Almost 16 years have passed since Reel Big Fish released its iconic song “Sell Out,” a lambasting of the record industry.
Lyrics such as “you’re gonna go to the record store” and “the record company’s gonna give me lots of money” hearken back to a time when record stores were plentiful and record companies had money to give.
“You’re going to have people going, ‘What’s a record store?’ ” predicted Reel Big Fish drummer Ryland Steen, who also added a positive spin on the changing world. “It is a very exciting time for artists and bands right now who are driven and ambitious enough to take advantage of all the avenues that are available now to get your band out, exposed to the public at large.”
| Onstage |
| Summer of Ska |
| Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW |
| When: 6 p.m. doors Tuesday |
| Info: Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Big D and the Kids Table, and Suburban Legends. Sold out as of press time, but tickets might be available through resellers; 202-265-0930; 930.com |
Reel Big Fish performs Tuesday at the 9:30 Club as part of its Summer of Ska tour, with Goldfinger, Big D and the Kids Table, and Suburban Legends. The show is sold out.
Reel Big Fish came into popularity in the mid-’90s as part of ska’s third wave. Is ska making a comeback?
“I’m anxious to see, I really hope there is, I guess, a fourth wave of ska,” said Steen, speaking by phone before a show in Baltimore earlier this month. “I think if it gets popular again, it will have more of a traditional sound. It’s always so hard to tell where music is headed.”
After the band’s run on a major label ran out, Reel Big Fish went independent. The group’s first full-length album of completely original material, “Candy Coated Fury,” comes out July 31.
In 2010, the group released a greatest-hits compilation titled “A Best of Us for the Rest of Us.” Because of legal issues, the group had to re-record some of its biggest hits, including “Sell Out.”
“The only time it’s advantageous to be on a major label is if they’re behind you,” Steen said. “Then it can be amazing to be on a major label.
“We didn’t know how people would react to that,” Steen added, referring to the greatest hits. “People still seem to dig it.”
Steen joined Reel Big Fish seven years ago, but still sometimes feels like the new guy. Not that he minds the 200-or-so dates a year the band performs.
“It definitely helps to play in a band where you’re hanging out with your friends,” Steen said. “I feel really privileged that I’m able to be a part of it.”
