August 1, 2001

by Cynthia Ruiz

This interview was conducted with Aaron and Scott inside the RBF tour bus before their show in Cincinnati, OH.

Cynthia: OK, what are your names and what do you play?

Aaron: Aaron. I sing and play guitar.

Scott: Scott. I sing and play trumpet.

Aaron: And never shave.

Scott: And never shave.

Cynthia: How long have you guys been in the band?

Scott: I've been in the band for six, seven years now...

Aaron: I've been in the band for ten years. Ten long......painful......years.

Cynthia: How'd it get started?

Aaron: Why do you gotta bring up old shit?

Scott: Misery loves company.

Aaron: Misery loves company.

Cynthia: OK....

Aaron: I had two friends and they told two friends and they told two friends so... that's how we got started.

Scott: It's kinda like a chain letter, but music.

(hears a knock and thinks someone is at the door but it is just Aaron banging his guitar on the wall)

Scott: Come in!

Cynthia: How'd you guys come up with your band name?

Scott: That's a really long boring story that we won't bother you with.

Cynthia: What are some of your musical influences?

Scott: Barry Manilow, Eddie Rabbit.....

Aaron: The Small Faces, Van Halen....

Cynthia: What CD is in your CD player right now?

Aaron: There's no CD in my CD player right now. What makes you think there's a CD in my CD player?

Cynthia: Well if there was a CD in your CD player right now, what would it be?

Aaron: I'd have to go through my CD booklet and see what I was in the mood for.

Cynthia: How many albums do you have out and are you currently working on a new one?

Scott: We have three albums currently out and yes, we are working on a new one.

Aaron: Only two of them count though.

Scott: Yeah.

Aaron: And we are currently working on a new one.

(Here's the part where Scott goes nuts over the green M&M's. If you heard the tape, it would be a lot funnier.)

Cynthia: Do you like the green M&M's?

Aaron: I guess so.

Scott: I don't understand the rage about the green M&M's. Its just kind of fucking preposterous. I think its stupid.

Cynthia: It's because its a girl.

Scott: It's an M&M! There's no sex with M&M's!

Cynthia: And she gets naked on TV.

Scott: It's a fucking chocolate....candy-coated chocolate. There's no fucking anything different, just a color!

Aaron: They don't have vaginas!

Scott: No, this isn't fucking M&V&M.

Aaron: That's M vagina & M. Are you over 18?

Cynthia: Yes. Why?

Aaron: Just wondering. I thought you were a minor and then if Scott tried to make out with you....he's not going to.

Cynthia: How's it feel to be known as the band that made ska mainstream?

Aaron: Is that us?

Cynthia: Yeah.

Aaron: It'd be cool to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the band that made ska big, but I don't think it was us.

Scott: I don't think it was us either.

Aaron: There was no Doubt and Sublime.

Scott: And before that was the Specials.

Cynthia: But nobody knew that was ska. Nobody knew the word "ska", until like you guys. And then it was all over.

Aaron: Just cuz that's how you found out.....

(laughter)

Scott: You gotta understand, just because a certain age group found out was ska was from us....

Cynthia: OK, well I'm talking about that certain age group.

Scott: OK.

Aaron: Well, let me rephrase your question for you. "How does it feel to be the first ska band that a lot of young people hear about?"

Scott: It feels great.

Aaron: "How does it feel to have been one of the bands that were part of the big ska craze of '97?"

Scott: The pioneering bands...

Aaron: It feels good.

Cynthia: Do you have a favorite city that you like to play in?

Aaron: Where do you live?

Cynthia: Right now I live in Dayton, but I'm from Arizona.

Aaron: We're going to Arizona. Wanna go?

Cynthia: Can't.

Scott: Favorite city....the world.....the city of the world.

Aaron: The world, planet world, the earth!

Cynthia: So you guys just love touring?

Scott: Tourine?

Aaron: They put it in Redbull. Its like an extract of bull testicles.

(enter Dan)

Aaron: There's Dan. He plays trombone.

Cynthia: Hi Dan.

Dan: Hi.

(exit Dan)

Cynthia: OK, well I was gonna ask what are some of the ways you make touring fun?

Scott: A whole lot of smack.

Aaron: It's probably the drugs that are the most fun.

Scott: Drugs are fun.

(Aaron's cell phone rings)

Aaron: Hello?

(Aaron proceeds to have a conversation about how cool my boots are with whoever called him, then gets off the phone and back to my questions)

Cynthia: What do you like to do outside of playing music and when you're not on tour.

Scott: I don't know what happens then.

Aaron: When I'm not doing those things, I'm asleep or watching porn.

Cynthia: What do you think you would be doing if you weren't in the band?

Scott: Starting a band.

