By Brad Filicky
LINKS:
(As I was editing this story to post it here, I received this news item from the band's publicist--ed.)
Scott Klopfenstein Of Reel Big
Fish Hospitalized in New Zealand
Reel Big Fish's Scott Klopfenstein is currently in a New Zealand hospital
undergoing tests for a condition yet to be determined. Upon arrival from
London, Scott experienced abnormal fatigue and was rushed to the hospital
where he remains under close supervision. Reel Big Fish will continue
their current Australian tour with Goldfinger while Scott is being cared
for. Meanwhile, Scott is in good spirits despite being so far away from
home. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We will keep you updated
on his condition via the band's website.
Now onto the story by Brad Filicky...
Ska band Reel Big Fish have been rocking shows
since the early days of the Warped Tour and the late 90s resurgence of
Ska (think Sublime, No Doubt and a lesser extent Save Ferris) and have
even had a big radio hit with the song "Sell Out" back in 1997.
Since then the band has not let up with a constant schedule of recording
and touring. The band’s latest opus We’re Not Happy ‘Til
You’re Not Happy, is a bitter (with a nudge-nudge, wink-wink
factor) look at the music biz. With song titles like Turn The Radio
Off and Don’t Start A Band it’s safe to say
RBF may not have the most positive outlook on music today. I recently
talked to singer/guitarist Aaron Barrett about the state of Ska and making
it big in Europe.
BRAD FILICKY: This record seems really angry and bitter. Where did all of that negativity come from?
AARON BARRETT: The lack of soul in my evil black heart. I don’t know.. I can’t help it. I have a bad attitude. I’m chemically imbalanced.
BF: So there’s no sarcasm in that?
AB: Oh there’s
always sarcasm.
BF: What are some of your worst experiences with record companies over the years?
AB: It always has its ups and downs. If the machine is working for you then it’s great, but most of the time it works against you (laughs). So you just want to make music and put out records you like. Especially with our band, there has always been a lot of potential to do bigger and better things, but the record company seems to not be interested. So you’re kind of stuck in the middle. You’ve come so far and you could go so much farther, but they don’t want to put the effort in since you haven’t sold millions of albums before. It’s a business and you always get screwed over with what they’re trying to sell ya.
BF: Why did you choose the songs to cover for this album?
AB: The Morrissey song, "We Hate In When Our Friends Become Successful"-- I’ve always really liked and it fit with the theme of the record. The Tracy Chapman song, "Talkin’ Bout A Revolution"– I’ve been listening to a lot of reggae and the lyrics sounded like it would make a good reggae song. "Story Of My Life" (originally by Social Distortion) was just a b-side that we did and we decided to put it in at the last minute.
BF: Reel Big Fish was at the forefront of the 80’s revival movement with your cover of A-Ha’s "Take On Me." Do you ever get sick of the whole 80’s thing?
AB: Na, I love the 80’s. It’s when I grew up, so it’s my favorite time (laughs). So I’d love to cover even more 80’s songs.
BF: Which 80’s songs would you want to cover?
AB: We did a cover of the Cure’s "Boys Don’t Cry." I’m not sure.. There are millions of songs in the world and I’m working on covering all the good ones.
BF: You are bigger in Europe than the US, why do you think that is?
AB: I think they kind have caught on to us late. The whole Ska thing was big in US in the late 90’s, and it never caught on over there, though there was a Ska scene. Over time, through the Internet and stuff, people caught on to us. We didn’t go over there for a long time because we didn’t think anyone would be interested. And the record company never put our record out. Eventually it became kind of this legendary thing, “Oh, Reel Big Fish, have you ever seen them?” like it was a big secret. By the time we made it over there in 2001, all of our shows were sold out. And 6 months later our album “Cheer Up” came out in England I guess the time was right.
BF: Are there any good Ska bands in Europe?
AB: There are some young bands that we played with, but they all seem to be breaking up after they tour with us (laughs). Some bands are doing Ska-like things. The Dead 60s are doing a Clash type thing. The whole Clash/early Two Tone sound is coming back and that is really cool.
BF: Do you think the Ska scene is dead in the US?
AB: Absolutely not. I think that there are more Ska
bands and fans now than there have ever been. You just don’t see
it as much in the mainstream media. And you don’t hear them on the
radio or see them on MTV. They are out there. We go on tour and everyday
we get at least 5 demo tapes from Ska bands. I think it’s a about
time for a comeback and this time I don’t think it’ll be as
silly. It will be cool music.
