An interview with the bands
Reel Big Fish has been entertaining ska and punk fans since 1991. Before their show on Saturday, the band members had some time to sit down for an interview.
Interview with Reel Big Fish:
John Christianson- Trumpet
Scott Klopfenstein- Trumpet Vocals and Guitar
Ryland Steen- Drums
Dan Regan- Trombone
Campus Press: How has the response been to your new album?
Klopfenstein: We have responded well.
Steen: The fans seem to love it and it has been received very well.
Klopfenstein: Yeah what he said, pretty much.
CP: What is your favorite song on the new album?
Klopfenstein: I like a “Day in the Life.” I like “Eleanor Rigby.”
Steen: I really like “The New Version of You.”
Klopfenstein: Yeah, that song is fun.
Steen: It really caters to the person of ADD, but it is always hard to choose a song that you
love more than the other.
Klopfenstein: Cause it could kill you in your sleep.
CP: Who writes your songs, or do you collaborate?
Klopfenstein: God and the devil.
Steen: It’s mainly Aaron who comes in with the jist of the song and we just sorta all work it out.
Klopfenstein: Jam it.
CP: So you guys just dropped your record label?
Klopfenstein: They dropped us, but we had asked them to.
Steen: It was definitely a group effort.
CP: Why did you want to be dropped from your record label?
Klopfenstein: Record labels are ridiculous these days. You don’t need a record label. You can pretty much do it all on your own and keep the money. Especially at the point that
Reel Big Fish is at- we have the loyal fan base, and with the Internet, it is much easier to get your music out.
Steen: Record labels can be great if they’re behind you and to push you.
Klopfenstein: But it is rare.
Steen: It is pretty rare, so we couldn’t be happier.
CP: Speaking of being happy, many articles are saying that since you dropped your
label, your music has been more happy. Is this a direct effect of being dropped?
Klopfenstein: I mean sometimes we’re happy, some we’re not.
Steen: The angry still pops out.
Klopfenstein: We’re more happy to be angry. Its like anger is finding comfort in being depressed. Today, anger is not a necessity, but it is more of a luxury.
CP: Did your record label pressure you into writing angry songs?
Klopfenstein: No, they wanted us to write happier songs. We told them to (expletive) themselves.
Steen: It’s like with ska, the music is fun and happy, but when you listen to the lyrics, they’re pretty dark.
Klopfenstein: You need both the ying and the yang to have a well balanced chi.
CP: How did you get started?
Steen: I have only been in the band for three years.
Klopfenstein: We met in 1991 and I didn’t join the band till 1993, but I was at the second show and every show after that. We met through the Orange County ska scene and high school.
CP: Are you working on a follow-up record any time soon?
Steen: Not right now, we’re kind of just focusing on touring. We’re more of a touring band, like the amount of tickets we sell.
Klopfenstein: (Laughs) Sail. I’d be a pirate!
Steen: Yeah, our record sales don’t really reflect that.
CP: Why would more people rather come to your show than buy your record?
Steen: I think we’re the kind of band that one person buys the CD and burns it for all of their friends, and we’re ok with that. But I think sometimes they don’t necessarily listen to the band, but they enjoy coming to the show.
CP: Where was your favorite place to perform?
Klopfenstein: On a stage, although I would like to try playing in a barn.
Steen: (Laughs) A barn?
Klopfenstein: Or like a refrigerated truck, because we usually play on stage. Or like maybe a space station, in an underwater marine research lab, kind of like on The Abyss with the water aliens.
CP: Will you be playing any old songs on this tour?
Steen: We try to play all the crowd pleasers.
Klopfenstein: “Beer,” “She Has a Girlfriend Now,” “Take on Me.”
Steen: I believe it’s called “Take Me There.” (Laughs) There was this girl last night who in between every song would scream “Sing take me there! Sing take me there! No where in the song does it say take me there. She was right in front of (Klopfenstein). I’m surprised he didn’t hear her.
Klopfenstein: Last night?
Steen: Yeah.
Klopfenstein: Oh, I’m too busy in the zone.
CP: What are you expecting of the Boulder crowd?
Klopfenstein: Boys and girls mainly. We don’t expect and wild animals like a cougar or an antelope.
Steen: Well they can expect to have fun.
Klopfenstein: Singing Nooo, nooo, we’re gonna have fun. I wanna have fun, no na na no na no na na no. We can expect to have fun.back me up on this one!
Christianson: We will have fun.
CP: What has been your favorite tour?
Steen: I really enjoyed the one we did with Less Than Jake last summer.
Klopfenstein: There are so many tours to choose from that it’s hard to put one above the other. They all have their own pluses and minuses.
Klopfenstein: It’s a day at a time kind of thing. Like, right now this is the greatest tour I have been on because it is the only tour that I have tangible in my own life. Tours of the past no longer exist and the ones yet to come do not exist.
CP: As a band do you guys get along?
Klopfenstein: We stand each other as much as cats and dogs stand each other. When they’re shoved in a house together they get along.
Steen: We all kind of know each other’s boundaries.
