Christian Jacobs of The Aquabats

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

NPR

Society & Culture

4.5 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We're joined by Christian Jacobs, aka MC Bat Commander. He's the frontman for the SoCal band The Aquabats. The band got their start in the ska scene in the mid 1990s. Today, they perform as a genre-bending, family-friendly band with a lot of theatrics, costumes and pageantry. Christian is also the co-creator of the The Aquabats! Super Show! and the beloved children's program Yo Gabba Gabba. Their latest album, "Kooky Spooky... In Stereo" continues the band's tradition of great rock sounds with superhero-themed fun! Christian joins Bullseye with guest host Jordan Morris to talk about his earliest musical memories, the theatrics of punk music and the origin of the band's name. Plus, we'll learn about how they booked their first show before writing a single song!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:10.0	It's Bullseye, I'm Jesse Thorn.
0:21.6	If you're of a certain age, you will probably remember when Skaw Music had its day.
0:28.1	It was the mid-90s.
0:29.8	You'd get behind the wheel of your Isuzu Amigo.
0:33.2	You'd reach for the dial on the radio.
0:35.2	Tune to the modern rock station.
0:36.9	Within a couple minutes, you'd be listening to No Doubt or Sublime or the Mighty Mighty
0:42.0	Boss tones.
0:43.0	It's a time burned indelibly into all of our memories.
0:48.4	Maybe one of the most interesting acts from that time, though, were the Aqua Bats.
0:53.8	First, they took just as much influence from the specials as they did from other
1:09.6	weirder bands like Ween and Devon.
1:12.9	Second, they weren't just a band.
1:15.8	They were really an experience.
1:18.5	For more than two decades, the Aqua Bats have performed in superhero outfits and fought
1:23.8	elaborately costume villains on stage, sort of like a family-friendly guar.
1:30.6	Anyway, what follows is an interview with Christian Jacobs, aka MC Bat Commander, the
1:37.6	band's lead singer and frontman.
1:40.3	Christian isn't just an onstage rock and roll with horns, superhero.
1:45.3	He is also the creator of the Aqua Bats TV show and of Yo Gabba Gabba, the beloved kids
1:51.8	show.
	...

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