SoCal’s ska-punk act, Reel Big Fish, enjoys its musical freedom

By John Benson

Despite the fact that Reel Big Fish’s only MTV hit single is titled “Sellout,” the SoCal ska-punk act has yet to, well, sell out.

Reel Big Fish drummer Ryland Steen thinks that’s largely because the group left major label Jive Records four years ago without missing a step.

“We have our own studio and we don’t have anyone on our backs telling us when we should have something done or how we should record something,” said Steen, calling from a tour stop in Las Vegas.

“So we have this wonderful freedom to go in this studio whenever we want and don’t have to worry about the label thing. We can actually record a record the way we want to and be happy with it. So it’s been a pretty good situation for us.”

That’s all fine and good until you realize the band decided to follow up its 2007 effort “Monkeys for Nothin’ and the Chimps for Free” with new cover album “Fame, Fortune and Fornication,” which includes not one but two Poison songs. Perhaps all this freedom from a label is a bad thing?

“I think with the Reel Big Fish fans, we’ve always been known for doing covers,” Steen said. “Even though the band has never done a covers record, every album has pretty much one or two covers. And because Reel Big Fish is a ska-punk band, we have a horn section that allows us to really put our own stamp on every song that we decide to do.

“We knew for this tour we wanted to have something out for the fans to listen to. We already had a batch of covers that we played here, so we recorded them. You have Poison and John Cougar [Mellencamp] and The Eagles. One thing I’m really proud of, we were able to make all of these songs into one cohesive sound, which I really dig about the record.”

Outside the Vans Warped Tour crowd, some circles believe Reel Big Fish is either a one-hit wonder or — perhaps more damaging — a one-dimensional relic act from the late ’90s that won’t go away. Sure the group hasn’t enjoyed mainstream attention in more than a decade, but Steen points out the band’s fan base is loyal with its live show acting as its calling card. You can see the Huntington Beach, Calif., band in action Wednesday at the House of Blues.

“I think with ska music in general, it’s just fun music to listen to,” Steen said. “People can go see a ska band and have a good time. I get it all the time where people will say, ‘I don’t own one of your records but I love seeing you guys whenever you play in town.’ And the band just doesn’t play ska-punk stuff. We have rock tunes, traditional ska, straight-up punk tunes.

“I think at the end of the day, Reel Big Fish is one of those bands that never tries to sound a certain way or look a certain way. We just play the music we love, and the band over the last decade has gotten a reputation of putting on an amazing live show. That’s the reason why people keep coming back.”