Why Does Reel Big Fish Have Such Crazy Band Member Turnover?

[rchrhds29]

Okay, so I'm sure any fan of RBF, I'm a huge fan of them, just saw them live last month here in DC and they were great, knows that they have ridiculous turnover in band members. I looked on Wikipedia, and they have had 18 total people in the band since 1994 (when Aaron Barrett took over lead vocals and they turned to ska). Also, I copied / pasted the band members from wiki by albums at bottom of page (note I only put new band members under successive releases, to show how often they lose / add members).

Now, I'll admit that despite the ridiculous turnover the band has continuously had a great sound, and in my opinion are & always have been the best ska band around, but still, this amount of turnover just is curious. To be honest, the only loss that I think seriously hurt the band, and will really continue to hurt RBF, was the departure of Scott Klopfenstein, Scott was always my personal favorite member of RBF and was sad to see him go since he offered so much to the band...trumpet, guitar, keyboards, backing vocalist, and actually lead vocals...plus he was the member of RBF that could always not only keep up with Aaron Barrett's irreverent stage patter but could even toss some back at Aaron.

After looking at the wiki page for RBF, I've noticed nearly all of the turnover has been in the band's brass section.
Totals By Instrument:
Brass Section: 10
Drums: 4
Guitar: 2
Bass: 2

Anyone have any ideas on why RBF changes members so often, and on ideas why especially in the brass section???
'Reel Big Fish'
Aaron Barrett - lead vocals, guitar
Matt Wong - bass
Stephan Reed - saxophone
Eric Vismantes - trumpet
Andrew Gonzales - drums

'Buy This'
Adam Polakoff - saxophone
Dan Regan - trombone
Tavis Werts - trumpet

'Everything Sucks'
Robert Quimby - trombone

'Turn the Radio Off' & 'Why Do They Rock So Hard?'
Grant Barry - trombone
Scott Klopfenstein - trumpet, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals

'Cheer Up'
Carlos de la Garza - drums

'Live at the House of Blues' (DVD)
Tyler Jones - trumpet

'We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy'
John Christianson - trumpet
Justin Ferreira - drums

'Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free'
Ryland Steen - drums

'Fame, Fortune, and Fornication'
Derek Gibbs - bass

'Candy Coated Fury'
Matt Appleton - saxophone, backing vocals

[rchrhds29]

fatlip: If Aaron is anything like he is on stage during his antics as he is in real life definitely, and I mean, DEFINITELY, a strong possibility.

Hey fatlip, also, what did you think about Scott leaving the band???

[fatlip]

fatlip didn't comment on this thread cuz fatlip doesn't give a shit about RBF.. most people probably leave because they realize they're in a ska band

[fatlip]

...says the guy in the ska band

[Smoke]

I figured the people playing instruments just don't get paid enough to travel all over the USA in a SKA band,( that was famous in the 90's). I mean, that would get old fast unless you were making more than 75k or so a year, and even then...

[Jordan311]

...says the guy in the ska band

[rchrhds29]

Ska: LOL sorry just so used to replies from fatlip.

Smoke: Yeah, the money thing doesn't hold up. Before I made this thread I went on wikipedia and looked up Goldfinger and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (RBF, Goldfinger, and the Bosstones all started about the same time and all still together and are pretty much the big three of ska, so very comparable) and neither Goldfinger or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have anywhere close to the turnover that Reel Big Fish has had.

Moreover, Reel Big Fish when the "third wave of ska" came in mid / late 90s and ska bands were popular in the mainstream Reel Big Fish was the biggest of the three and since the mainstream popularity has faded Reel Big Fish is still the most popular and pretty much the band of ska, so it can't be the money thing.

Ska: What did / do you think about Scott leaving the band?? I've seen them twice since Scott's departure and both shows were really good shows, but not really great shows like past shows RBF shows I had gone to when Scott was in the band, not sure if you know a trombonist from Goldfinger is who replaced him. Also, 'Candy Coated Fury' was recorded / released after Scott left RBF, and yeah it's a good album but I'd say it's their weakest album.

Oh, by way, whats your favorite Reel Big Fish album Ska? I know a lot of people don't like 'Cheer Up', but it's my definite favorite by far! 'Suckers' is by a mile my fave RBF song and 'Good Thing' & 'Valerie' are both definitely in my top five all time RBF tracks, so just love 'Cheer Up', plus think it has the best cover art of any album and the absolute funniest cover art I've seen from any band.

For those you that haven't seen 'Cheer Up' cover, here it is: