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Heptember 2024 - Pre-Show
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Heptember is BACK for 2024! Rob, Celine and Joey sit down to prepare for another month long bracket to determine the best song by a band! In the pre-show they go through this year's band's side projects, other bands and the songs that didn't make the cut to mentally prepare themselves for the upcoming challenge. Which band will it be? Which guests will storm out in anger? Which song eliminations will cause listeners to fly into a violent rage? Tune in to find out!
Hosts: Celine, Joey and Rob
Engineer: Joey
Editor: Cutman
Skassociate Producer: Chris Reeves of Ska Punk International
Merch: www.checkeredpast.ca/merch
Patreon: www.patreon.com/checkeredpast
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
We're potting away. We have things we shouldn't say, but we'll say it anyway. Today is a good day to enrage you with our bracket. Oh, we don't need your love, okay? Vote with me. It'll be done in a week or two. It's September 2024, the real big scurmish.
Meet the Hosts: Celine and Rob
00:00:42
Speaker
What up Checkeryheads? Welcome to Check Your Past, this podcast is Celine and Rob. The show where Duran Duran so far, so far away, away, and Ska-ha, I figured out an intro plan. Explore the history and impact of a different bandage episode. I hope to bring in new fans along the way. That may be my first genuine laugh. I'm Saxel Rob, and this is my sister and co-host, the Smokey Bitch Celine. The Smokey Bitch Celine. The Smokey Bitch Celine. Yeah. ah yeah I got clearance to go yeah yeah get just please to call my sister a bitch. And here for today's pre-show is Little Joey Christmas. That Little Joey Christmas. That's what they call me. So songs and bands that real big fish covered. Right. Because this is that was the team this is our reveal.
Upcoming Event: Real Big Fish Focus
00:01:35
Speaker
ah September 24 reveal is that we're going to do real big fish.
00:01:42
Speaker
covers i real big skirmish real real big skirmish it's gonna be a lot of listening to songs yeah there a lot there's there's so many that i had to cut them that's crazy i am shocked how many the original pitch when rob was telling us how many i was like I don't know if we can do that many songs. Like I honestly was like, that's too many fucking choices. I was able to get upwards of 48 cover songs. 48. Which is possible because if it's in denominations of eight or 16, you can make it work. right But I chickened out in the last minutes and I don't want to do a 48 song bracket.
00:02:34
Speaker
32 is the best. 32 is the best. The easiest one to do. That was too many songs. And also there's no fucking way you can't cut the number that you cut and still end up with. quote quality so yeah And as we go along I'm gonna so today for the pre-show So we've done real big fish in the past so like I have an intro and everything But we talked about real big fish three times already. So this will be ah fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth time we've Uh, not that much history, I guess, to go
Real Big Fish: A Historical Overview
00:03:11
Speaker
through anymore. And so really this, uh, this is just going to be about these covers, which I think is going to be fun because it really runs the gamut. I'm excited. What guests I'll have to pretend that I like. living faith I don't think you have to pretend. I think it'll be fine. Not anymore. Not anymore. I got the brand.
00:03:34
Speaker
um So yeah, this is gonna be the the whole thing. So today is is the pre-show. So today we're gonna be talking about the real big fish side projects, other bands. We've done this every time we've done a bracket. Right. I didn't know of what we were doing today. I also included a few of the songs I cut. because I want to explain why I made certain cut decisions. Because I'm sure there's going to be a couple where people are like, bullshit, that would have been the Wigner. I doubt it. But I mean, bullshit. That's my favorite rule. You don't think it's a one step beyond of? Oh, there's a one step beyond. It's take on me. I'll take on me as a one step beyond. For sure it is. That's the time bomb. That's the all out of angst. The time bomb didn't win. Yeah. No, it did not. Yeah, I always forget because it's crazy.
00:04:25
Speaker
but yeah because but i think i shit on better so that shit on time bomb than i can i was for it against it you kept coming back and forth and then eventually we just needed eteon to agree yeah that is a worst song than a really good song So here's the intro this is heptember this is our what sixth bracket oh was that crazy thanks for racket Isn't that crazy? crazy? Isn't that crazy? Isn't that crazy? That is crazy.
Bracket Competition: Real Big Fish Covers
00:04:53
Speaker
All month long we are doing a March Madness style bracket to fit 32 songs covered by Rubik Fish in head-to-head battle to determine once and for all the greatest RBF cover song of all time. Thanks for everyone who voted their predictions. It opens today. The bracket is at shalange.com.
00:05:11
Speaker
sure slash heptember 2024. The matchups are seated based on chronological order so the earlier songs have a more favorable placement than newer songs for no other reason than that was the easiest way to do it. Here's how it's going to work. Today's a pre-show and this is all about those RBF side projects, other bands, songs cut and then round one will kick off at the end of august and it'll be just the CPSC crew going through the first set of matchups across two parts. Then we bring on guests for round two round three in the finals, eliminating songs one by one until the ultimate winner is crowned. If you listen to any of our other March madnesses, no, that's not what they're called. If you listen to any of our other madness marches or heptembers, then you get it. You know what we're doing.
00:05:51
Speaker
So who is Real Big Fish, you may ask. I mean, come on, we did three parts on this band already. That's a real big fish song. That's okay. I said this off air, but I'm like, I feel like if you just say like any generic phrase, someone could be like, that's a real big fish song. Have you been arguably a big single? One of the bigger ones. I don't know. Where are you when it's also just a phrase? Yeah, from the like late 90s. From the world? We did three parts of this band already. So what are you waiting for? Go back and listen with our guests, the third rates, Devin K and Gary Mastriano. But if you want a quick recap, here we go. They are the monastic meme formed in California in 1991 as a hair metal cover band before adding a horn section and switching to full blown Scott punk.
