Brian Blush, lead guitarist, remembers how the band was formed from four unemployed musicians hanging out at the bars in Tempe.
"We had known each other for about six years before we even got together and formed the band. We would sit around, drink a couple beers and play some songs," Blush said.
From the beginning, the band felt both the members and music fell into place nicely.
Roger Clyne, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, said "It seemed to click pretty well so we decided to hit the club scene."
Their first show was in January 1994 at Long Wongs in Tempe, opening for Flathead.
"We probably knew six songs at the time and we added a couple covers. 'Knew' being a loose term," Blush said.
The Refreshments' sound is straight forward rock 'n' roll with a sense of humor.
"It's like a car wreck and a carnival all at once," Blush said.
The band's unique sense of humor is clear in their live shows. They have been known to wear shower caps, water wings and sunglasses and give chips and chocolate milk to the first dancers.
"Our philosophy is to not take ourselves seriously. I think sense of humor and light fun of the band is what sets us apart," Blush said.
The live show is probably one of the keys to The Refreshments' success. They have taken their sense of humor and their music outside of Arizona and into much of the western part of the U.S.
"When we went out on tour for the first time, we didn't have a records to support us so no one knew who we were," Blush said
Clyne said, "We did really well up in Seattle but when we played Salt Lake City we cleared the room."
We would absolutely love to play in Flagstaff. In fact we tried to get a show up there once but it just didn't work out," Blush said.
Later in February The Refreshments will join their Tempe compadres Gin Blossoms and Dead Hot Workshop in a full U.S tour.
Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy is the band's first major label debut and it's one the band hopes will be successful.
"The songs all mean something to us , it's hard to say which are our favorites. It's kind of like asking a father who is his favorite kid but 'Girly' is certainly a song that gets a rise out of the crowd and out of us," Blush said.
"All these songs are from personal experiences. 'Girly' comes from a message I left on a girl's answering machine," Clyne said.
The lyrics on the songs sometimes give glimpses into the band member's lives and other times they seem to be just for laughs.
In the song "Mekong" Clyne tells of an experience sitting in a Chinese bar reflecting on life, while the song "Banditos" offers the line "Everybody knows the world is full of stupid people."
The Refreshments' new album and their attitude could almost be totally summed up in these words from "Mekong"- "Here's to life."