Aaron: Kidnapping small children. I'd ask for ransoms. Because I always liked making those notes where you cut letters out of magazines and stuff.

Cynthia: I do that too......just for no reason.

Aaron: Do you kidnap people?

Cynthia: Yeah.

Aaron: Are you a kidnapper?

Cynthia: No.

Scott: See, we're actually not very good at it be

cause every time we kidnap a baby, the babies end up dying.

Aaron: I guess you have to feed them or something.

Scott: Yeah, you have to feed them and change them and all this stuff. So we decided to kinda move it up to start kidnapping....the older they get though, the more you have to struggle and you know, you gotta drug them.

Aaron: Wanna get drunk?

Cynthia:.......

(laughter)

Cynthia: Why are you laughing?

Aaron: Because you made a funny face, like you were thinking about it.

Scott: Any more stupid questions?

Cynthia: I was gonna ask if you have any embarrassing moments.......

Aaron: It involves diarhea.....but then everybody's embarrassing moment involves diarhea....unless you're a girl, then it involves that time of the month and white pants and the new crush. Dinner with the new crush's parents.

Cynthia: Well I don't have anymore questions, so....do you have any closing comments.

Aaron: Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us and I hope that everybody's learned something about Reel Big Fish that they can use in every day life and I just want to remind you all to check out reelbigfish.com.

Cynthia: Alright. Thanks.

Here's a little extra side conversation I had with Carlos, the drummer. I was drunk in case you can't tell.

Cynthia: Do you have anything to say?

Carlos: I'm in Reel Big Fish. I play the drums. It's pretty gnarly and bitching.

Cynthia: My beer is missing.

Carlos: And um...the beer is missing.

Cynthia: I found it!

Carlos: And um...she found it. And that's all I have to say.

Cynthia: And that's all he has to say. And he's the quiet one because I haven't talked to him yet.

Carlos: But I get gnarly.

Cynthia: Gnarly. Did I tell you all my ex-boyfriends are drummers? What do you have to say about that?

Carlos: I think I know why you like the drummers. Because we do it with rhythm. I saw that on a bumper sticker once.

Cynthia: Yeah, I gotta go pee.

Carlos: That's a good bumper sticker. So you used to go out with drummers?

Cynthia: Yeah, a lot. I don't know why. But you know what? Do you have a girlfriend?

Carlos: Yes.

Cynthia: When you're alone with her, like watching TV or something, do you start tapping on her like she's a drum?

Carlos: Every once in a while.

Cynthia: I hate that. Drummers use you for a drum a lot.

Carlos: Yeah, I do that a lot. But I think she's into it. I start pounding on her and she gets into the rhythm and she starts dancing and she gets hot and starts feeling herself down there and shit. It's crazy.

Cynthia: I tried to play the drums once.

Carlos: That's cool. Just go with it.

Cynthia: OK, are we done now?

(after this we just ramble because I'm drunk so no need to type anymore)

Derek, former bass player of Jeffrie's Fan Club, took Matt Wong's place on some of the tour so I got a chance to speak with him a bit about his former band and how it was like to be with RBF. I was also drunk:

Cynthia: So what happened with JFC?

Derek: We broke up because the singer quit. He gave his life to Christ.

Cynthia: And so the band broke up, which was when?

Derek: The last show we played was January 6th or 7th. It was a Saturday. 2001.

Cynthia: Where did you play that night?

Derek: At the Glasshouse in Pomona, CA.

Cynthia: Is that a cool venue?

Derek: Yeah, I guess so.

Cynthia: It's very famous. I've never been there.

Derek: It's so famous, you're best friend has heard of it.

Cynthia: How'd you get hooked up to be the replacement for Matt?

Derek: Aaron asked me to do it.

Cynthia: Aaron asked you?

Derek: Yeah.

Cynthia :And how do you know Aaron?

Derek: Yeah, we go way back.

Cynthia: Because you've toured with them for a while, many times.

Derek: Yeah, from the scene.

Cynthia: OK, so you were talking about how you're not used to being on a tour bus and having people restring your guitar and stuff like that. Tell me about that again?

Derek: Oh, that's great. I'm used to being in an old van with no heater and no air conditioning and I have to carry all my stuff and it's really heavy and I have to do everything myself.

Cynthia: When did you start playing bass?

Derek: December 13, 1990.

Cynthia: How do you know the exact date?

Derek: Because that's the day I bought the first one.

Cynthia: Are you single?

Derek: I am single.

Cynthia: And you're 27.

Derek: That's what I'm told, yes.

(then I get all drunk and stupid again so....I'm done now)

Cynthia: Last comments?

Derek: Don't drink and drive.

Reel Big Fish
Mojo Records
NCA