If you’re a more refined ska fan, like me, and know the intimate details of their discography, you may remember an obscure song on Reel Big Fish’s 1996 classic Turn the Radio Off simply titled “S.R.” Clocking in under 90 seconds, the song laments the breakup of Long Beach’s Suburban Rhythm, a group that was famous in the Orange County scene and played shows with the likes of No Doubt and Sublime but ultimately broke up in 1994 while recording their first album. Though some may call it a throwaway in the grand scheme of the album, the song became a live staple for the band, as they would famously perform it in many different styles and poll the audience for their favorite version. The main lyrics to the song, written by frontman Aaron Barrett, are sparse but poignant:
“What ever happened to suburban rhythm?
Why did Ed and Scott quit?
Please don't go, suburban rhythm
All the other bands are just shit”
But today, just as Aaron questioned the whereabouts of Suburban Rhythm, ska punks around the world are asking the same question about his own band as Reel Big Fish have been notably absent over the last half decade. After being one of the most consistent touring bands for a large portion of their career, we are rapidly approaching the fifth anniversary of their last live performance. Their Life Sucks…Let’s Dance Tour was abruptly cut short when the entire world stopped for COVID and the group has not taken to the stage since. In fact, I attended one of the last shows they played on that unbeknownst last weekend of freedom at The Paramount in Huntington before everything shut down back in March 2020. The band delivered their usual high energy performance filled with hits from their back catalog, mixed with new material and eclectic covers to a room full of skanking enthusiasts.
And since then, there has been next to nothing.
Sure, there have been flickers of life here and there. Aaron did a live performance on former bandmate Scott Klopfenstein’s Twitch channel and spent a good three hours bantering and playing with him back in 2021. The duo also appeared on a podcast recently to discuss their breakout hit, “Sell Out,” with Chris DeMakes in 2023. There have been several vinyl reissues from the band’s back catalog. Aaron also lent his vocals and signature guitar playing to a collaboration with Ice Nine Kills last year on a cover version of “Walkin’ on Sunshine” complete with horns credited to Dan Regan, another former RBF associate on trombone. It was a bizarre collaboration, but perhaps it's an encouraging development to see the lone remaining original member of the band back in the saddle, even briefly.
Despite these sparse recent developments, though, there has been no real sign that Reel Big Fish will continue to exist as we knew and loved them. There has been no statement from bandleader Aaron, to my knowledge, that addresses their hiatus and the reasoning behind it. From what I can gather from the limited information that’s out there (random comments on reddit), Aaron felt the band had become a parody of itself and he’s decided to take an extended break from it. Those alleging to have spoken to him say the possibility for new music does still exist but it seems unlikely that fans will ever see a proper tour again, which may be the saddest part of the whole thing given their tremendous live performances.
When you look back on it, though, I guess the writing has been on the wall for a long time. Original and integral members of the group have consistently left the band over the last two decades. Matt Wong, their original bassist and a constant source of fun at their live shows, left the band in 2007 to “settle down and be a family man.” It continued with the aforementioned Klopfenstein, who provided trumpet, piano, and backing and lead vocals, and was a key songwriter in Reel Big Fish for his seventeen years with the group. Joining for their breakout Turn the Radio Off, he left in 2011 prior to the birth of his first child. Regan, the original trombonist, departed the group in 2013 to spend more time with his family and open a brewery – which he did, but it closed in 2022 which perhaps explains his re-emergence on “Walkin’ on Sunshine.”
Though there have been steady members like Johnny Christianson on trumpet and Derek Gibbs on bass, the brunt of the songwriting has steadily become more and more Aaron’s full responsibility as arguably the only real member of the band left. The constant search for replacement players combined with the creative burden might make it reasonable to expect this inevitable burnout. And maybe, after seeing all of his former bandmates do it, Aaron also decided to focus more on his life outside of music.
