Their debut album, "Everything Sucks" (1995), was an underground hit and led to a deal with Mojo Records (see also Mojo), 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 began 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 studio album was "We're Not Happy Until You're Not Happy" (2005).
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 7th album "Monkeys For Nothing and the Chimps For Free" (2007) includes some songs that were previously recorded and released on other albums. It was also the first album with the band's new label, Rock Ridge Records.
In 2009, they released "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.
In 2012, Reel Big Fish released "Candy Coated Fury", which is their second album on Rock Ridge Records. This album was met with heavy amounts of criticism from fans and reviewers alike. PunkNews.org gave the album a 2/10.
in 2014, they released "Happy Skalidays", a holiday themed EP.
Their current release is 2018's "Life Sucks... Let's Dance!", which gained generally positive reviews from fans and critics.
Current members:
Aaron Barrett - guitar, lead vocals (1992–present)
Dan Regan - trombone, backing vocals (1994–present)
John Christianson - trumpet, backing vocals (2004–present)
Ryland Steen - drums (2005–present)
Derek Gibbs - bass guitar (2007–present)
Past members:
Ben Guzman - vocals (1992–1994)
Zach Gilltrap - keyboards/synthesizers (1992–1994)
Lisa Smith - guitar (1992–1994)
Eric Vismantes - trumpet (1994)
Stephan Reed - saxophone (1994)
Robert Quimby - trombone (1994–1995)
Adam Polakoff - saxophone (1994–1995)
Grant Barry - trombone (1995–1998)
Andrew Gonzales - drums (1992–1998)
Tavis Werts - trumpet (1994–2001)
Carlos de la Garza - drums (1999–2003)
Tyler Jones - trumpet (2001–2004)
Justin Ferreira - drums (2003–2005)
Matt Wong - bass, backing vocals (1992–2007)
Scott Klopfenstein - trumpet, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1995–2011)
Dateless Loser
Reel Big Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You are so lucky, beautiful and bright
All the cool kids go steady they're making
Out at 12- we sit in our rooms alone
By ourselves it's Friday
No phone call, nobody asked us out
We are the dateless losers lonely until we die!
We're not so bad you know
But you won't give us a chance
Take us to the movies, to dinner, or to dance
Not perfect, not too hip, but we need lovin' too
We are the dateless losers lonely until we die!
So unappreciated why, why, why, why?
The song "Dateless Loser" by Reel Big Fish speaks about the loneliness and inadequacy that people feel when they are not in a relationship or not deemed cool enough to be in one. The opening lyrics, "We are all on our own with no one by our side," perfectly encapsulate the feeling of being alone and unloved that the song conveys. The singer then goes on to address someone who is the complete opposite of them, beautiful and bright, as if trying to contrast their own feelings of inadequacy. The singer then describes the typical Friday night of someone who is alone, spending it locked in their room while everyone else is out and having fun.
The lyrics then change direction as the singer pleads with the listener to give them a chance, asking to be taken out to a movie, dinner or dance. Despite feeling unappreciated and not exactly perfect, the singer still desires love and companionship just like everyone else. This song is relatable to anyone who has felt alone and unloved, or felt like they don't fit in with the popular crowd.
Line by Line Meaning
We are all on our own with no one by our side
We feel alone and unsupported in life.
You are so lucky, beautiful and bright
We envy those who seem to have it all and are easily noticed.
All the cool kids go steady they're making
The popular crowd is busy with relationships and social events.
Out at 12- we sit in our rooms alone
We spend our nights alone while others are out having fun.
By ourselves it's Friday
Friday nights are uneventful and lonely for us.
No phone call, nobody asked us out
We feel unwanted and excluded from social events and relationships.
We are the dateless losers lonely until we die!
Our loneliness and perceived lack of desirability feels like a life sentence.
So unappreciated, why, why, why, why?
We don't understand why we are overlooked and feel undervalued.
We're not so bad you know
We don't think we're bad people and don't understand why we can't find companionship.
But you won't give us a chance
We feel rejected and believe that others are unwilling to take a chance on us.
Take us to the movies, to dinner, or to dance
We long for simple social activities with others.
Not perfect, not too hip, but we need lovin' too
We feel like we are not attractive enough for others and yet we still need love and companionship.
So unappreciated why, why, why, why?
