The Aquabats: A Review

Most of the information in this article was compiled and fact-checked by the members of The Aquabats! Discord server. Thank you, Cadets!

Who Are The Aquabats? What Are The Aquabats? Are You An Aquabat? 

 The Aquabats (Aquabats, the ‘Bats) are a band comprised of members: Christian Jacobs, Boyd Terry and Chad Larson. These three musicians met in 1994 in Brea, California, with the intention of using their talents together to create a joke band.  The band’s fans are called the Aquacadets, or just the Cadets. The lead singer of the band, Christian Jacobs, will also be referred to as the MC Bat Commander, or MCBC. 

The band believed the punk scene of Orange County was too serious; Fights were breaking out, substances were being abused, and it was no longer a space to appreciate real music. Because of this, they decided to form an insanely silly punk band to stand out from the crowd and the other punk bands. 

At the same time, Parker Jacobs was in St. George, Utah, with his band called GOGO13. The band’s performances featured villain fights, fake blood, and fake guns to add a more whimsy outside of the music. Christian Jacobs took notes of his brother’s antics and, with the help of Boyd and Chad, the three soon created The Aquabats!

The original Aquabats were far from professional. They had insane costumes, upwards of 13 musicians performing at a time, cooking competitions, etc. If it was whimsical, they had it. Chad once stated in an interview that they were, “a joke … we weren't trying to be a band. We were trying to have fun”. They soon found themselves booking more and more shows in Orange County. They had to cut back on the amount of costumes and props due to transportation and soon narrowed themselves down to the iconic gear we all know today. 

Boyd Terry is the creator of the Aquabats' iconic gear. The Bats tried to have a unique costume for every show they put on, but soon narrowed it to being a consistent outfit. Boyd was working for Aleeda, creating their wetsuits, rash guards, and anti-negativity helmets using the company’s spare materials. A local artist, Paul Frank, donated the belts, now designed with custom vinyl, to the Bats, creating the iconic look as we know it today. 

“Yo Gabba Gabba” is a famous children's TV show, created by Christian Jacobs in 2007, using his creative mind and artistic ability to keep it lasting for a long time (four seasons).

Following the success of Yo Gabba Gabba, in 2012, the Aquabats launched a children's TV show called “The Aquabats! Super Show!” It has two seasons and a large fanbase, most of whom became fans of the music because of their love for the show. This also means a lot of their fans are younger than the Bats themselves.

After a long 30 years filled with non-career-ruining controversy, the Aquabats are still around today. The current consistent members include the lead singer Christian (MC Bat Commander) Jacobs, bassist Chad (Crash McLarson) Albert Larson, guitarists Ian (Eaglebones Falconhawk) Fowles and Courtney (Chainsaw, the Prince of Rock) Adam, saxophonist James (Jimmy the Robot) Briggs, and drummer Richard (Ricky Fitness) Falomir. 

2024 marks the band’s 30th anniversary with an epic release of their new album, “Finally!,” among other Cadet-centered events, including a North American tour and a performance at Coachella.

Cadet Catastrophe (The Aquabats Controversies) 

The Aquabats, being composed of middle-aged white men, are not without their faults. Here's a quick and summarized list of some of their controversies. 

In 1998, they were sued by Parkin Chad (Nacho) for unfair pay. Allegedly, the Aquabats had said they would evenly spit the pay from their shows and merch. Nacho alleges that he got less than everyone else and was then fired in 1997 after they refused to give him the pay he requested. He then sued. 

2018 saw a new Kickstarter campaign from the Aquabats where each tier of donor would get unique and rare merch/perks. This Kickstarter raised over $600,000. Over the years they released exclusive merch and updates, but took multiple hiatuses from the Kickstarter. Despite the fact that over 5,000 people donated, the ‘Bats were not sending out merch to these supporters. They finished sending new merch in 2024. 

In 2020, the Aquabats chose to remain neutral on important political stances, such as LGBTQ+ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.

After 2020, Christian Jacobs regularly makes anti-mask jokes, including jokes about how vaccines don't work and how COVID wasn't a big deal. Awkward. 

In 2024, following the release of “Finally!”, they decided to release a music video for “Whatever Forever!”. Instead of hiring actual artists, they decided to AI generate an odd music video. It's awful and off-putting. 

Finally! Review

“Finally!” is The Aquabats' latest and greatest studio record, released on June 21st, 2024! It features 17 tracks with returning Cadet members and runs for almost 49 minutes of hip and kooky Ska GREATNESS! Here’s a geeked-out review of all of those 17 tracks, with reflections to other songs and media presented from the Aquabats over the last 30 years!

TRACK ONE: WHATEVER FOREVER! 