00:06:39
Speaker
After their debut indie album, Everything Sucks gained underground traction, they're assigned to major label Jai for the blockbuster turn the radio off in its ever-present single, Sellout, launching the band into the mainstream. After four years of headlining fame, They released the Power Pop influence Cheer Up with lead singer Aaron Forming the Forces of Evil, thinking his band was about to fold. After being convinced to return, he penned the Angry We're Not Happy album as an anti-music industry concept album, or being dropped to go indie again, reigniting their careers at dark ages, Scott Darlings, keeping the flag alive. They had many lineup changes, but released a consistent batch of albums, including the cult classic Candy Coded Fury, and the divisive cover album Fame, Fortune, and Fornication.
00:07:20
Speaker
Known for their vibrant live-act cheeky lyrics and horn-based look-third-wave ska sound, they are still semi-active today, having gone gold, releasing nine albums, multiple best-ofs, an amazing live album, and something like 46-48 covers that we will just take about all month long.
Current Band Lineup and Evolution
00:07:36
Speaker
The lineup since 96 have included, and not limited to, Aaron Barrett on guitar vocals, and he's like the main guy. Scott Klopfenstein on the trumpet and the harmonies, Trappits Words, Grant Berry, Dan Regan, Matt Wong, Andrew Gonzalez, Carlos de la Garza, Tyler Jones, R.I.P., Justin Ferreira, Rylan Steen, Billy Cottage, Lily Joc- Lily, Lily, Lily, Little Johnny christmas doing Christmas, Derek Gibbs, Matt Appleton, and Ed Smoky Beach, Larson,
00:08:06
Speaker
Let's do keep it. Smokey Bitch is still in the band. Yeah. He's the drummer. Smokey Bitch is the current. He's the current drummer. They've gone through a lot of drummers. The current lineup. I've done a lot of drums on there. Yeah. they've They've gone through drummers and they're all dang good. Groovy Fish is great drummers. So the current lineup is. I had a friend that did the same. Oh, I see. I see. I see. The
Side Projects and Band Ecosystem
00:08:29
Speaker
current lineup is Aaron. Dan Regan on the trombone, Matt Appleton still plays the saxophone, Little Johnny Christmas trumpet, Derek Gibbs on the bass, and Ed Larson on the drums. That's the current lineup. Dan Regan having just come back after brewing beer for the last like 15 years. That's a fun fact. So he wasn't in the band, then he went to brew beer, and then he came back to the band? Correct. He goes good with beer, monster sticks. Yeah, dang. I think I'll have to sell one. I'll have myself a monster stick.
00:09:01
Speaker
ah You can do a separate like side bracket. beer after like being in a band ah reallyley really All right, let's go through this. I have a lot of songs to talk about today. So let's talk about it. We're going to start in 1994 with a band called FYP. This is one of those bands. It's one of those bands that the thing changes every album like AFI or MDC. Really? And this is where Carlos de la Garza, the drummer, where he got his start. And it's a, they just play one minute punk songs. This song's called Fuck You in a Half. Sweet. F-Y-P meant something different back then, I'm sure. Now it's hardcore for you, Paige. And hashtag F-Y-P. Hashtag F-Y-P? Yeah, for you, Paige. For you, Paige. That's okay. It's just me, which one? This is very funny.
00:09:55
Speaker
No Scott.
00:10:22
Speaker
He was pretty fun. It's about not wanting to play baseball, because your dad's making you play baseball. I identify how did that. Fuck T-ball, man. Not worth the fucking ice cream.
Critique: Knuckle Brothers and Ska Influence
00:10:38
Speaker
That's the entire song, by the way. I figured. OK, that's good. It's good. Yeah, that's fine. It's better than real big fish. And he was ah he was a young man. A young Carlos de la Garza, drumming in there. I did say that. I said, was he a young man? That just sounds like a high school-y type of band. You know what I mean? A little bit. They only released like three records, I think. I'm not going to listen to it again. I probably won't. You're going to listen to it. I'm going to listen to that whole thing. They're all a minute long. There's nothing for me to lose listening to. Yeah, right. I was like 20 minutes or something. I love it. Disassociating and staring into the distance. That doesn't sound like fun time at all. Sounds like what? I don't know. You have to reboot. You have to reboot? It's just all too much. The next step, okay.
00:11:38
Speaker
that's do that band Next up, we have the Knuckle Brothers. That's what Scott... That's fun, yeah. Scott Kloppenstein. This is where he got his start, playing the old trumpet. And this is a pretty OC band. This song is called Hot Rod. I like that really. Oh, and the meat change. Yeah, both of them are good. I don't like how there's like, it's just sweet. Yeah, the juice. I like this. This is what they explain. Oh, no. It's the worst thing I've ever heard. You want it to be like a meat gusher? Yeah, it is a meat gusher. Dirty factually. I don't like that. You said it. The song is fine.
Inspiration and Anecdotes: Ska Bands
00:12:30
Speaker
Very OC.
00:12:35
Speaker
But he's definitely putting it on the vocalist. Whoever this vocalist is. Yeah, a little bit. Some Billy Guy, they picked him up. He's some funny guy with a popcorn. I mean, he's going to write a song about hot rods. Yeah. I just don't know why. This is definitely just artist Billy. Yeah. Just why are the horns so quiet? So quiet. Yeah, it's like they're trying to hide them. They're hiding the horns behind the Billy and the guitar. Yeah, for sure. But anyway, the Knuckle Brothers are There's gonna be a few bands on here that like when I listen to them, I'm like on their face. I'm not sure if they're like the most interesting band, but they are such a big part of like
00:13:14
Speaker
O.C. and Real Big Fish. They're part of the story. They're part of the story. Knuckle Brothers, I think, are famous for having Scott Koffenstein. Right. Which I know people are going to be like, in the 90s, they were like, I'm sure, I'm sure O.C. people, they were the best band to watch in the O.C., but I'm sorry. But like, as far as I'm concerned, they were a band of Scott. I would have loved to go dance to them. I'm sure. I love when they play Hot Rod. Oh, Hot Rod's playing. I bet they were. Let's go on the dance floor. But they were so fun. You're going to miss Hot Rod. Cool Beans. They're playing Hot Rod. Cool Beans are playing Hot Rod. That's exactly what they're doing. Hey, Johnny. Hot Rod's playing. Put down your milkshake. Yeah. Call me a pop-a-dore with your switchblade. Go and get to the dance floor. Pull a couple of smokes out of that cigarette pack rolled up in the shirt sleeve. The problem is when you say, hey, Johnny, everyone looks up. Yeah. Me? Me? Me?
00:14:08
Speaker
ah Alright, this next band is called The Scholars that had like most of Real Big Fish in it. It had Aaron, Scott, and Grant. No, like Scholars. There's no pun on this one. This is the real big fish that could have been. If Real Big Fish never happened, this would have been the band. Okay, and this sounds like a Real Big Fish song title. It sounds like a Real Big Fish song. Okay, here we go.
00:14:39
Speaker
Set your expectations right there. Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm in a bad place. I sure don't know why we gotta bring summer into it every time. Yeah, it's very summery. What about if it's February? This next song is gonna remind you of December, but we'll get to that one next. Oh, it's a Christmas. For sure. It's gonna be fun.
00:15:06
Speaker
Like even the horns sound like a really rich horn sound. Yeah. It's just fine. There's nothing wrong with the musicianship. Whoa. Yeah.
00:15:28
Speaker
It's like trying to be self-deprecating, but it still comes off misogynist. Yeah. Classic 90s. Classic 90s. Yeah. That I'm the butt of the joke. It's like you didn't have to have a woman that way. Yeah. It's not like they're a band anymore, so they're going to have a lot of distance from this. Oh, I'm sure.
00:15:54
Speaker
I mean, it's kind of funny.
00:15:59
Speaker
I just straight up was. that
00:16:05
Speaker
It's eerie how real big fish it is. They totally they wrote eight songs in P-step. It is kind of funny. and Yeah. This is kind of funny. Not very, but this is kind of funny. Yeah, I'm in a band, why don't I get you? Yeah, that's funny. yeah it's like We talked about I voted for Kodos. like I don't want to keep hammering on this core band, but in the post third wave primer, this is what they were trying to do. right yes and then didn't quite did didn't quite make it there yeah um but yeah we were only around for like two years um okay here's my first cut song okay this is their very famous 1997 cover of mele kalikimaka the hawaiian song about christmas
00:16:52
Speaker
The reason why I cut it was I made a conscious decision to just cut Christmas songs.
Excluding Holiday Songs: The Bracket Challenge
00:16:57
Speaker
Fair. I said no holiday songs. Fair. I said that's irritating. I can't listen to more than one. No. Also like... And there's more than one. Also there's... Holiday songs are a different kind of cover. Correct. They're not like a cover cover. They're fucking holiday songs. Yeah. And I mean I needed a cutoff point and this felt very good. What is holiday songs? as
00:17:23
Speaker
Also, this is the 97 lineup, so Aunt Andrew Gonzalez's drumming is like crazy on a snare.
00:17:35
Speaker
I mean, I'm not enjoying this. It's a great cover. It's not a bad cover. It just doesn't fit in the bracket, so. I'm like a sucker for like a polka. Me too. It's just so silly.
00:18:00
Speaker
yeah It's fun. Silly. Yeah. It's not bad. So what's the original song's like story? It's a Hawaiian... Is it by a Hawaiian person? I believe so. Oh, no. I actually think it was from... It's like the white guy. It's like the marina bill energy. No, it's like, I think it's like Bing Crosby or something. Like it's from a movie. Okay, so she's kind of slow. Yeah, it's a little bit croonery, right? I'm just wondering if like... Oh, the Andrews sisters. Oh, that's fun. That's fun. I love the Andrews sisters. Is there any Hawaiians are like celebrated? Oh, Bing Crosby and the Andrews sisters. Ah, I got it. You knew it. I got it. Yeah, Bing Crosby. You know what I mean. Yeah. Yeah, those those are all white people. 1949. Hawaiian people. Take Hawaiians, let us know. and i Did I get it? Did I get it? Not cool. yeah Let us know.
00:18:48
Speaker
Let us know. It's not not a bop. That's a problem. It's not on a bop. That doesn't mean it's not problematic. It could be a bop and be problematic. That's the 2024 nuance. The gray area. Uh, next up we have the one and only Jeffrey's fan club that has never been played on this podcast before, but it has been mentioned multiple times. This is the, in my opinion, if you think, if you want to know whether you like OC scar or not, you have to listen to Jeffrey's fan club. but And if you like it, you like OC Scott. You don't like it. You don't like OC scar period. They're the litmus test. They got, they do the swing. were Yeah, I feel like that's right.
00:19:31
Speaker
Yes, that's right, yes, that's right. It's like the pop, the swing, the sophomore lyrics. Swing the god gets me for some reason. Oh yeah, this this is a borderline safe ferris, like in the horn energy kind of thing. So this is a song called Crystal 52 because it featured ah Derek and Justin who would then go on to join Forces of Evil. then real big
00:20:04
Speaker
that bass style that the bows do. They picked it up. I guess if it is summer all the time, you'd be writing kind of summer music. Right? To be fair. Writing summer music, learning to skateboard really well. Two things you can get from living in a place where it's summer all the time.
00:20:36
Speaker
The vocals are cool though. I don't know if this is all right.
00:20:45
Speaker
Very 90's pop-pop. Yeah, very much so. Which way do you like it? If it was less summary sounding, I'd like it. There is. It will not ever be less summary sounding. I'm sorry. It's going to be a long bracket. More songs. Well, even for that band in particular, the more songs you listen to
Jeffrey's Fan Club: The Ska Benchmark
00:21:05
Speaker
from them. But I didn't mind that. Yeah, it's not bad. That was pretty good. That was a song about milk. They're the other band that doesn't talk about them. This is not Jeffrey's Fan Club. Is Jeffrey's Fan Club? That was Jeffrey's Fan Club. Yeah, you showed me them many times. Maybe. Maybe. You've done it on this podcast. No, it never has come to the first time. You said that. Yes, I've talked about them a lot. They get brought up quite a bit. You've talked about them so many times. Yes, because I think they are the litmus test of O.C. Scott. Whenever someone's like the O.C., I'm like, yeah, like Jeffrey's Fan Club. Like it's like the first band I think of.
00:21:37
Speaker
All right, this next band is called Longfellow. And Justin Ferreira was a drummer in this band before joining Real Big Fish, and the song's called Smokescreen. Big tall guy, hey. Smoked Screen. 1998, so we're in the 90s still.
00:22:00
Speaker
Whoa. This is pretty good. I'm in. Yeah. A little trashy. Just palm mutes. Yeah. Just like a propaganda song. They're like a sweet bae-from-face riff.
00:22:16
Speaker
Fast. Yeah, this is good. As fast as the Joey test it ends up. It's not gonna only be Scott. That's my warning? Celebration? Yeah. Celebration. Plant Star Wars Celebration.
00:22:45
Speaker
Whoa. Yeah, breakdown's in 98. In LA, you don't see that very often. Yeah. That was pretty cool. What was that? Longfellow. And what was their deal? Who were they? Justin Ferreira, who would go on to drum for Real Big Fish at one point. Does that run time? No, he was like in a stretch. Oh, wow. Yeah. All the drummers were a stretch. They're part of a lineup kind of configuration. Yeah. Yeah, it's not bad. Hell yeah. They were contemporaneous with Real Big Fish. Sweet. I like that band better than this.
00:23:17
Speaker
All right, this next band is called Pal, and it has the number one pal in it. It's called Koffenstein. Bro, I'm gonna eat my words when we start listening to real big fish songs. There'll be so many songs that I'll genuinely love, though, yeah. That's what happens every time. That's what happens every time. I'm open for it. And then I hear Trendy, and I... I'm having a great time. That sounds so good. It is so good. That sound makes me so happy when I hear it. It's very good. What is happening with this song? Oh yeah. So this is him trying to do like a Pixies Mr. Bungle thing. Okay. I don't know if I'm on board with this. This is boring. I'm sorry. I just knew it. I mean, they weren't like around for very long.
00:24:00
Speaker
Let me find out what their whole deal was. I know other people like this now. To be the very good at it. This is not my jam. This is like if somebody like Sonic yazi or a few Dinosaur Jr. I going say, Dinosaur Jr. This part's kind of cool. welllthough's Yeah, any of those like pixies on YouTube bands, they always have the big breakdown or smashing pumpkins or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Pixies are cool. Pixies are like weirder though.
Selecting Covers: Criteria and Challenges
00:24:39
Speaker
Yesterday we were playing a game of D&D and we were making a lot of pixies jokes because there was a pixie. Yeah. Because there was a pixie or two.
00:24:50
Speaker
So this was ah made with Jesse Wilder, who was in his band. Was he in Jeffrey's Fan Club? No, he was in the Goodwin Club. That was what it was, in Teen Heroes. Different Club. Yeah, Different Club. Different Club. And then him and Scott made this band. OK. And that's where it came from. They had one record. OK. And goodbye. That's what happened. That was it. One record and we'll see. One and done. One and done. Classic. Ready for another cut song? This is a cover of the Main Street Electrical Parade, aka the Broke Hoe Down from Disneyland. And this was a real big fish cover that made it onto a Disney compilation. Okay. And it got cut because this is not really a cover. it's like it Just call me a Broke Hoe Down. Yeah. A Broke Hoe Down. Broke Hoe Down. I'm up.
00:25:46
Speaker
I would say a Broke. 2002, by the way. It's been in a long-term monogamous relationship. I don't know if that was wrong. But okay, don't go Before getting mad that we cut this on all the bracket, I'm just gonna... Yeah? Yeah. It's already boring. No, it gets crazy. Just wait. It's so bananas. Is it just... What is this a cover of, you said? It's a Disney laugh. It's a Disney laugh. Okay, yeah. Sorry.
00:26:19
Speaker
I feel like yeah but people if they are like that they're being like a little bit about it also I have to say there has to be some correlation between going to Disneyland and giving a shit about the song. We're not Disney could not give a single fuck about any songs that they play at Disneyland. So that we're not the right crowd for that. Yeah. Whereas like, I feel like if you grew up in the OC, you'd probably go to Disneyland every now and then. There's nostalgia and there's something that like twinkles to me. I'm just like, Oh yeah. Okay. That's funny. And moving on. Yeah. Interesting. is It's like, I'm asking for it to fail by just throwing it in the bracket. Cause I mean, wait, listen to it. Another misogynist.
00:27:04
Speaker
Fucking real big fish lyrics. Broke hoedown. Broke hoedown. Also not the that they picked for it. That's the name of this song. Broke hoedown. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Again. yeah God. I thought even with covers, we'd get away from it. I saw it. I saw it, but no. They gotta get it in there. All right. Let's do one more cut song before we take a break. This is, okay, so the other thing I cut were international bonus tracks. And again, only because I needed to cut something. And unfortunately- And that's a criteria. Yeah, I just, I was like, yeah, exactly. That I could cut out that wouldn't ruin the bracket completely, sort of a thing. Right. This was the bonus track, the international bonus track for Cheer Up, and it's a cover of the Melodian song, Rocket With Eye. There's another reason why I cut this too, but that was the main reason.
00:28:11
Speaker
You guys are gonna say, you gotta be a reggae song, right? Yeah. Melodians, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:19
Speaker
I think I can get a melodian.
00:28:31
Speaker
Really? And an ODEON was like a theater thing that you look through. That's cute. Yeah. It was a circus attraction. Five cents to look into the ODEON? Yeah. That's actually cute. That's cute. That's cute. Except then, because that was kind of the
00:29:03
Speaker
This is Billboard. Also, the faking Jamaican is unfortunate, so I also cut it for that reason. Yeah. He needn't have done that.
00:29:17
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I just didn't think he had to do that. Like, he's covered reggae songs other times and didn't do faking Jamaican. like Also, like, I mean, there's probably a reason that one's not one of the big famous covers. Like, ah that that was kind big famous covers. Yeah, a real big famous. real nice go yeah Oh, that's what I should have called the brand. good so bad no no one' actually it's bad yeah All right, let's take a break. And then we got some more pre show.
00:29:58
Speaker
Welcome back to checkered past. We're doing the heptember 2024 pre-show. It's the real big skirm ish. And we're heading to 2004 to talk about Scott Clopenstein's most famous current band, the littlest man band.
Scott Clopenstein's New Ventures
00:30:12
Speaker
He left real big fish in the mid aughts. And he started this band prior to that. And it eventually became his full time thing, especially after, uh, you know, he had his Twitch channel and everything and sort of, uh, you know, personalized his brand. Uh, but this is. He, uh, when he goes and tours his band around, he usually has a who's who of, uh, people from like the suburban legends, Rubik Fish, other bands. So this is a track it's called a better man. we saw them yeah And they put on great show and they are ska adjacent at best. I said, I'm having the time of my life. Yes. So Lynn was not sold at the first. And then about two or three songs in, she was 12.
00:30:59
Speaker
Scott is a very, he's a showman. Yeah, he's a showman. He's a showman, for sure. So even if this music isn't for you, I have to admit. It's a good show. The live show is good. Yeah.
00:31:14
Speaker
And he's very talented. Very talented. Super talented. Can't deny that. Yeah, that band that he had with him when we saw him at SPI was like bananas good. Like, yeah, it was like he had a crazy well put together band.
00:31:32
Speaker
It's usually pretty acoustic guitar or piano driven. Piano driven, yeah. The song doesn't have the piano in it, but it's a good song. And like often ballad-y. Yes. Like not a whole lot of classic rock and roll song structuring type of yeah thing happening. Like he tends to... A lot of torch songs. like Like Adele. He sort of writes like Adele. Yeah, kind of. That's the only like torch singer who I can think of that's popular now. Amy Winehouse, I don't know. Amy Winehouse, I guess I'm more like upbeat songs, but yeah. um All right. So here's another thing that I was thinking of doing.
00:32:12
Speaker
was I was thinking of when I made my 48 song bracket was adding the forces of evil in there. Because they did several covers. Of course they did. ah They did a cover of Dance the Night Away, the Van Halen song. um They also- We did that at one point, didn't they? It was on the record. yeah okay um And they covered Go to Hell by Suburban Rhythm. um And ah multiple times Real Big Fish has covered forces of evil songs. that which is hilarious because they're like the same band. Yeah, that is pretty funny. And so I thought like adding those in could like layer it up and it could be funny. But then I was just like, no, I got to get this down to 32. The first thing that went were the forces of evil stonks. So yeah, they're gone. This alone, if you recognize that name, Joey, if you know that song.
00:33:00
Speaker
From the sub this is the this is the sublime. Yes, and it was on the forever free sublime tribute record I probably heard this for this is a cover of ball and chain by forces
00:33:36
Speaker
going for it they have fun this is fun right it's all right
00:34:05
Speaker
changeup course they have a like air metal things
00:34:17
Speaker
And I like this Sublime song. This is a S-tier Sublime song.
00:34:31
Speaker
Yeah, I like that he's kind of doing the brat belt, but he also sounds like Aaron Barrett. That's pretty good.
00:34:40
Speaker
Pretty good. Yeah. Not bad. Yeah, I thought that would have gone pretty far. That would have gone pretty far. Because it has a lot of elements. Like four different things are happening in that song to make the cover. And I think he did a good job with that. It's a good song. It's a good song. Yeah. I'm going to say it, like the song choice matters a lot. If the song originally sucks, it's going to probably be a pretty bad cover. oh and ten general Also, they have another bigger Sublime cover, do they not? Yes, but that is actually a full on, real big fish Sublime cover, which will be in the main bracket. It just occurred to me, I was like, wait, there's definitely another Sublime cover. Do you want me to say that? Yes.
00:35:22
Speaker
Here's your... Scubbuck. Here's your dollar. Single Scubbuck. It is weird, once we get into the bracket, that there's several bands that they cover multiple times, like Sublime, Poison, Morrissey. Like, it's weird that they... Does anyone see any Bob? No. Dang. Just because you like that one. Yeah, I like that one. No, they go... Is that an angel? No. so moon I guess you would know. That he knows. yeah but he knows ah This next is a cover. ah It's another cut cover because it was the bonus track on the fame fortune of fornication. Cut probably because it has nothing to do with the the that songs that they chose for this. This is an English beat cover. Twist and crawl. Yeah. Hopefully you like one drops. I do.
00:36:20
Speaker
And I like dubby things. Kind of has a, it is a dub, drum roll thing. Yeah.
00:36:32
Speaker
These are my favorite kind of English beat songs. Yeah, I was gonna say, this is a pretty good song man. Possibly one of the only other What are they doing? They're trying to make himself. Oh, he could be like... I guess! It sounds a little all different kind of feel, but...
00:37:12
Speaker
Like a fake British accent, but like trying to be a fake evil British voice is very strange. But also this song, like it it's a good song, but is it a good cover? It's a good song because it's a good song. Yeah, that's gonna be, I'm gonna give, also I'm gonna say this now, that when we get to the, what do you wanna call it? The tiebreakers. Right. The tiebreakers are gonna be the original song. Okay. Yeah. So if we ever run into a tie, we have to play the original sign, that's the determinate. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Just have a little fun with it. Just have a little fun with it. Just have a little fun with it.
