Emerging amid a wave of Southern California ska-punk acts, Reel Big Fish slipped toward broader recognition after No Doubt and Sublime broke through in the mid-1990s. Their approach stood out through frantic live performances, playful immaturity, tongue-in-cheek takes on new wave material, and jagged ska-metal textures. A devoted grassroots following expanded into wider visibility during summer 1997 once the single “Sell Out,” taken from the second album Turn the Radio Off, received regular spins on modern rock stations and MTV. Ska-punk’s commercial viability soon faded, and Reel Big Fish’s audience shrank accordingly, yet the group reshuffled personnel and kept delivering new recordings to a smaller but intensely loyal listenership, issuing its ninth album, Life Sucks...Let's Dance!, in 2018.
Formed in Huntington Beach, California, the band began as a three-piece of vocalist/guitarist Aaron Barrett, bassist Matt Wong, and drummer Andrew Gonzales. In those early days it operated as a standard rock unit with pop-metal inclinations, playing covers of both classic rock and Top 40 tracks suited to college parties. Months later the members embraced ska and expanded the roster with horn players. Stability in that section proved elusive until the core lineup of Tavis Werts on trumpet, Scott Klopfenstein on trumpet and vocals, Grant Barry on trombone, and Dan Regan on trombone finally coalesced.
This lineup tracked the self-released debut Everything Sucks in 1995. The record spread by word of mouth through ska-punk and college scenes, prompting Mojo Records to sign the band. Label president Jay Rifkin and former Oingo Boingo bassist John Avila produced the follow-up Turn the Radio Off, Reel Big Fish’s first Mojo release. Issued in August 1996, the album gained traction as the group toured relentlessly, steadily enlarging its audience. By spring 1997 “Sell Out” was receiving strong rotation at key modern rock outlets, which soon led to MTV airplay for its offbeat video. By summer the track registered as a modest modern rock success while the album reached the Top 100. In July 1997 the band put out the Keep Your Receipt EP, which paired “Sell Out” with outtakes, fresh songs, and live recordings. Why Do They Rock So Hard arrived a year later, and early 2000 brought a reissue of Everything Sucks.
When Mojo was acquired by Zomba, the parent of Jive Records, Reel Big Fish moved to the new label in fall 2001. Their Jive debut, the rock-leaning Cheer Up!, surfaced in mid-2002. Extensive touring ensued alongside Sum 41, Catch 22, Lucky Boys Confusion, the Matches, and Zebrahead. Drummer Carlos de la Garza, previously of Suburban Rhythm, eventually departed; his final performance, captured live at Anaheim’s House of Blues in June 2003, became the DVD The Show Must Go Off!, released later that year. The next studio album, the biting yet melodic We’re Not Happy ’Til You’re Not Happy, appeared in April 2005. By then the roster had settled around Barrett, Regan, Klopfenstein, Wong, new trumpeter John Christianson, and drummer Justin Ferreira, who was later succeeded by Ryland Steen.
The group kept touring through the remainder of 2005 and finally parted from Jive in January 2006 after having sought a release since Cheer Up!. A co-headlining summer run with MxPx helped reestablish Reel Big Fish as an independent act. In August they issued the self-released double-disc live set Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album, complete with an accompanying DVD. Months afterward Jive released its own compilation, Greatest Hit...And More, over the band’s objections; Reel Big Fish earned nothing from sales because Jive controlled rights to most of their catalog.
The group nevertheless delivered fresh material in February 2007 via the split EP Duet All Night Long with Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer. Monkeys for Nothin’ and the Chimps for Free followed later that year as the first full-length studio album since departing Jive. Fame, Fortune and Fornication arrived in 2009 and consisted entirely of covers of tracks by Poison, Slade, and Tom Petty. Longtime member Scott Klopfenstein exited in 2011 to concentrate on family life, with Goldfinger’s Matt Appleton stepping in. The following year brought Candy Coated Fury, the first collection of original songs in five years, followed by the holiday EP Happy Skalidays in 2014. Their ninth album, Life Sucks...Let's Dance!, appeared in late 2018.