As a long time fan, who has stuck with them even through the leaner years, never being able to see Reel Big Fish perform live again is one of the sadder prospects to come to terms with in my musical fandom. As it comes closer to becoming a reality each day, let’s try to remember the good times together.
One of the biggest moments for the third wave of ska in the late 1990s, and my introduction to the band, was the breakthrough of “Sell Out” to mainstream television and radio. Reel Big Fish’s lead single from Turn the Radio Off, unironically one of my favorite albums ever, blew up on MTV and alternative radio and led the way for dozens of other ska punk bands to land record deals. Though the ska bubble would burst shortly after, the fact that is made it to the mainstream during that era was equal parts improbable and hilarious to look back on. But if you look at “Sell Out,” its emblematic of the rest of their catalog in both quality and irony. Their first single and biggest hit was a song about them selling out to make money to quit their meager day jobs. In reality, Aaron actually worked at Subway, not a burger joint, and left the day after he heard his own song on the radio. The quality of the song, however, combined with it being outright funny was a combination that made Reel Big Fish more than just another one-off band from the ‘90s.
The genius of Reel Big Fish’s music lies within their attitude towards themselves, as well as their collective sense of humor. From the beginning, they made themselves the butt of the joke. Whether it was performing a duet about a girl who left Aaron for another girl (“She Has a Girlfriend”), making fun of vegans (“Say Ten”), pretending to be cool (“Trendy”), that first album is littered with self-depreciating humor that endears the listener to the group. It also signifies a shift in the alternative zeitgeist, albeit from the outright depressing nature of grunge to a more “I’m still miserable but at least I can be funny about it” with an upbeat tone.
And of course, lest we forget their incredible cameo in Baseketball, featuring their other biggest hit from the 1990s: “Beer,” which is also on Turn the Radio Off.
Though Turn the Radio Off takes the crown for me as their best album, the next two records the group produced, Why Do They Rock So Hard? (1998) and Cheer Up (2002), create possibly the best three-album run for any ska punk band from this era. The former added a glam rock element that bolstered both the songwriting and humor aspects of the group’s music. It’s littered with assaults on band members (“Scott’s A Dork”), people who mosh, including the incredible line “gonna punch some little girls tonight” (“Thank You For Not Moshing”), the band itself (“Down in Flames,” “The Kids Don’t Like It”), and their frontman’s brief romance with Gwen Stefani (“She’s Famous Now”).
Some fans argue the latter is the group’s watershed moment where all elements of their sound come through best as a complete package. Cheer Up sounds a bit more like a breakup record, with lines like “this one’s for all the suckers who still believe in love,” “we are the dateless losers,” and an especially bitter ode to a lady named Valerie, about whom Aaron says: “you make me wish I was dead.” With the tremendous cover of Sublime’s “Boss DJ,” “Brand New Hero,” and the subdued Klopfenstein-led keyboard balled “Drunk Again” to close the album, those fans mentioned above may have a point.
After this impressive triad of records, though, the band’s catalog did falter a bit. There were hits and misses along the way, but what always carried them was their live shows. I’ve seen them plenty of time over the years, from a 2004 show at The Downtown in Farmingdale to that third to last show to date in 2020. Filled with the same humor from the albums, alongside ridiculous banter between the members of the band, specifically Scott and Aaron, always made a Reel Big Fish show a worthy investment for the fan. You knew that if you went to that show, you were going to hear some great songs, laugh your ass off, and have a great time at a silly little ska show. And you knew that the guys up there on stage were in on the joke.
For my sake and for yours, let’s hope this is not the end for Reel Big Fish. At the very least, I’d like one more show so we can give these ska punk legends the farewell they deserve and let them know they are so much more than a one-hit wonder. Perhaps the momentum with the collaboration with Ice Nine Kills, as weird as it was, is a harbinger of good things for the future. But if not, like the penultimate track on “Cheer Up” goes:
What will they say, when I’ve gone away? You’ve gotta find a brand new hero...
Listen to the songs mentioned in this article, plus many more Reel Big Fish classics, on the playlist below.
