Reel big Fish.

[Steven Denney Shafer II]

I love them, but you know what annoys me? It really makes me more sorry for them than anything else. But it's the ska posers.

Reel Big fish has gotten this horrible disease where everyone likes them and the people who like them consider themselves ska kids even though they don't listen to anything else.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I go to shows and theres always a group of preteens "skaning" (although it looks more like running when they do it) with a T-shirt and sports coat, maybe a trilby hat, and a reel big fish shirt. And I ask them what their favorite band is and they say "Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and Streetlight Manifesto." I ask them if there's anything else and they'll say something like "I like a lot, too many to say."

This really angers me because they're practically making a mocery of the scene.

Anyone else notice this?

[Andrew Lyons]

I guess my biggest problem with bands like LTJ or RBF is that they seemed to have hit the pause button, musically, sometime around 1997.

It's now 2007, almost 2008. And if you look at what ska bands are doing in other countries around the globe, it seems like the US, for the most part, is getting left behind. Many bands, like The Pepper Pots, Firebug, PASO, and One Night Band, are dropping a lot of the punk elements of the 90's and returning to a more traditional Jamaican sound.

Fortunately, bands like The Pietasters, The Slackers, Deal's Gone Bad and Westbound Train are choosing this path as well.

-Andrew

[Skibz McCullock]

You mean, like, the traditional, Jamaican-y ska songs? I've never seen moshing, but I have seen the whole running-in-place "skanking" during those songs.

That, however, doesn't really bother me, since that's all *I* could do back when I was that age. I remember "skanking" like that at an Israelites and Los Hooligans show when I was younger...the important thing was that I was at least truly enjoying the music enough to dance, no matter how stupidly.

[passafire]

Ya it doesn't really matter...if it makes themselves feel better to think that they are ska then let them do it

[chexas]

RBF simply sux pop ska is what killed the scene in the first place the 97 days were full of really bad band who jumped on the band wagon but when that was over we saw was in it for right reasons but ne way rbf is like a stigma i hate to even say i share a scene with them ska rock sux Beer and She has a girlfriend now make be a shamed to call myself a rude boy. i hate the bands that sing about nothing and misrepresnt our scene. RBF is one of the biggest offenders with catchy upstoke paterns and songs about drinking. no will ever take us seriously if we let this continue we must put a stop to it by forming band that have purpose and remember the roots , the good times , and the tradtion.

[Hazel]

Hey man! There must be a reason EVERYONE likes them. Like you, I used to refuse to listen to them for fear of liking them. I didn't want to be a 'bandwagon-jumper' so I stuck to good old 2-tone but after my friend insisting I listen to them I was (reluctantly at first) hooked. They have such catchy songs! Have u given them a real chance? Of course, each to their own...

[passafire]

I think it was unfortunate that Party Down was the single from that disc becasue the rest of the CD was really really good

[skasoxmike]

i know exactly but you mean,
but thats what gets most kids into ska, and just because theyre lame at first, doesnt mean they cant be rude in the future
as a 13 year old, i hope i was never like that, but just because someone acts stupid at a rbf show doesnt mean that the band is stupid
reel big fish has made some amazing songs

[Michael]

In order to call your self a proper ska kids you have to be fimailar with all the waves of ska.
Punk ska is yes catchy, but you have to remeber the roots of the music and what the true basias of ska is. Punk ska bands these days sound alot the same, I personally like the older types like Desmond Dekker, and The Slackers, and The Toasters

When I fist discovered ska it was a third wave band actualy that got me into ska, mostly RBF, since then ive noticed that there sound has gotten... lighter, in ska sense more of a punk feel. I love RBF and would love it if they go back to a more traditional sound

[Kevin Pogoska Shipe]

The ska posers that only mosh at catch 22 shows or streetlight manifesto or reel big fish shows used to annoy me because it's easy to be holier than thou when no one else gets it but now that I have overdosed on all third wave ska unless it is traditional or adds something special sort of like ska cubano or Maroon Town I don't care. It's time to face that the young kids like reel big fish and the aquabats and if you really want to pick up some hot beat girl then you have to go to 21 and over Slackers shows. The vast majority of ska bands only have two or three members dedicated to the genre and most ska bands have 5 to 7 members so really it is the dedicated few that run the scene and we are the ones who have to pass on the knowledge to the younger kids. I was in a band that was influenced almost exclusively by the supertones and five iron frenzy so even the christian stuff has a place in the scene. We opened for the Toasters a couple times though with my help so don't give the kids too hard a time then they will get sad and listen to the worst of all "genres" if you can call it that...EMO

[Tim]

Yeah, I've noticed this. I actually sometimes probably look like one of those kids, but I grew up on first-wave Ska, so I actually know a lot more bands than RBF.. Oh well, they're kids. They'll grow out of "posing" or whatever it is they are doing and come to the realisation that there is much more to Ska than Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and Streetlight Manifesto.....Even though they are quite annoying, but hey. Every scene has those kids. Fact of life, I suppose.

[Tim]

Now that's real knowledge.

But I can understand where you'd get annoyed.

Let's cleanse them. :D?

[Stephen]

Skibz McCullock said:

That IS one of my pet peeves, but what peeves my pet even more is when kids 'skank' really fast and wild to slower, mellow, reggae-ish songs. It looks reeeeeeeeallly stupid, in my opinion...

"It annoys me when kids mosh to ska songs..."

I don't normally have a problem with what other fans do, or who else is into the music that I'm into. The one thing that bothers me though is when people prevent me from dancing to the music just because they don't have any rhythm to speak of and would rather just run into me. Particularly when that music is so far from being music that should be moshed to that you just look ridiculous moshing to it.

The most ridiculous experience I have had to this effect was at a Mustard Plug/Deals Gone Bad Show about a month ago. For any of you have heard Deals Gone Bad, they are a ska/soul band that mostly plays more chilled out reggaeish type music that is great to skank to, but doesn't make a lot of sense to mosh to. But then some of these really huge guys from the punk band that played before get on the floor and start shoving people. I just stopped for a minute like "really?". Just think of people moshing to "easy skanking" or Desmond Dekker or somebody and you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.

Basically my point is I don't care about "ska posers" as long as they let me dance. And for what it's worth the better shows in this respect tend to be the smaller ones at local clubs instead of these big HOB performances. I've got no problem with RBF, but they only play at big clubs like that due to their popularity.