Klopfenstein: See, the thing is- and this is the honest truth- I know this might have a negative effect if I actually admit this, but everyone here is a subsection of my own personality. I cannot hate the rabbit (Steen) lest I hate myself. (CP) is another section of my psyche that I do not understand, but nonetheless I will not hate you because I do not want to hate myself. This bus is a substructure of my own imagination. I would have not designed it like this, but somewhere inside of me would have, so I will not comment on the design of it. I would not hate my band mates lest I hate myself.
Steen: Truer words have never been spoken.
CP: What can we expect of Reel Big Fish in the future?
Steen: More action-filled shows and wonderful music.
Klopfenstein: See, I don’t even have to say it since he is part of me. He knows exactly what I’m going to say, but I’m basically talking to myself through myself subconsciously.
Christianson: Isn’t he great?
Klopfenstein: Most people would go crazy- not I. It’s acceptance, of course. You all have to take the difficult leap, which is acceptance that you all don’t really exist.
Christianson: It’s Scott’s world, and we all just live in it.
Klopfenstein: Each band member is a unique individual character, which all comes from inside of me.
Christianson: We have to live with this guy.
CP: He’s great.
Steen: Actually, he has to live with you.
Klopfenstein: (Christianson) is just a subsection of my own personal psyche, so I accept you and love you because I accept and love myself. (Talking to Dan Regan) I am explaining to them how none of you truly exist. And this is just some bizarre experiment being done by forces I don’t understand. You can call them aliens, you can call them spirits of the universe and you can call them whatever. My mind is not enough to understand them, but I do understand this is all under my control, though I allow it to do its own thing. That way I learn about me. I don’t know what that means for you.
Christianson: WhisperingAsk another question. He is gonna keep going unless you ask another question.
CP: Where do you pull your inspiration from for your music?
Christianson: Life. That’s an honest answer.
CP: So your music tells some crazy stories. Are they true?
Klopfenstein: All true, all true. Maybe slight embellishments here and there. You can only teach what you have learned. You cannot give away what you don’t own.
CP: So why do you call Ryland the “Rabbit”? Do you have other nicknames for other band mates?
Klopfenstein: Well, I mean, to really understand, we would have to go back in history. Back to ancient Egypt. And I just don’t think we have the time for that. There is a very lengthy and exhausting explanation that I don’t think we have time for. But, the simple answer is that he reminded us as a young lad of the character who was called Rabbit on Super Troopers.
Everyone laughs
CP: Does anyone else in the band have nicknames?
Klopfenstein: John. His last name is not Christmas, but his last name is. Have you ever seen the movie “Splash” with Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks? ‘Cause there is a part in it where she tries to pronounce her name and it shatters televisions. John’s name is very similar. It doesn’t shatter televisions but it, um, anything being shattered is just not a good idea. He actually shatters dogs femurs within a mile radius. Pop!- a dog’s femur.Yep.
Christianson: I really love dogs, so we don’t say it anymore.
Klopfenstein: So we call him Christmas because it’s festive.
CP: Well thank you guys very much.
Klopfenstein: You are very welcome.
Chase Long Beach is a ska band from Orange County, Calif. They are on tour with Reel Big Fish and said they are having the time of their lives. After their performance opening for Reel Big Fish, they agreed to talk about their rise to fame and their experiences touring with Reel Big Fish.
Interview with Chase Long Beach:
Karen Roberts- Vocals
Patt Fitzgerald- Bass and Vocals
Meagan Christy- Trumpet and Vocals
CP: So how did you get your start?
Fitzgerald: We started like most bands do, just kids who are into ska music. Five years later, here we are.
Christy: Here we are.
Roberts: We started playing at the Lakewood Youth Center and this little pizza place, just like little shows and carnivals. It’s all your friends, and your friends are like, “I don’t wanna go again” cause they’re so sick of it.
CP: How has it been touring with Reel Big Fish?
Fitzgerald: It’s been great.
Christy: We have gone on a couple of tours, and this is only the third day and it’s already blowing the other tours away, which is so cool.
Roberts: It’s been awesome. I mean it’s only the third day and it has been amazing. We love those guys so much. I mean, Aaron Barrett is one of the sweetest guys. We love that band with all of our hearts.
CP: Do you have any musical inspirations?
Fitzgerald: I mean, Sublime and Reel Big Fish for the ska side of our music.
Christy: We love Radiohead, but at the same time, we love Beethoven. That’s why our music is so diverse.
CP: How did you like the Boulder crowd?
Christy: Oh my god! This is the best.
Fitzgerald: When you walk out on stage, you just know what it is gonna be like. It was just incredible.
Christy: You walk out on stage and the crowd doesn’t even know you and they’re still screaming. That’s how you can tell that it is gonna be fun.
Roberts: Best show so far! One of the best shows we have ever played! We had so much fun tonight.
CP: So how did you get into the band?
Roberts: I love being in the band. I have been doing it for five years. Me and Patt started the band, so I have been in it since the beginning. And recently, all that we have worked for is starting to pay off.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Bradley Ehrlich at [email protected].
