Warped interview - Reel Big Fish

By Lydia Fiser

It’s been a wild ride for Reel Big Fish since it’s biggest hit, “Sell Out” in 1997. The punk/ska band has been through countless lineup changes, a few more hits, and it’s worst/best moment, being dropped from Jive Records. Now, Reel Big Fish is enjoying the freedom of not being on a major label as it tours in support of its latest album, Monkeys for Nothin’ and the Chimps for Free. Drift caught up with frontman Aaron Barrett as the band was preparing for the first Warped Tour show of 2008. Reel Big Fish and the Warped Tour hit St. Augustine on July 13.

Drift: How did you and the other current members of Reel Big Fish get together?

Aaron Barrett: That’s a long story. There’s been so many people in the band. It’s hard to find people to keep in a ska band. I got a guitar for my 15th birthday because I wanted to play hair metal and a guy in my art class said he had an acoustic guitar, so I invited him over. Then five years later a band came. But there was no magical moment where we all met at a show and said, “Lets make a ska band.”

D: It seems like you’ve had a lot of members come and go over the last 15 years, how has that affected the band’s overall sound?

AB: We’ve always tried to get better players, so we always sound better. I’ve always written the songs so that didn’t change – if that changed then it was my fault. New guys remind the old guys why they’re doing it, keeps it fresh.

D: Who of the original members are left in Reel Big Fish?

AB: I think original members are the people that were in the band when the band got big. So if you look at it that way, then that would be half of us are original members, me and Scott and Dan.

D: Where are you guys right now? What are you up to?

AB: We’re on the Warped Tour sitting on the bus. Today’s the first day, Pomona (California), it’s 100-something degrees, but it’s a dry heat. We go on in an hour and a half. It’s really hard to make a set list, we only have half an hour and we usually play for two hours. It’s hard to decide what nine songs – or eight songs – we’re going to play.

D: Is this your first time on the Warped Tour?

AB: We did the 1997 one. And we did one of the few Warped Tours in Australia. That was crazy because they don’t have tour buses there so everybody rides around in Greyhound-style buses and when we got there they handed tents to everyone and we had to set up our own tents. Yah, we’re old veterans.

D: Have you ever been to St. Augustine before?

AB: I don’t think we have.

D: Have you ever toured in Florida before?

AB: We usually go to Orlando, Gainesville, Jacksonville and Boca Raton.

D: How do you like touring in Florida?

AB: I like it, but it’s usually really rainy when we go there and for some reason they always have a lot of outdoor shows whenever we play. If you guys know it’s going to rain, why schedule it outdoors?

D: You were dropped from Jive Records in 2006, are you still independent?

AB: Yup, we’re still independent. We don’t really need a record deal, we’ve got fans already that support us more than a record label would.

D: Did being dropped from the label affect the sound of Reel Big Fish at all?

AB: They [Jive Records] never really cared at all about us, they were buying up small independent record labels so they could own everything. It was really hard to get in touch or get anything to happen; they never really cared what we did. We just did whatever we wanted.

D: What are the band’s plans for the future?

AB: We are going to tour a lot. We’re going to go to Brazil for the first time. And we have a Canadian tour, UK and hopefully make a new album sometime soon. Just a lot of touring, that’s all we do all the time.

D: Are you excited about playing at the Warped Tour in St. Augustine?

AB: It’ll be fun, Florida’s always good, we have good crowds. You people sure know how to party. We can’t wait to come and play for you. Thank you for all the love, check out our Myspace. I’m on it right now.