Review Fix chats with Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett who discusses the band’s upcoming world tour as well as their last album “Candy Coated Fury†and what it’s like to spend so much time on the road.
Barrett even shares an old road story with Review Fix that the band still remembers years later.
Review Fix: You guys are getting ready to embark on a world tour. How do you prepare yourself for something like that?
Aaron Barrett: Well we’ve constantly been on tour since summer 1996 with no more than a few weeks break in between shows or legs of tours so we are used to always being on the road. We don’t even bother unpacking our suitcases when we get home because we know we’ll be heading back out in no time. We try to play everywhere in the world at least once a year so that people don’t have a chance to forget about us. We’re very lucky to have so many fans all over the world that want to see us play and come back to their town so often.
Review Fix: What’s the band’s chemistry like on the road?
Barrett: All the current members of the band get along very well, we’re all in the band for the right reasons, we all love to travel and play shows and we love ska music and all our personalities really compliment each other. we have fun and enjoy each others company and are pretty much all the best of friends. In the past there were members who didn’t get along with everybody else and always made everyones lives on the road miserable. There was a lot of fighting and drama but that is all behind us now, we’re a very happy band now days.
Review Fix: Any fun stories you’d like to share?
Barrett: This one time, we got to sing the national anthem at a Miami Dolphins football game. We thought we sounded ok but as soon as we finished, all 50,000 people in the stadium started booing. It was the loudest “BOOOOOOO” we’ve ever heard. We were so bummed but as soon as we got off the field, we realized that the other team was running out on the field behind us so all the Dolphins fans were booing them and not us.
Review Fix: Fans have said for years that the band is better live than in the studio. How much time and energy goes into you guys perfectly your stage presence and showmanship?
Barrett: We are constantly playing hundreds of shows a year and spending hours and hours of our lives up on stage playing so it really is no wonder that we’ve perfected what we do so well. We see what works and what doesn’t, we know what songs and jokes go over with people, we know how to work a crowd and really entertain them. There’s no way you can do that in a rehearsal space or a garage somewhere or by playing a show now and than, this comes from constant touring and constant performing night after night after night. And the funny thing is, we still enjoy it. Every night we get so excited to finally get up on stage and play, we love every minute of it. We wish we could play even more shows.
Review Fix: How does it feel to tour with Goldfinger?
Barrett: It’s always a fun time with those guys, we’ve been doing shows and tours together since 1995. We’ve been all over the USA, Canada, South America, Europe. We’ve toured the world and elsewhere together.
Review Fix: What did you guys learn from Candy Coated Fury and how do you think it’ll influence the band moving forward?
Barrett: I think we have finally learned how to do what we do best. How to really be Reel Big Fish and write Reel Big Fish songs. How to relax in the studio and how to make the music we love without trying to hard or forcing it, just letting that fun, wacky ska music come straight out of our hearts and into the microphones.
Review Fix: You guys just finished the Warped Tour and now you’re going on this tour? Do you guys ever get tired?
Barrett: Luckily for us, we get to tour on a bus so our beds are right there at the end of the night, we just go to sleep and a professional driver takes us to the next town. We also are lucky enough to have a crew who unloads all our gear and sets everything up on stage for us. All we really have to worry about is playing music and finding the nearest brewery. We really are living the dream.
Review Fix: Have you guys started writing material for a new album yet or is the focus on the tour?
Barrett: We’re not working on anything new at the moment, Candy Coated Fury is only a year old. We need a little more time before we dive into making a new record.
Review Fix: You guys have accomplished a ton and have been rewarded with a massive cult following. What are some of your main goals as a band moving forward?
Barrett: We are very lucky to have such a huge, loyal, world wide fan base. We can’t express enough how grateful we are to our fans for supporting us and for allowing us to do this band as our one and only job for so many years now. We can’t thank them enough. Our goal really is just to keep doing what we’re doing. Just keep traveling all over the world and playing ska music for people to dance to and bringing smiles to the faces of the heads of the people of the world.
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