Real Big Fish?

D:  I think our mark is that we tried to bring a variety of influences to the already bastardized Frankenstein that is ska music.  It’s gone through so many changes.  I think that’s the whole point of it.  There are ska purists out there that say you should only play skinhead reggae or you should only play that rock steady beat like this.  My comment on that is that ska was invented by calypso musicians who wanted to play jazz music…were hired by the cruise ship to play calypso, so they kind of invented this hybrid boogie woogie music that they called ska.  So, the whole origin of it was involving combining styles.  I think were just carrying on that tradition.  So, I suppose our legacy would be taking ska and putting whatever is popular in our day…that stamp on it.  So in this case it was punk rock and jam bandy funk and glam rock – there’s a lot of guitar solos in our music.

S:  So, are we beyond the third wave now?  Are we in a fourth wave?

D:  It’s hard for us to claim third wave.  Only because a lot of those bands are our idols.  So, it feels weird to be considered a part of their movement like the Bosstones are 10 years older than me.  So, I didn’t’ really hang out with them.  But as far as style of music, I suppose we’re closer to them than the other waves.

S:  Is that something that’s been stuck with you the entire time..because it was 96, 97 that “Sellout” got real big, those years were when the Bosstones song was really big and Mustard Plug’s “The Freshman” – all of that.  Were you unfairly lumped into that group?

D:  No, we were proud to be included in that group.  We felt like little kids though, we just barely squeaked by when bands like No Doubt and Sublime and the Bosstones and Fishbone had been around for a long time already.  In the public eye, not just in their local scenes.  Fishbone was on Lollapalooza and stuff like that.  That was pretty huge.

S:  This is the last questions and its one of my favorites.  I’m sure you’ve heard it before.  I used to ask ‘Whats in your CD player?’ What do you have in your iPod or playing on your phone?

D:  This is one of the things that’s kept us together for so long and made it fun to write songs together is that we all listen to very different stuff and it all combines into this monster that is Reel Big Fish.  Right now, I’m listening to the new LCD Sound System record, I’ve got this mash up record that I found online – I forget the DJs name [Ed. Max Tannoneis responsible for Mos Dub], but its Mos Def accapela rap and he mashed it up with these classic reggae tunes.  So it’s as if Mos Def is rapping with Desmond Dekker.  It’s called Mos Dub and I found it free online, but I forget the DJs name.  I listen to a lot of Frank Zappa.

J: I’m listening to that new record from Clare and The Reasons called Arrow.  The band is just amazing.  I’ve seen them live a few times and it blows me away what amazing musicians they are.  Also, Hank Williams, Louis Armstrong and the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens.  I love Louis Armstrong.

D:  Tip the Van from Connecticut just finished their new record.  I haven’t heard it, but I’ll go on the record and say that everyone should listen to it.

Interviewer: Dave Sharp

Notable links:
Reel Big Fish
Tip the Van
Clare and the Reasons
Mos Dub
LCD Soundsystem