The Aquabats! are a superhero team from a faraway land turned rock
band. The fighting team consists of
Jamie the Robot (or Jaime for our
Spanish speaking friends,)
Crash McLarson,
Ricky Fitness,
Chainsaw: The Prince of Karate, and is led by
The M.C. Bat
Commander. As they washed upon the shores of
Huntington Beach, CA in
their hollowed out log,
The Professor took them into his lab, gave
them instruments and
super powers.
The Aquabats' mission is to make as many friends as possible, to gain
power by toppling the recording industry's corrupt
structure. Once they have gained enough power, they will return to
their homeland across the sea and fight Space Monster M in order to
free their world.
All of this is best told by their theme song (From The Fury of the Aquabats!).
We came from an island in the sand and the sun
Hidden away from the world is that home of fun
We surfed all day
And ate food all night
When there was no more food eating sand was alright
But then one dark day out of the sky Space Monster "M" and his
friends
Invaded our world, we had to escape
But we vowed to return again
First we'd conquer the world and then we'd return again!
We floated across the ocean in a hollowed out log
From the blue beaches to the land of smog
We washed up on the beach "The Professor" took us in
And that's when the experiments begin
He gave us super powers from chemicals
Then he gave us instruments so we could rock and roll
Now we're here to fight
To make our foes our friends
To take your money and go home again
Come fight along we're the Aquabats
We're super guys we're the Aquabats
Join in our journey to battle our foes.
Watch us every week on our TV show.
The wacky wacky world of the Aquabats.
We're zippy zippy dudes we're the Aquabats
We're the Aquabats and that's that
So watch us every week we're the Aquabats!
History: The following is a wonderfully super rad intro to The
Aquabats! bio taken from their very own base of
operations.
Seven (almost eight) years ago, eight (almost nine) men emerged from a
mossy log tomb that washed ashore on a sandy beach somewhere in
southern Orange County, California. Heat, moisture and extreme pressure
mutated these men into the most dazzling human-sized punishers of the
evil-doers the world had never known. Not satisfied with simply taking
a bite out of crime, these men decided to eat the whole apple and take
on that juggernaut of injustice - The Music Industry. Using the
time-tested "Trojan Horse" tactic, these true geniuses armed
themselves with guns and guitars and started a rock'n'roll band. They
called themselves THE AQUABATS!
In 1995, The Aquabats! recorded their first album, "
The Return of the
Aquabats!" In 1997 their first
hit single was released as
a part of "
The Fury of the Aquabats!" With a hit single released,
they took their show on the road, and opened for popular bands
including
Primus,
NoFX,
David Bowie,
Green Day,
Sublime,
The
Foo Fighters,
Blink 182, and
Run DMC. A loyal fanbase of their
wetsuit-wearing antics soon arose and became known as the
aquacadets,
and not much longer after that the fans demanded a tour of their own.
Thus launched the career of The Aquabats!
The Aquabats! original performing (musical) members were:
- Christian "The Bat Commander" Jacobs
- Parker "The Professor" Jacobs
- Chad "Crash McLarson" Larson
- Charles "Ultra Kyu" Grey
- Courtney "Chainsaw: The Prince of Karate" Pollock
- Boyd "CatBoy" Terry
- Adam "Prince Adam" Deibert
- James "Jamie the Robot" Briggs
- Travis "The Baron Von Tito" Barker
- Tyler "The Pigbat" Jacobs
Yes! super secret plot twist! Travis Barker of
Blink 182 fame (and
quite possibly the single best drummer on the punk scene) was once The
Aquabats' drummer. However during an early tour with Primus and Blink
182, The Aquabats! came to know and befriend the bands. Blink's drummer
at the time, Scott Raynor had to miss a few shows due to a
drinking
problem, and Travis was asked to fill in. Well as Blink 182 legend has
it,
Scott Raynor was kicked out of Blink 182, and Travis was asked to
be his full-time replacement.
Travis was replaced by drummer Dr. Rock, through the release of
Myths, Legends and other Amazing Adventures, Vol.2 but soon after,
both Dr. Rock and Ultra Kyu left The Aquabats! Dr. Rock was replaced by
their current drummer, Ricky Fitness.
The Albums: (Warning! ODDLY ENTERTAINING!)
So you wanna go to a concert?
Crux put it well in a previous writeup: "The Aquabats' music is
meticulously and skillfully crafted with creatively silly lyrics and a
special skill with taking memes, cultural icons or themes, what have
you, and twisting them for their own nefarious porpoises." You will
find that an Aquabats show can be described as the Rocky Horror
Picture Show of ska punk. Upon entering the venue, expect to find
a cadre of cadets dressed in the trademark helmet and goggles, as
well as many with wetsuits, or their own rendition of aquabat style.
Personally when attending, I use facepaint for my goggles, as I believe
it is way more hardcore.
Attend the concert and prepare to be entertained. Be prepared to see a
grown, overweight man with a missing tooth and a dirty sanchez dance
around in various fight stances. Be prepared to acknowledge the
serious awesomeness of an entire crowd wearing a party hand. Bring
your floaties in preperation for a gigantic pool party. Be prepared
to be called a cool kid even if you're over thirty. Be prepared to be
uplifted, have your confidence boosted, and to be called a winner!
"We may not be the best band in the world, but you're definately
the best kids in the world!" - The M.C. Bat Commander
Currently, the aquabats perform with five members on stage, and
countless members behind the scenes. On stage, expect to see:
- Christian "The Bat Commander" Jacobs - This will be the pot-bellied
guy with the dirty sanchez mustache. Recently he has added the
superbat backflip to his list of super powers so you can expect to
see that during the encore.
- Chad "Crash McLarson" Larson - The bat on the Bass. He's most
easily recognizable as the largest of The Aquabats! and is the most
likely to punch the evil-doers.
- Courtney "Chainsaw: The Prince of Karate" Pollock - Chainsaw is the
man with the electric guitar. Recognizable as the man with the guitar
center riffs. His special move is the super-axe swing (watch for him
swinging his guitar above his head by the strap, in order to SERIOUSLY
damage his enemies!)
- James "Jamie the Robot" Briggs - The 'Bat that the women want. He's
the man on the keyboard and the sax, bringing up the auxillary end of
the Aquabats!
- Ricky Fitness - The super-totally in shape 'bat on the drums.
Quite honestly he does not yet stand out as an aquabat but hey, what
can a drummer do?
Now, if you watch closely, you will likely see
The Professor, as he
is the tech guy. He wanders around fixing
mics and generally being a
helping hand to the band. The rest of the listed
aquabats consist of
sound guys, video guys, and of course the
villians.
While at a show, if you do not see an epic showdown between the
superheroes and one of their nemesises you should leave disappointed.
Have no fear however! The Aquabats always fight a villian and they
always triumph, whether they are fighting The Cat with 2 Heads,
Powdered Milk Man, The Android Dolphin, or Kitty Litter!
Naturally, The Aquabats! commonly find new enemies, and rarely fight
the same one twice (though it is known to happen if the enemy is very popular.
The Aquabats span a range of music that not many bands are capable of
covering. Their music covers everything from banjo-accompanied
bluegrass folk style to mockeries of harder songs. The common factor
within all Aquabats music however is the positive tones. Aquabats music
(like most ska that shares the genre with them) includes absolutely no
angst. Therein lies the key to the popularity of The Aquabats! In
a world full of crying during music, stuff too hard for its own good and too popular
to be liked, The Aquabats! provide a super-rad alternative to the mundane.