00:37:56
Speaker
The next band is a band called The Golden Boaters. And this is another one of Scott's post-Real Big Fish bands. And they're just like an alternative rock situation. Okay. That's about all I got on this one. It came out in 2012. And it's very difficult to find their music. I think I had to pull this off the YouTubes.
00:38:20
Speaker
This is given. This is Kings of Will. It's really odd to hit the rock hard.
00:38:28
Speaker
Yeah, based out of Eugene, Oregon, so that makes a lot of sense. It's got some... Some of the members were in Cherry Pop and Daddy, which makes sense, because they were in Oregon. it Which makes sense, because they're a hard indie rock band. I'm having to stay here to defend Cherry Pop again.
00:38:57
Speaker
ah defenseive cherrypo then it's a dinner already there' already ti years on cps on c cc We don't say full sentences anymore, just initials. This is sleepy time. Yeah, sleepy nap time. For Joey. Unfortunately. for sure i'll just sort of guys knock their head at the shoulder yeah And Scott is playing the Gitbox on this one. he's not seen
00:39:28
Speaker
Okay. Just guitaring. Yeah. Just guitaring. It's just fine. Yeah. I don't have much for that one. But it's okay. So the only thing I'll say is like, these are all the Scots bands that he was in. So he was in a lot. He was in Knuckle Brothers, that kind of OC Scott band at the beginning. The Scholars, the band that almost became Real Big Fish. Real Big Fish, obviously. Howl, which was like that kind of drony band. Yeah, his littlest man band, which is like, kind of everything jazz kind of jazzy, jazzy pop. yeah And then this, Golden Motors, which is like an alt rock. He definitely has a lot of interests. Yeah, that's what I mean. And he's not afraid to explore them. I think that's cool. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think more than anybody else who we're gonna be talking about, he's one of those varied set of bands that he was attached to. It's cool that he doesn't limit him himself. Also, it's cool that
00:40:23
Speaker
Uh, like his solo thing, like Lillis Manband is almost kind of virtuoso-y in a way. Yeah. Because it's very like heavily songwriter driven and whatever where it's like in that he's just playing some drony ass guitar. So it's like interesting that someone who does something that involved will then like change gears and do something where they're just twanging away on some shit. Drony ass guitar? Yeah, yeah, totally. playing A butt. A butt. Sexy. Real sexy. Love this conversation. It's the exact humor that I'm here for. It's what they're here for all the time. Hey, put a W in the chat if you like the joke we just made.
00:41:08
Speaker
there's no trans zoium that you may But it's like a W in the chat. They can't see your Hang 10 hand. It's an audio thing. They should accomplish. They can see the whole thing. I'm putting a W in the chat. You should accomplish. There's a Patreon. Right. Video, yeah. Are you putting a W? will What are you doing? I'm doing George W. Join our Patreon to see Slits, Hang 10. Yeah, do we have a Patreon? Hang 10. That's what it's for. Yeah. What am I doing right now? Hang 10. Who's Betty? I'm hanging five right now.
00:41:40
Speaker
Right, because only one hand. One of the drummers for a Real Big Fish ah left to form, or two not to form, but to join and establish the Yacht Rock Band called arc ah America. and And this is a song that he actually recorded on. He was able to hit an album with that. It's called Driving, Ryan Steen with America. Do you think Chris likes this?
00:42:13
Speaker
do You know what? I've been thinking about a sound board. I know. I know. I've always been thinking about a sound board.
00:42:26
Speaker
Yeah, that was America. Yeah. Sounds like every American thought I've been. Yeah. For most parts. At least he doesn't have a horse anymore. He's got a car now. Yeah. Well, it would be easier to get to that. I wouldn't trust the politics of other people who listen to this, but it's not a bad song. America's pretty lame. Are they chill? well they're just Yeah, they're an ascot band, you know? And anyone who's into yacht rock, they're like, could lead a Republican. I mean, I guess so. Maybe. It is pretty just inoffensive. I guess. For rock music.
00:43:08
Speaker
But I mean like, to drum? To play the drums? Fuck yeah. It's a bad job. It's like a golden job. Yeah, drumming for America. Hell yeah. That'd be the best job ever. And I mean, they've been doing what they do forever. I'm sure there are very difficult sections and portions of songs but at least you never have to go really fast yeah i'm sure they were like do you got the thing and rylan's like i got the thing and he pulls up brushes yeah oh i got the thing that you know that i can play with but all right now it's still cool like the drummer for real big fish drums for america that's yeah fine that's a fun thing totally
00:43:53
Speaker
and Fun fact. So remember how I said I was cutting out Christmas music? Well, they did a full-on Christmas EP real big fish at one point. I cut out every single cover that was on there. Thank you. Because I did not feel like listening to that much Christmas songs. This is the Carol of the Beers is funny. Wait until you hear what they did with this. Okay. Wait for it. I'm excited. It's insane.
00:44:27
Speaker
Oh yeah, that's kind of what I expected actually.
00:44:32
Speaker
Do they feel like beer that much? I mean, they're making a career off of it, honestly.