This is the second most popular track on this album. It was also the first song from this album to be performed during their 2024 tour. Good guitar in this one. This song is about the Aquabats’ music career and how it’s changed over the past three decades. Listening to it, I believe it could be about some of the band members who have left or are leaving.

TRACK TWO: UNICORN BABIES!

Truly an homage to Christian’s creative brain that conjured “Yo Gabba Gabba,” “Unicorn Babies” features a whimsical, silly and odd vibe that’s akin to songs featured on both of their affiliated children’s shows. After the first track, the sudden tempo and thematic switch is a little jarring but very Aquabats. This song is a little dumb. Upon first listening to the album and getting to this song, my first thought was “... what is this?” Sometimes it’ll autoplay while I’m driving, and over time it’s kind of grown on me. The chorus is really well done.

TRACK THREE: DR. SPACE MUMMY!

Ahhh, a new Aquabats villain has arrived! This song gives has a similar sound to “Powdered Milk Man.” The ‘Bats are notorious for having villains appear at their concerts that the audience have to help them fight, although post-COVID it has become a lost art. The ‘Bats are well known for having intense and large brass sections, which this song reminds me of. I really love the opening part with the Unicorn Babies tie-in. This song is really reminiscent of the chorus in “Shark Fighter!,” another great Aquabats song.

TRACK FOUR: BUNNY TEETH!

“Bunny Teeth!” brings back the Reggae! Ska is a predecessor to reggae, and the ‘Bats are comprised of three genres. This song seems to be very similar to “Red Sweater!” and I like to imagine it’s about the same person. This song has amazing drums, I love how instrumental it is because the preceding tracks weren’t. Despite that, this one didn’t stand out to me.

TRACK FIVE: AFTER-SCHOOL JOB INFOMERCIAL!

This track brings the wonderful absurdity of “Gloopy!” and their “Aquabats Super Show!” to this new album with a fresh and strange vibe. The ‘Bats have always been vocal about how hard life is and how they love being lazy, so this is nothing new! 

TRACK SIX: ALGEBRO!

One of the fan favorites from this album, Algebro features a strong robotic instrumental with math-related lyrics. Surprisingly, Crash McLarson is the one who wrote this one, not the MCBC! It’s very unique and I haven’t heard a song very similar to this in a while, especially not on this album!

TRACK SEVEN: LET’S GO LIVE IN A CAVE!

This track is another fan favorite with a well-loved music video! There are some theories that this song is inherently political or about Christian’s moving to Utah. Regardless, I really love the chorus. Who wouldn’t want to go live in a cave?

TRACK EIGHT: WHERE IS WALTER FANG?!

The next song has a very fast tempo, which is unlike the normal ‘Bats songs! I love the change in pace with this song, and I do hope they find Walter Fang. The selling point is the tempo changes in this song. This song was written by Eaglebones Falconhawk (Ian Mcfowles), which I appreciate! It’s always a good change of pace when the other Aquabats get to write songs for the albums.

TRACK NINE: ROOFUS THE DOOFUS!

If anything were to be the draw on this album, it’d be the Southern accents! I really love the background vocals during the chorus. Great instrumentals here, very kooky and short. A brief but stunning piece!

TRACK TEN: SPIDER LOVE!

This song has very straightforward lyrics but might be one of my favorite songs by them. I love the intense rhythm of the lyrics with the simplistic backing track. Also, spiders and love are both pretty scary, it’s very relatable. I do think spiders should fall in love, they deserve it! Maybe they can just lose half their legs before falling in love and have legless babies so the MCBC can be okay with it. Great sax and synth duet in the bridge. I love the vocals there too.

TRACK ELEVEN: SUN BLOCKER!

Such a yummy horn and guitar intro, wow! Another great villain introduction. I really love the evil feeling in this song and the way the chord resolves itself for the chorus. This feels like a very complete song from the ‘Bats and fits very amazingly on this album. The bassline is very simple but very pungent. I really love how it slows down when the Sun Blocker starts talking during the bridge. 

TRACK TWELVE: LITTLE LADY AMAZING!

Ah! This song is so inspiring, it makes me want to know who’s being sung about. There are rumors that this song is about one of Christian’s children who does music, but that’s just a guess. I really enjoy the clear, soft vocals in this song. It proves the MCBC can still do lovely and strong vocals outside of ska! 

TRACK THIRTEEN: GO HUMANS, GO!

Go humans! I really love the upbeat and robotic vibe to this, especially in the intro to the song. Another political piece on this album. I enjoyed the ending and the lyricism, but it felt very repetitive in a way that wasn’t engaging. This piece was worked on by Mark Mothersbaugh, a talented and well-known TV show composer. He’s worked on “Yo Gabba Gabba” and even composed scores for “The Lego Movie” and “Thor Ragnarok.” That said, this song is lackluster, even with Mothersbaugh’s incredible mind behind it. 

