Aaron Barrett

Aaron Barrett is Reel Big Fish's frontman, lead singer, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and founder. Over various changes in the band's lineup, Aaron remains the only founding member of the band.

Besides Reel Big Fish, Barrett also fronted the Orange County Ska band The Forces of Evil in 2003.

## **History with Reel Big Fish**

### Early Days

As a child, Aaron Barrett showed a strong interest in music. Being quite a shy child, Barrett was not able to share this love until he met Matt Wong. In middle school, Aaron began taking guitar lessons in hopes to start a band of his own.

In high school, Barrett and Wong formed "The Fisher King", an initial cover band which later became Reel Big Fish. Barrett took up the reigns as lead singer during this time, and recorded the band's first demos. Reel Big Fish became quite well-known in Orange County's underground ska scene, and later released their first album, *Everything Sucks*.

Sometime after the album's release, Barrett and a couple of other friends were playing leapfrog on their school campus, which piqued the interest of a young Scott Klopfenstein. At the time, Aaron was looking for new members to Reel Big Fish's horn section, and quickly took Scott on as both a trumpeter and a backup vocalist. Both Barrett and Klopfenstein previously played together in the Orange County Ska Band The Scholars.

### Fame and Fall

In 1996, Barrett and the rest of the Reel Big Fish would release their second and most popular studio album *Turn The Radio Off*. The release was such a big hit that Barrett was able to quit his job at Subway (which is jokingly referenced in the album's single "Sell Out") and start touring with Reel Big Fish professionally. They have been touring ever since.

However, the 1998 release of *Why Do They Rock So Hard?* failed to reach the same commercial success as *Turn The Radio Off*. Fearing that Ska might have served its purpose in the music industry, Barrett decided that Reel Big Fish's 2002 release *Cheer Up!* should focus mostly on pop-punk and alternative rock influences. To "prove to the ska scene" that he was still proud to be playing the genre, Barrett formed ska supergroup The Forces Of Evil.

Cheer Up was not the commercial failure that Barrett expected, so The Forces Of Evil was disbanded after only releasing one album. Reel Big Fish decided to return to its ska roots after this, causing the band to fall out of mainstream relevance following Third Wave Ska's demise.

Around the time that *We're Not Happy Til' You're Not Happy* started production, Barrett fell into what seemed to be a state of depression. At a show in November of 2004, Barrett reportedly appeared extremely intoxicated, stumbled through songs, smashed his guitar on stage and left the show early. That night, he posted a mess of characters on his online journal. Barrett admitted later that he had been playing while under the influence of drugs (implied to be heroin) and apologized to fans.

> "oh man, i don't know how all those famous figures of rock and roll history made it through whole shows on heroin. that's fucking crazy! well that's it for me! i made it through the Pittsburgh show but that Mr. brownstone is an unpredictable son-of-a-bitch and our show last night ended up in what i've been told was complete disaster. i don't remember but i am very sad to hear that i dissapointed so many of our fans!"
>
>

### Release from Jive and Present

We're Not Happy was released in 2005 to minimal success. Soon after, Reel Big Fish was dropped from their label, Jive, which the band expressed relief at. Now that the band was able to spread their wings, they released *Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album* in 2006. It is often stated to be Barrett's favorite work that the Fish have done.

Following the live album, Reel Big Fish continued touring, changing their lineup, and releasing albums. Throughout the years, Barrett has remained a permanent fixture to the band. He is the only founding member at the moment.

## Personal Life

Aaron Barrett was born in San Bernadino, California. His father is an artist (who drew the cover art for *Cheer Up!*) and his mother's occupation is unknown. He has one sister.

Barrett had several hobbies as a child. He enjoyed skateboarding, drawing, and listening to music. One summer while Aaron was in middle school, he learned the guitar to play his favorite songs. After this, he attended Los Alamitos High School in Orange County, California. Here he would meet several founding members of Reel Big Fish and launch their career.

Later in 2004, Barrett married Molly Terrence. Their wedding was in Las Vegas, and their honeymoon was in Hawaii. Terrence and Barrett later divorced in 2008, but Terrence interestingly appeared on the cover of *Fame, Fortune and Fornication*, which released in 2009. Barrett remarried in 2017 to Crysta Barrett. Their wedding was in San Luis Obispo, and their honeymoon was in also Hawaii.

## Stage Equipment

### Guitars

* White Gibson Les Paul Studio (Now owned by Brian Klemm of Suburban Legends)
* Black Gibson Les Paul
* Ibanez S
* Gibson SG Standard
* Gordon Smith Graduate (pictured)
* Double-neck Ibanez
* Fender Jazzmaster
* Gibson Archtop
* Fender 98' Black Tornado
* Epiphone Les Paul II
* Gretsch Electromatic G5439T Pro Jet Guitar in Silver Sparkle
* Dean Axcess Performer Cutaway Acoustic-Electric
* ASG Blue Hawaii
* Ibanez SC/S Classic Series Model

### Effect Pedals

* Dunlop Cry Baby 95Q Wah Pedal
* Marshall GV2 Guv'nor Plus Distortion Pedal
* Ibanex TS9DX Turbo Tubescreamer
* Boss DD-6
* Seymour Duncan SFX-01 Pickup Booster
* Boss PH-2 Super Phaser Guitar Effects Pedal

### Amps

* Marshall JCM900 4100 100-Watt Dual Reverb Guitar Amp Head

## Gallery

Aaron and Derek on stageAaron performing in 2007Aaron singing on stageAaron performing in 2018Aaron holding up his guitar during a soloAaron and his dog, WalterAaron in 1992
## Sources

1. ↑ https://www.reelbigfish.info/history/
2. ↑ https://seniordiscountpodcast.blogspot.com/2019/07/423-q-with-scott-klopfenstein-and.html
3. ↑ https://genius.com/8148202
4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20041230093701/http://www.reel-big-fish.com/
5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20041030233742/http://www.reel-big-fish.com/index2.html
6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20041030233742/http://www.reel-big-fish.com/index2.html
7. ↑ https://variety.com/2004/scene/markets-festivals/molly-terrence-and-aaron-barrett-1117908369/
8. ↑ http://www.crystaandaaronwed.com/