00:44:52
Speaker
We don't like the most of them. No, we don't like it. I have a beard and the burps. It's a funny bit to do with your friends. Honestly, yeah. Like, did this need to hit an album? No. That's like YouTube video quality. Yeah, that's a YouTube channel. You put that in town. Don't make people pay for that. Don't make people pay. What? What are you doing? or but it is a secret before youtube though like not before youtube but before youtube two thousand and sixteen okay better viy real you they
00:45:31
Speaker
really dot which is the beginning need to but that in context he was late for that song jeff as Like that's not, that's a funny bit in like 2002, 2016. So yeah, we can do better than beer, beer, beer, beer. Fucking like meow cats, holidays, or like meow, meow, meow, meow. It's literally that but beer. Well, meow cat would have been contemporary, kind of contemporaneous in 2016. That would have been meow cat yeah, for sure. Jingle cats? Yeah. Jingle cats already did it. Yeah. Jingle cats already did it. Yeah, like that's the whole fucking joke. And so did, uh, what's the guitar band that did the Carol of the Bells? Like that's early. Trans-Siberian orchestra. yeah That was like their big. Early YouTube humor is like, what if the notes were meow? And it's like, what if the notes who were beer? Yeah, it's not great. that's not it's I cut it.
00:46:30
Speaker
It's not in the bracket. It's not in the bracket. I will hear nothing from checkerheads or listeners about why Carol of the Beers is not in the bracket. I will hear nothing about it. It is cut and it is cut with purpose. you don Get the fuck out of here. yeah Get out of here. Grandma got run over by the reindeer. Get all of that shit out of here. I have no time or patience for it. All right, so there's a band called, we're heading into reggae rock territory now. There's a band called Tunnel Vision, and it is comprised of Matt, Johnny, and Billy, who are all the horn section of real big fish, making reggae rock. And this song is called Hoppin' the Van, because of course it is. Are they not playing horns? Oh, no, they're playing horns. Oh, okay. And they wrote all the songs, and engineered and produced it. That's a lot of work. And made it super rege
00:47:25
Speaker
to
00:47:33
Speaker
So Lynn, you were not on the regular rock primer. What do you think? No. I like the vocals. I'm like, this person's going to sing. I know. Tunnel vision. Maybe Selena would have had like a surprisingly positive change. I like my life magic. Yeah, you gave it a set though. Yeah, all right. I love that. I'm waiting for you to propose to me.
00:48:03
Speaker
Okay. I just love the idea of our mother saying no. And then Joey being like, what? No, I'm in a family. And my mom's like, I don't have surgery.
00:48:19
Speaker
What's wrong with this? This is great. This is not for me, man. Not bad. I like how poppy it is. It was very poppy. It's very reggae. It's got the horns. It did a little scuffing. I probably would have liked the reggae rock primer. I think so. I think that would have been way up your alley. It would have walked out of that like so chill. Fucking chill. I'm more into a song about hopping in the van in order to hotbox it than hopping in the van to drive to the beach or whatever the fuck you was doing. it's ah It's a rolling garbage can. It's a rolling garbage can. Very electric Kool-Aid acid test. That's about LSD though.
00:48:58
Speaker
ah um All right. So here's a band. This is a band called The Inevitablez. They were a super group ah composed of less than Jake Folk and a couple members of real big fish were in it. Billy Cottage, who actually at the time, I think, no, no, it was 2020. So you would have still been in the band. um And it was destined to happen. It was inevitable. People may know the inevitables for all that Kickstarter controversy that came out in the last quarter. That's right, I recognize that. The last couple months or whatever. But they did have the first record come out, and it's basically sounds like, and it's all comic book driven. So this is one of those songs, Barely Kids.
00:49:46
Speaker
We're going to look at who all was in the inevitables. It was a bunch of people.
00:50:05
Speaker
So it's Vinnie from Less Than Jake. Sounds Less Than Jakey. Ovi from Westbound Train, yep. Who's this singer? Alex and Matt, or no, Alex from Big D, Matt and Billy from Real Big Fish. John DeMonnichi, whose name I can never pronounce from, John, Jeffrey was in the Stacks Band. Right. De-da-mon-ee-choo. Yeah.
00:50:38
Speaker
De-da-mon-ee-choo. De-da-mon-ee-choo. De-da-mon-ee-choo. De-da-mon-ee-choo. De-da-mon-ee-choo. My friend, Matt, said their mic pronounce my name Chilinae. That's sick, actually. I'm excited to be Chilinae De-da-mon. it's fun
00:50:57
Speaker
apparently They say drew it. And her dad was waiting so they'd say, Elaine. How do you think of that song? that We talked over top of it. Yeah, it was good. It was fine. it was like There's also nothing wrong with it. Yeah, the horns were good. So like a bunch of people who worked at their instruments played a song. That sounded like that was supposed to be a compliment that sounded like it The fuck you play your instruments well Sounds like you guys practice You got your 10,000 hours muscle memory What are you not trying?
00:51:46
Speaker
that Uh, our friend, uh, Chris Grau of Loser did a song with real big fish as well. Oh yeah. Uh, called no hope that was featured in the clerks three soundtrack. That's right. No hope. Of course it's not in the bracket because it's a Loser song. Yeah. Also this song is like super catchy. It's really good. Yeah. We saw him play this song live as well. Sure did.
00:52:27
Speaker
That was Aaron Scott. I think Rylan Steen is the drummer coming off of America. Also, I love her rounds. Yeah, me too.
00:52:48
Speaker
I try to do rounds as much as I can in our songs. Rounds are great. I always do. Yeah. hey Watch Quicks 3 one of these days. Yeah, me too. This song is quite good. Yeah. I love Loser's music. Yeah. Like it's really good. Super Mario Kart is fun. There's an emo-y little vibe to that. There's like a 90s, gamer-y. Trip tune. But then there's the emo vibe. The songs are so sad. Yeah, they're so sad. He really yeah he some lot he really does the ah the like happy music, sadly. or yeah Like Millington.
