Awesome Forces! - The Aquabats!

The Aquabats are a musical ensemble from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1994 known for their humorous lyrics and outrageous live shows, during which the band is often attacked by supervillains onstage.

Starting as a parody of the booming third-wave ska scene in Southern California (their first show, reportedly, was played with fourteen members, at least half of which were wielding horns), The Aquabats played third-wave ska with surf guitar sounds and b-movie inspired lyrics. Over time, their sound became even more eclectic, dropping much of the surf guitar leads and ska rhythms for more varied influences.

Their current sound blends upbeat rock and roll, new wave, punk, and ska/rocksteady with synth largely replacing their horn and woodwind section. Notable influences upon The Aquabats are Devo, Oingo Boingo, Madness, and Toy Dolls.

The Aquabats’ current lineup is The MC Bat Commander (vocals), Ricky Fitness (drums), Crash McLarson (bass), Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk (guitar) & Jimmy the Robot (keyboards/tenor sax). Former members like Chainsaw, The Prince of Karate; Prince Adam; and Catboy have been known to come back into the fold for the occasional show.

The Aquabats's most recent album is Hi-Five Soup!, released on January 18, 2011 via Fearless Records. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.