Our repeated rejection and loneliness feels unbearable and confusing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AARON BARRETT, CARLOS F. GARZA, DAN REGAN, MATT WONG, SCOTT ALLEN KLOPFENSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sam Turner
Tbh i feel sorry for all the ppl who got in love and pregnant when they were in those days - young days.
its funny how school was this 'thing we gotta go to' and our feelings, our crushes, everything that really was us, was no part of it. it was something we did in spite of ourselves - and most importantly it never taught us how to be ourselves.
At no point in school was I ever taught that getting with someone because of hugs sex and kisses - these are selfish reasons - it should be about making children and a family. its a big deal, u need to have a st able job (or 5, these days) just to keep the kids alive. imagine having all of that responsibility dumped on you just because u slept with someone on prom night someone who everyone thought was cool and hot but you didnt really know them that well. all of that dumped on you, and the CENTER OF EDUCATION where u are to learn everything u apparently need to become an adult..??? is too busy teaching u about the eating habits of king henry the 8th and where on the map INDONESIA is to let u know about any of it
it shows how immature we are as a species lol. even things everyone goes through in teenage years are not touched upon in school, atl east not when i was there. some dickhead droning on about pythagoras bullshit to 20 sleepy teenagers.... not the way to do it. attacking certain problems like how u might start feeling depressed, isolated, like u dont have any friends or anyone who really knows u, like u dont know who u are urself, attacking these problems helps teenagers.
All we end up with are lyrics from music helping us vaguely. imagine if the majority of people walked around in a t-shirt with their school logo, proud and happy to be a part of that because it taught them vital thing about themselves, instead of with aband Tshirt like most people do.
were left with vague crap like 'Life is about finding yourself' instead of the truth of it that can be taught in schools, so im going to tell anyone who reads this what ive learned:
it takes time to get to know people, yourself included. its got nothing to do with finding yourself, really, its more to do with knowing yourself. youre not going to have perfect, TV show style conversations with people. sometimes its gonna be awkward. not everyones going to find your jokes or humour funny. the ones that do, will get bored after a while. a very rare few will think youre hilarious forever and you will need to either have the police protect you from them - or marry them - up to you. But the main thing to take away is that it takes time. I was in my 20s before I really felt comfortable being myself. and by being myself i mean looking how i want to look, dressing howi want to dress, and within respectful parameters - acting how i want to act. Heres an example. If i want to just not b other getting dressed properly and want to go out in my pyjama pants - how well i know myself is how little I care about what people think. And if I find myself with a friend who repeatedly says things like i wish u had worn proper clothes. or wow you look like crap. Ditch that shit head. I used to get really upset as a teenager being confused about these things. But now, in my 30s, I not only can sense and get excited for making a joke about something thats happening, but I know exactly how Im going to say the joke, and im more often than not with people who share this sense, and who i know are going to think everything im about to say is funny. You COULD SAY its about finding yourself - finding 'That' which I just said. but really its a massive long journey about getting to know yourself, this world, the people in it, and its not like a treasure hunt. Maybe that applies to people like miley cyrus who just randomly discover they can sing good enough to be rich from it, but if you're not that, then ignore the finding yourself shit, and get on the knowing yourself shit.
theres a metric ton of actual decent life advice from an adult here who's been through it all and I have a feeling its totally the wrong place for it nobody is even gonna read it but if u do and it helped you thats all i wanted
gibboj94
I spent most of my secondary school career single and with few friends. All I can say is thank fuck for video games, graphic noval's (comics) and music like this :P
lolspiders
these lyrics are so epic oh man it's like me and all my friends' theme song
Jaffersin
Hells yeah! In junior high I remember knowing more about love and relationships than probably any sentinent creature school in that building yet I never had a single date or passing glance from a girl. I actually ended up inventing backseat dating since every guy in school who had a girlfriend had no clue what they were doing...
AxDdWn9491
wow this band has a song for everything in my life
JD_Hoodie
this makes me feel better about my highschool life :D
Lumber Joe
I can relate to this song. Most ska song to be honest :) Awesome.
heightssurfer
i think this is my new favorite song... GO REEL BIG FISH!
emm williams
I've dedicated this song to myself :D. I AM A DATELESS LOOOSERR, lalalalaala! but I'm a happy girl. and this song is awesomeee.
Nick Myers
This song starts out happy and then just turns really sad all the sudden.
Uriah Graves
this stuff cracks me up!!!