TRACK FOURTEEN: NO REWIND!

Yummy! I really love this song and I think it’s one of my favorites on this album. Also, this track has a VIBRASLAP. It’s so cool, and I think this track might be my favorite of all time from the ‘Bats… It’s clean, fresh, and funky. An all-around fan favorite. 

TRACK FIFTEEN: DON’T MAKE ME RUN!

This album has an appreciation for love songs. The Aquabats, specifically the MCBC, have had a recent running bit about how they’re fat, old, and unathletic, and this song really emphasizes that. “Don’t Make Me Run” has a good balance of a repetitive and iconic backing track and good vocals. I particularly enjoy the lyricism in this song, it’s funny! The genre switch during the bridge was also quite spectacular. 

TRACK SIXTEEN: THE BALLAD OF THE SHAPESHIFTING PILGRIM BOY!

In The Aquabats! Super Show! season 1, episode 9, they bring forth a character called Pilgrim Boy who saves Detroit from its lack of pineapples. The song within that episode is one of my favorites throughout the whole series, so I am very appreciative to have our lovely Pilgrim Boy back. Despite my affinity, I am not the fondest of this song. It’s new for the ‘Bats, but it doesn’t stand out for me. It’s just O.K., which means really not the best for the Aquabats.

TRACK SEVENTEEN: FINALLY!

YES! This track is the magnum opus of this album. It has elevator-esque instrumentals, and the vocals are very clear in this song. This track makes me feel nostalgic for everything the Aquabats have done. A lot of fans feel like this is the end of the ‘Bats, and who can blame them after 30 years? Whatever they choose to do with their careers, the Cadets will support them! Take it easy, little buddies!

The Aquabats: Live

I've seen the Aquabats live twice. I saw their set in 2023 and in June this year; Both times I had a terrible experience. 

Ska concerts are no joke. There's going to be a pit with dancing, the classic two-step, and at any venue where there's alcohol, there'll be drama. But the Aquabats presented a unique amount of drama; More than any concert I've been to. 

When seeing the Aquabats at The Depot in 2023, the first glaring issue was how oversold the venue was. A crowd of ska fans filled the entire floor, piling out into the adjacent hallways. The intense amount of body heat immediately made the venue sweltering, and there were no overhead fans to cool people down. Cue people passing out before the ‘Bats even started playing! 

Another large issue that year was “Pizza Day.” Historically, during Pizza Day, the Aquabats throw out Pizza Pool Party Floats for people to crowd surf on. Because of the Supershow, many attendants of the show were children. During the crowd surfing, children and other bystanders were getting kicked in the face and squashed by people; It got to the point that the MCBC had to stop the song and request medical assistance before moving on with the set list. 

Further into the set, the MCBC took a break to preach to a political choir. With how similar Ska is to Punk, you'd assume it to be mostly punky. But Christian Jacobs got up on his soapbox and started preaching about how anti-vaxx he is, and how he didn't believe in masks. Of course, everyone is entitled to their political views and platforms, but it was horrifically jarring to go from a song like “Cat With Two Heads!” to… that. 

When seeing them in 2024 at The Complex, I didn't even last two songs. After sitting through an entire hour of opening bands (which were enjoyable but exhausting), the moment the ‘Bats came out, I got swept into a gnarly, hellish group of sweaty, stinky men— The Pit.

The Pit opened up and claimed my life; An intense whirlwind of elbows, knees, and headbutting; During “Whatever Forever!”, the second song of the set, I got kicked in the face by a concert-goer who was Pitting a bit too hard. To wait for an hour in a room of sweaty bodies to see middle-aged overweight men in spandex perform and then swiftly get kicked in the face, I decided it was too much, and called it quits. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I adore the Bats. I love their music, their vibes, and their TV show. But they have a habit of disregarding the safety and opinions of their Cadets, and this is evident in the venues they pick. Regularly too small and oversold, in Utah.

Final(ly!) Thoughts and Conclusions

Happy 30th anniversary, Aquabats! This album, while not the strongest album from the Aquabats, sums up their journey as a band. It includes all of their many genres whilst producing new and surprising sounds from the band! 

Despite the intense controversy and subpar live shows, the Aquabats have done a lot to cement their mark in Ska history. It takes a lot for a band to make it through 30 years of touring, releasing music, and creating TV shows. The Aquabats have been a large figure in my life since I was young, and this album (and article!) feels like it brings everything full circle to me.