If you’re a regular on this website then chances are you’ve been OBSESSED with the same bands you were when you were 14. Most likely those bands still hold a huge spot in your heart.
So the question I'd ask is this: How would you handle getting to meet that band and become friendly with them? Would you be starstruck and freeze? Would you spill your guts about what they’ve meant to you and potentially embarrass yourself? Or would you ask them if they prefer Taco Bell over Del Taco?
I’ve been a fan of Reel Big Fish since Nickelodeon played their music video for "Monkey Man" regularly as promotion for The Wild Thornberrys Movie. I would run around the house with my dad singing, “AYE YAE YAH, HOGGIN’ UP THE BIG MONKEY MAN” I was probably 8 years old.
Cut to my freshman year of high school when I had a peer ask me:
HIM: “What kind of music do you like?”
ME: “Pretty much anything on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack. My favorites are probably, New Girl by Suicide Machines, Superman by Goldfinger, All My Best Friends are Metal Heads by Less Than Jake, but my favorite is actually from the Disney’s Extreme Adventure soundtrack (cool guy alert!) and it's Sell Out by Reel Big Fish”
HIM: “Oh you like Ska!”
ME: “No… I don’t think so, I’ve never heard of that”
HIM: “All those bands are ska bands….”
Once I learned the name, that was it. I made it my whole personality, and Reel Big Fish has always had the number one spot. The first ska show I ever went to was Reel Big Fish at The Boise State Spring Fling at Julia Davis Park in 2010. I've seen them over a dozen times, still holding the top spot for me for most times I’ve seen a band.
This last week, I reached out to Reel Big Fish to ask about the band announcing their return after a 6 year hiatus. I’ve been friends with their manager for the last couple of years, so he calls me up and says, “Sure! I can get you Scott and Aaron and you guys can talk about the new dates! After all, you are their number one fan!”
(I want to note here that if a band’s manager calls you their number one fan, that should be made official. I shall forever be known as Reel Big Fish’s biggest fan. Amanda, I’m looking at you, you've gotta get Fall Out Boy’s manager’s contact info.)
I’ve interviewed members of the band before and have become somewhat casual with them. I met Scott Klopfenstein (an original and iconic band member who left a few years ago but will be returning this year) at SPI Fest in Austin, TX. He knew me by name when the show was over and asked for me to sit with him for a bit while fans came to talk to him. That was already pretty mind blowing for me. This was early on in my “Ska influencer" career, and I admit that I didn’t handle it well. I was a definitely fangirling at him, but he was kind and funny. I also met Derek Gibbs (current and long-time bass player for Reel Big Fish) that night and talked astronomy with him (in case you didn’t know, he’s a big astronomy dude).
(Adam meeting Derek Gibbs and Scott Klopfenstein at SPI Fest in Austin, TX 2023)
A couple of years later, I interviewed Scott for the 200th episode of On The Upbeat and he was so great! He stuck around for 45 minutes after we'd wrapped the recording just to chat with us for a while.
When I launched my podcast, The Ska Mailman Podcast, right here on the Never A Phase Network, I interviewed Brian Robertson (former trombonist) and Johnny Christmas (current trumpet player) and have stayed in touch with both.
Aaron Barrett (frontman and guitarist) and Scott have always been the voices of Reel Big Fish, but I’ve never gotten a lot of time with Aaron. When I found out I was going to interview him, I had to make sure I didn’t fangirl at him like the first time I did with Scott, but I’ve had lots of experience by now with Ska musicians I look up to. I’ve gotten to play shows with some, and talk with a whole lot of others and I knew I could do it. I mean, the only person I choke in front of now is “Weird Al” Yankovic. (read that story here on neveraphasenetork.com)
So I logged into the podcast recording session and there they were, already waiting for me, Scott and Aaron, just being their fun-loving, goofy selves.
The reason I love ska so much, and especially the more silly 3rd wave stuff, is because there are already plenty of bands on stage telling you how fucked up the world is and why you should be pissed off. Don’t get me wrong, I love that shit too. But sometimes you want to go to a show to FORGET how fucked up everything is and you just want to have fun and have a couple of goofballs tell you, “Snap out of it, it’s time to dance!” That’s Reel Big Fish.
Aaron has followed me on Instagram for a little while and his wife has been a friend on a few platforms for a while. But we’ve never really talked much. He’s left a comment now and then, but I was shocked to know how much he knew about me! He talked about the podcast I started, “Every Song Sucks: A Reel Big Fish Podcast,” and told me about his favorite episodes. He remembered a video I did covering "Sell Out" in the style of The Smiths. It felt like I was talking to a familiar friend!
And we had fun.
The episode that’s out now was a dream come true for me. If you've ever had a Reel Big Fish phase, or a ska phase, or have any sort of funny bone in your body, then you need to listen/watch right away and remember that it's cool to care. It’s cool to be funny. And It’s cool to interrupt a conversation with poop joke quotes from Dumb and Dumber.
The podcast ended and I got to stick around for a while longer talking with Scott and Aaron and I think I can safely say that they are friends of mine now. I’m not talking like best friends, sleepovers and texts every day. But I think we’ll still be in touch.
DO meet your heroes! But be cool about it…
Have a good time all the time and remember, “Life Sucks, Let’s Dance!”