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07/04/2010 12:00 AMReel Big Fish played Warped Tour and Madison's Douglas Levine caught their show when the tour stopped in New Jersey.
Hear the audio interview below or to the right.
What's your reaction to when ska bands drop their horn sections?
Aaron Barrett (AB): Well, we feel disappointed. We feel like their trying too hard to please someone other than themselves and the fans, and trying to get the elusive record deal that they probably won't get, when they should be making good music and playing for people that want to hear it. And maybe they just don't like horns. Personally I love horns. (SK): And maybe they just don't listen to a wider array of music with horns. Any strange prep rituals you've developed over the years?SK: I have to wash my hair before every show. And I've been doing this for tw to-three years. What keeps you guys playing ska when other bands are leaving it behind and dropping their horn sections?AB: Three things. Number One: We're good at it. Number Two: We were lucky enough to get a lot of fans and a lot of people that like are music and what we do, and who keep buying tickets to shows and buying our albums. Number Three: Its fun to do and we love doing it. I personally, and I think a lot of the people in the band love the ska music.How did you get your name, how did you form, and what made you want to be a ska band?AB: The hardest part of starting a band is the name and we'd pretty much given up. And there was this movie with Robin Williams out called the Fisher King, and that was going be our name. And we made the little demo tape, and the name on it was Reel Big Fish for some reason. And we thought that sounded better and more original. It's just a unique phrase you don't hear very often. There's not very many Reel Big Fishes, there's us and then a bait store in Hawaii. And as with most ska bands, people kinda just come and go. A lot of people have different goals in life: I'm going get a job. I'm going go to college. I'm going to move away…What inspired your sideburns?AB: I just always really liked sideburns. And I was lucky enough to get lots of hair on my face. I do get tired of people yelling, "Hey Elvis," but that's the only down side. I think they're pretty cool.
Scott Klopfenstein
AB: That's another quote we hear a lot, "We don't want to be limited by the horn section."
SK: And it's like if you have a horn section you're not limited to anything.
AB: Its like, "Well, we've got guitar, bass, and drums." Ok, what can you do with that that hasn't been done a million times?
AB: You know OCD just pops up and you don't notice it. You know OCD just pops up and you don't notice it. Honestly, I don't really do anything. I change my clothes and warm up. But I don't do anything weird like sacrifice a chicken.
SK: I'm going to build a Wigwam
AB: And then it becomes: I hate your guts. I'm not making enough money….
SK: Your shirt smells funny.
AB: And eventually everyone just fell into place. As for why a ska band, I was definitely a fan of ska music even before I knew what ska was. I loved reggae, the English Beat, and just horns in general. And we were growing up in this scene with bands like Sublime, and we just said, "Yea, that's what we have to do."
www.reel-big-fish.com
Hear the audio interview below or to the right.