Reel Big Fish

Reel big fish are an American Ska punk band from Huntington Beach California, they are best know for their hit “Sell out” released in 1997. The band gained recognition in the mid/late 90’s during the third wave Ska with the release of the the album “Turn the Radio off” which was awarded with a gold certificate. Lead singer Aaron Bennet is the only original member of the band having been with the band since 1992, the horn players Dan Reagan and Scott Klopfenstein have been in the band for more than 15 years. Being a Ska band they mainly interact with their audience through gigs but they have released some albums such as “Everything Sucks, Turn off the radio, Why do they rock so hard?, Cheers up, Were not happy till your not happy, Monkeys for nothing and the chimps for free and also Fame and Fortune.

Research into similar artists ( Less Than Jake )

Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainsville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of Ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post grunge, heavy metal , alternative rock, third wave ska, pop punk and punk revival. To date, the group has released eight full-length studio albums and a number of singles and compilations. The current lineup comprises guitarist/vocalist Chris Demakes, bassist/vocalistRoger Managelli , drummer/lyricist Vinnie Foriello, trombonist Buddy Schaub and saxophonist Peter"JR" Waselewski.

They interact with thier audience mainly threw live gigs but they have also released albums such as Pezcore, Losing Streak, Hello Rockview, Borders and Bounderies, Anthem, B is for B-sides, In Withe the Out Crowd, GNV FLA and TV/EP.

Research into similar artists ( Reel Big Fish )

Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach California , best known for the 1997 hit "Sell out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the radio off. Front man Aaron Bennet remains the only founding member, having been with the band since 1992, and horn players Dan Reagan and Scott Klopfenstein have been involved with the band for more than 15 years.

They mainly interact with their audience through live gigs but they have released albums such as " Everything sucks, Turn the Radio Off, Why Do They Rock So Hard?, Cheer Up!, We're not Happy 'Till Your not Happy, Monkeys for Nothing and the Chimps for Free and Fame Fortune and Fornication.

Research into similar artists ( Madness )

Madness
Madness are a British pop/ska bandfrom Camden Town, London, who formed in 1976. The band perform with their most recognised line-up of seven members, althoughthis has occasionally varied slightly over the years of their existence. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s 2 Tone ska revival.
Madness’ audience in the early days of their formation were predominantly skinheads; members of a British working class subculture that the media often stereotyped as racist (although many skinheads, including the original generation, are non-racist or anti-racist). This sparked much controversy about the band, who were on the receiving end of racist allegations, claiming they too were racists. This however waslater disproved as they denied their skinhead roots, disappointing much of their fan base. Towards the later stages of their careers, although still being predominantly 2 Tone ska, they edged slightly more towards the mainstream pop audience.

They appeal to their audience largely through their roots. They are a well known British ska band, who use their national appeal to draw in audiences who get a feel of patriotism and belongingness from listening to their ‘rock steady’ beats. The media surrounding their music, such as album art and videos, contain a number of generic signifiers relevant to both the ska genre and Britain. For example in their video for one step beyond, they are seen dancing down the British streets, with a red telephone box in the background, a prominent signifier of British culture.
They interact with the audience through the performance of live gigs and festivals, in which they still partake. For example, Madness continue to tour playing most recentlyplaying Birchington-on-Sea Quex Park in Kent with a new set of UK tour dates throughout November and December 2010. Even long after their years in the limelight, they play shows for the fans that have been loyal to their music that has been and still is so iconic to the British ska/pop scene. In a large sense, the way in which they dress plays a large part in their interaction with audiences. Their partially smart dress, with suits, ties, smart shoes, trilbies and of course the large shades worn by Suggs are vital in the establishing of their image. Fans of the ska genre then have an image to aspire to and aim towards by dressing in a similar fashion to achieve this.

This image from one step beyond by madness has some mayjor signifiers of the Ska genre such as the phone boxes which conote england we also see this in british programes such as Doctor Who and This Is England 86. The costume of the man in the image is plane black suit which is used alot in other Ska music videos, we also use this in our music video. The man in the image is skanking which is a dance move invented by madness which was done at all Ska gigs in the 80's and early to mid 90's but these days you only see it done by the old Ska fans.

This is what would be associated with SKA music videos. A bleak basement with grafiti on the wall this makes it look unprofessional, which is what the Ska society like about the genre. Most Ska bands are un signed or not well known they like being individual.

This is the music video for one step beyond by the madness. The Madness is an iconic ska band which triggered a new generation of Ska music. We plan to use the walk they do in this video and also the one when they are sitting in a line on the stairs. We also plan to use urban backrounds in our music video and may get some idea from the many shots in this video.

Wasup homes this A2 media baby!