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Not long ago the Huntington Beach police paraded handcuffed members of Reel Big Fish down the
middle of Main Street as an example of what happens to troublemakers.This was the outcome of the first time
the members hung out together outside the band. "It was kind of cool," recalls trumpet player Tavis Werts,
"because everyone that drove past us called the cops assholes! "
As one of Southern California's premiere ska-punk
bands, Reel Big Fish is a frightening example of why
young children shouldn't drink Jolt Cola. Each band
member has such a consistently high level of energy
that they could take Ritalin off the market, and yet
collectively, they channel this energy through ska
melodies with enough raw, kinetic power to turn a club
upside down. In fact, the band has been chased off the
stage more than once by battered security guards.
 As with most hyperactive youth, Reel Big Fish pride
themselves on their sarcasm. These are the type of guys
who entertained such possible band names as the Moisty
Buttholes and Aaron and the Baritones. Yet even the
chosen name, Reel Big Fish, has questionable origins. Though the band once said the name originated from a
boat attack off Catalina Island, they now claim it
comes from the 1949 edition of Rock and Roll Band Names
which noted Reel Big Fish as an oddly repeated line in
several now classic films. Barrett remarks, "It's from
that famous line at the end of Casablanca, you know,
'The problems of seven small people don't add up to a
hill of beans in this reel big fish.'" They also claim
it can be found in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
and in Brando's famous "Stella" scream when played
backwards. Originally a three-piece band, Barrett, bassist Matt Wong and drummer Andrew Gonzales were a straight-ahead rock band doing Wham!, Warrant and Jimi Hendrix covers. Their goal was to cover a different song from every musical style possible. Then inspired by ska, Reel Big Fish added horn players until they arrived at their distinctive big band-meets-tattered caffeine freak sound. Though the original turnover for horn players was worse than your local McDonalds, the band finally gelled with Grant Barry and Dan Regan on trombone, Tavis Werts on trumpet and Scott Klopfenstein on trumpet and vocals. In fact, the chance of playing trombone in Reel Big Fish persuaded Barry to quit his day job as a nursing home dental assistant.
 With a solid line-up, Reel Big Fish recorded and self-released their Everything Sucks album in 1995, and it became an underground hit selling several thousand copies and spawning a number one hit single on Radio Free Hawaii. Soonafter, the band signed with Mojo Records, who quickly put them back in the studio. Under the direction of Mojo president Jay Rifkin and Oingo Boingo bassist John Avila, Reel Big Fish recorded a new, sixteen song album entitled Turn the Radio Off. Their time in the studio included sound room mosh pits, horn players recording naked and the demolition of a toilet they tried to repair with super glue and soap, and yet Reel Big Fish finally captured on tape the energy and power that made them one of the best live shows in Southern California.
As a band who learned firsthand not to throw a cup of
piss out their van window while other windows are open,
Reel Big Fish gathered all the experience needed to
make something from their collective ball of energy.
And while the name origin may change repeatedly over
time, Reel Big Fish can be counted upon to deliver one
caffeine-coated charge of ska-punk after
another...whether the Huntington Beach police like it
or not.
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