Ska Coated Fury

"We decided to 'go independent', as it were, because we had no choice,” explains Dan Regan. “In 2005 we got dropped from Jive records. But instead of moping, we hit the ground running and started doing everything ourselves. We were in a good position to do this because we had already been mailing out tapes to fans and promoting ourselves since the early '90s. But now with social media and all the other tools available to bands, it's so easy to do it by ourselves. So as it turns out, being independent has really suited us and the music we play.

“Besides, I hate to say it but the record company model that bands of the past used is dead,” continues Regan. “Everyone is scrambling to figure out what to do these days. Labels now expect new bands to have done a lot of the work they would have done themselves in the past. And I get why. There's less and less money to be made from selling records and labels don't want to take a chance on completely unknown bands. They want at least some guarantee that a band will sell. It sort of sucks for all the new bands coming up, but on the other hand bands now have the freedom to do things the way they want. I mean, we make our money through concert sales, merch – things we have control over. For new bands, it's getting to that level where you can make enough to live that's the problem. It took us a long time to build things up – and we're still not swimming in cash. The road is now that much harder for a new band try to make a career out of their music.”

Taking on the responsibility of complete independence hasn't hurt the band's creative impulses. This year's Candy Coated Fury is the best Reel Big Fish album in years, something Regan himself is quick to confirm.

“All of us – including Aaron (Barrett) who writes all the songs – are really happy with the songs on this record. Not only does the whole thing sound great, but it's also the record where we felt that we had the most control over everything and how it turned out. We've done some great records in the past – and all of them have their place – but this one is special simply because we didn't make any compromises and had complete freedom in every step of the process.”

Despite enjoying periods of mainstream attention for their infectious brand of ska-infused good time punk, Reel Big Fish have always considered themselves an underground band. So Regan is philosophical when it comes to the phenomenon of the 'casual fan'.

“We're pretty cynical guys, and we saw the same thing that eventually happened to us happen to a lot of other Southern Californian bands. Ska music is pretty unique in that it attracts young people, so every couple of years we have this crop of 13-17 year-old kids getting into the band. Good knows where they get it from – siblings, school – who knows. We're sort of like a 'marajuana band' – a gateway drug if you will to ska and punk music. So of course we don't keep all these fans – some of them go off and listen to terrible music after us (laughs). This has been happening to us since the early '90s – and of course you don't keep all the fans that you attract at one point in time. But what's great about these ebbs and flows as it were, is that they build and build because at least some of these casual fans in each wave become lifers.”

“But after saying all that I still think we're an underground band at heart,” continues Regan. “What I mean is that we're part of a long tradition of punk rock and ska that music critics hate, that parents hate, that all these people hate, but we don't care. We've never gone out to try and 'crack the charts' – I mean these days there's not even much point in doing so. For us, it's about the integrity of the music and making sure that the kids who support us are getting our support right back.”

These claims may sound a little strange for a band that has made being goofy and playing off the wall cover songs (Take On Me anyone?) an art form. But according to Regan, having fun and integrity are not mutually exclusive concepts.

“Ska and punk rock both have an absolute joy to them – both to play and to listen to, but both are also very subversive at their heart,” he explains. “Both styles are steeped in the politics of class, and in the case of ska the politics of race. I was too young to hear the original Jamaican ska music when I was growing up but I did get to hear Madness and The Specials. What really appealed to me was the ethics of the movement – racial equality, an uncompromising sound and, of course, a real working class ethos. It was a perfect fit for the early punk movement, which embraced ska in England, just as we did a decade later in Southern California. Ska bands, punk bands and bands that mixed the two built the Southern Californian scene – and it was a struggle. So, just because we have fun and goof around doesn't mean we've forgotten our roots and the ethos behind the music we play.”

And as far as the upcoming Australian Tour is concerned, what can Reel Big Fish fans expect?

“We've been touring pretty much straight for the last 20 years,” laughs Regan, “so I can promise you that we are tighter now than at any time in the band's history. We're coming over with Goldfinger and Zebrahead – who are old friends of ours – so you're all going to get some real bang for your buck. I never overpromise about these things – all I like to say is that when you come and see us you get a fun show performed by guys who live for this stuff. You'll walk away smiling – I guarantee it.”