00:53:25
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It was like the saddest song you've ever heard and it's like the happiest tune ever. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, okay. This last one, Joey, Joey, tell me about it. Joey, what is it? Joey, what is it? Tell us about it, Joey. Joey, tell us what the song is. Joey, what's the song? It's a song that reminds me of, uh, that show where they just videotape people doing drugs all the time. Intervention? That's the one. Oh, do you hate intervention? No, just add a song. this song i don't okay play it i don't know what's happening this is very contemporary song came out this year it's about intervention no no oh because of the we're doing the yes this is a fucking dead jam i love this is some of our music this is a great cover how do you feel about this one this cover I'm not mad. Why? Am I supposed to hate this? Joy's not a thing. What's wrong with this? It's the Ice Nine Kills guy. It's killing me. I'm not mad at this. See, it's been a sound. I'm just happy to hear the song, but it isn't a weird, fun, cool way. This is fun.
00:54:52
Speaker
Since Ice Nine Kills, you've been a real big bitch doing a cover of Washington.
00:54:58
Speaker
it for god is this fun but wrong healthy i wish has no opinion of this no it's I wish like a Japanese metal band did it instead like'd be cool like it would be fucking so much harder yeah but like yeah i enjoy Okay, the reason why I'm not parsing any judgment on that song is because I absolutely am going to do a blind listen of ice nine kill scar record. Okay. It's happening on the podcast. Okay. Probably this month. I'm going to do it. I sound like I might like it. I liked that. Yeah. I, uh, it was too, like, uh, I don't know the first time I saw it.
00:55:46
Speaker
the way the metal core stuff is is like not good. I don't like it. I don't want to listen to enough metal core that it needs to be good. Yeah, that's sure. I feel like that's more like just oh that's fun like groove metal stuff like a machine head or whatever. Yeah. Five finger depth punch. yeah That's what it reminds me of. Five-Finger Death Punch. Not my stuff. But yeah, no, I i saw that. night like I immediately was not not a fan. I'm not mad. See? That's fair. You know what? That's why this podcast works. yeah so that's my
00:56:17
Speaker
guess we All right. that what done That's the end of our pre-show. I just have a couple more things that I'm just going to like call out that we didn't get to. So first I have to talk about what Carlos de la Garza did after he left Real Big Fish. who He was the drummer during the cheer up era, basically. um And he went on to produce so many bands. It's kind of ridiculous. His kids are the Linda Lindas. So yeah lins are cool yeah, they're super cool. yeah um He was in Suburban Rhythm. We didn't talk about that because we did the show already. Let's do our Suburban Rhythm episode. He was in a band called Meal Ticket that was on, whatchamacallit, Misfits of Ska. I should also talk about like the horn section always being like a gun for hire in the Ska scene. so right ah
00:57:12
Speaker
Real Big Fish is Horned Section. I've been featured in Goldfinger. That's Goldfinger's Horned Section. yeah That Weird Al song, Horse Cope for today. oh yeah ah Billy Cottage please played in Big D in the kids' table. Yeah, they definitely like are always, it's always like, oh, it's the horns from Real Big Fish. It's the horns from Real Big Fish. It's the horns from Real Big Fish. ah They trade members with suburban legends. They trade members with Forest of Evil, trade members with Jeffrey's Fan Club. ah Matt Appleton, before he became the Mohawk Sax guy, produced like a whole bunch of like ah emo and screamo bands that like senses fail and shit like that. He was engineering for them. Cool. ah po but But what else? Oh, yeah, there were also the horns for Zebrahead at one point. ah Multiple times, whatever Zebrahead does those weird Ska songs, they bring the real big fish horns along because they're like best friends. And also like fucking hire the best, right?
00:58:07
Speaker
Yeah. Like, I mean, the real big fish horn line is like, typically kind of one of the best horn lines in rock. Yeah. In general. Yeah. At any given time. You're getting the best. Here's all the songs that got cut ah for the sake of this show. Melly Click and Micah, which we played before. Grandma Got Ran Over by the Reindeer, Little Drummer Boy, Odd Lang Sign, Carol of the Beers. Walking on Sunshine, Ska Show, The Good Old Days, Go to Hell, Dance the Night Away, Evil Approaches, Ball and Chain, Rock with Eyes. Like David Lee Rock, Dance the Night Away. You betcha. That's from Van Halen featuring David Lee Rock. The Love Boat theme song. The Main Street Electrical Parade and Twist and Crawl. Other than that, we have 32 songs that are going to start going head to head on the first round. So it's coming up. September 20, 2024 is upon us. Get ready to be angry.
00:59:02
Speaker
Well then you're listening to CheckerPass. It is up on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. And TikTok at CheckerPassPod or send us an email at CheckerPassPod and Gmail dot.com. Support the pod and get bonus content, including a full length and unedited video of this episode. Sign up for the Checker ad Patreon at patreon dot.com slash CheckerPass. We also have merch available at CheckerPass.ca. Tell them about the plan, Joey. We're putting on new merch for the bracket featuring a super fan listener, Johnny. And it's about liking bits and liking being upset, which is, I hope, yeah how you feel about the bracket months.
00:59:39
Speaker
But we always aim for it. Yeah. So those that'll be out. So join the Discord, say something funny, and maybe you'll be on our short. 100%. When I put it in the group chat to get everyone's opinion, Cool Chris um said something about it. And I said, normalize putting your listeners on the merch. And he was like, that's a really greatlo news Honestly like why that's got punk international shirt is so good is like i want it but am yeah the fuck am i doing all yeah until yeahre and So yeah, so get your drawing shirt, they'll be up when the bracket starts I think yeah, I mean earlier between now and then sometime and then for the bracket for sure Yeah, we'll have some emerge. Oh, I'm we'll probably also have something it has like a real big fish style logo
01:00:26
Speaker
oh that's a good idea i would do take it but so yeah that somebody's got to do that yeah This episode is edit or no this episode is engineered by Joey and it's edited by cut man Wow Voting is now open on how you think the bracket will progress and you can do so at challenge dot.com shut slash September 2024 Next week. We have joystick on to continue our discussion of the blue glow skulls and so till next time I'm Ross little joey christmas oh yeah right uh saxel rob bit and little joey christmas and the moral words of a real big fish are beers beers beers beers