Albums: Turn the Radio Off, Cheer Up!, Why Do They Rock So Hard?

Reel Big Fish ("RBF") is a southern California ska punk band who broke into the mainstream in the mid to late 1990s. Their debut album, "Everything Sucks" (1995), was an underground hit and led to a deal with Mojo Records, an indie label. "Turn the Radio Off" (1996) established the band in the underground music scene, and they began touring throughout the USA.

After the single "Sell Out" began breaking into the mainstream, including MTV, the album made an appearance on the charts. The ska revival was short-lived, however, and "Why Do They Rock So Hard?" (1998) did not lead the group to the mainstream. Reel Big Fish released "Cheer Up" (2002) which begins a movement into harder rock and pop sounds, with much less ska than the previous albums.

The song "Where Have You Been?" was aimed at a wider audience, trying to drop the less popular Ska sound, but was met with little mainstream success, despite the video. Their second most recent "new songs" album was "We're Not Happy Until You're Not Happy" (2005) and again, not quite a ska album as a whole, but seeing RBF continue in their brand of rock with horns. It's apparent on the album that they are having fun with what they're doing.

They recently released "Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album" (2006) which includes 2 discs worth or their own tunes and a few covers of popular songs along with a DVD. They have worked on the soundtrack to BASEketball, which included a cover of A-Ha's Take On Me. In 2006, they split from Jive records, who produced a "Best of" album against the will of the band, who could not prevent the release.

The band has made a campaign to try and stop people buying the album. Their latest album, "Monkeys For Nothing and The Chimps For Free" (July 2007) included some songs that were previously recorded and released on other albums including the hidden track from "Keep Your Reciept" entitled "Why Do All Girls Think They're Fat". In 2009, they will release "Fame, Fortune, and Fornication," an album composed of covers of older songs, including "Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty, and "Nothin' But a Good Time" by Poison.

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