Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1991, the group became one of the most visible acts of the 1990s third-wave ska revival, combining brisk punk rhythms, prominent horn arrangements, pop melodies, and a deliberately irreverent sense of humor. Although the band has undergone numerous lineup changes, vocalist and guitarist Aaron Barrett has remained its central figure.
The group began as a conventional rock band featuring Barrett, bassist Matt Wong, and drummer Andrew Gonzales. After discovering ska, the musicians reshaped their sound and expanded the lineup with trumpet, trombone, and saxophone players. Early recordings, including the demo In the Good Old Days... and the EP Buy This!, helped establish the band's local following. Reel Big Fish's first full-length album, Everything Sucks, was released independently in 1995. Its word-of-mouth success within the underground ska and punk communities attracted the attention of Mojo Records.
The band's major breakthrough came with Turn the Radio Off, released in 1996. Driven by the fast, horn-heavy arrangements and sarcastic songwriting of "Sell Out," the album moved Reel Big Fish from the club circuit into mainstream alternative rock. "Sell Out" became a regular presence on modern rock radio and MTV, while Turn the Radio Off reached the Billboard 200 and was later certified gold in the United States. The song's subject - a band supposedly abandoning its principles for commercial success - became one of Reel Big Fish's defining jokes, particularly as the group itself benefited from the success it mocked.
Reel Big Fish followed with Why Do They Rock So Hard? in 1998, an album that retained the band's energetic ska punk foundation while showing a broader interest in soul, reggae, pop, and classic rock. The group also appeared in the 1998 comedy film BASEketball and contributed a cover of "Take On Me" to its soundtrack. As the commercial ska revival faded, however, the band's mainstream profile declined. Its subsequent records, including Cheer Up! and We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy, found the musicians moving between sharper punk material, pop-rock writing, and increasingly cynical reflections on the music business.
After leaving Jive Records in 2006, Reel Big Fish continued largely as an independent act. The band documented its live identity with Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album and returned to studio recording with Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free in 2007. Fame, Fortune and Fornication, released in 2009, centered on covers, while A Best of Us... for the Rest of Us and its Skacoustic companion revisited older material in new arrangements. Candy Coated Fury, issued in 2012, marked a return to original songs, and the group later released the holiday EP Happy Skalidays and the album Life Sucks... Let's Dance! in 2018.
Reel Big Fish's enduring appeal rests as much on performance as on recorded work. Their concerts emphasize sing-alongs, comic stage banter, tightly arranged horns, and a knowingly exaggerated party atmosphere. Even after the end of their commercial peak, the band maintained a loyal international audience and remained a recognizable representative of Southern California ska punk. In the 2020s, Reel Big Fish continued to perform and participate in new collaborations, including a 2024 recording with Ice Nine Kills, while celebrating the legacy of its best-known era.