Prepare for the unpredictable battle of sweat, rock and flailing limbs when American rockers The Aquabats! bring their eccentric live show to the Soundwave Festival 2010. While the boys have been on hiatus since 2006, they’ve not lost any of the rambunctiousness the Aquabats! have been known for in the past decade.

In the lead up to their return to Australia, On The Barrier had a fun chat with MC Bat Commander (aka Christian Jacob) to chat about what the band have planned now they’re back in action.  With an unfinished album and a comeback to the world of rock and roll, it's highly recommended you check out the newest old influence on the musical block.

So where are the rest of the Aquabats?
We’ve got them kind of strategically placed around different sleeper cells waiting for the chance to awake and do damage to the world of rock and roll.


And where do we find you today?
We’re moving out of our offices so at the moment I’m surrounded by a lot of destruction.


For anyone whos been living under a rock for the past decade or so, tell me about the history of aquabats.
Because it’s been so long our and our lineup has changed so many times it’s a long story. But ultimately it began in 1994 when we began performing rock music as kids at our grandparents place. From that we knew we were about to embark on a long journey that wouldn’t end until had become big rockstars.

Reckon you've peaked in success yet?
Well any day now. You know the honest answer is of course, yeah totally. I mean something that started off as maybe a little dubious or as a little bit of a joke has kind of kept going and now we’ve had the chance to play in so many different places and at so many different festivals. We’ve definitely succeeded in all the band goals we had way back then. That right there is a success. We get to go have fun and see the world.

So what's been happening for the past five years? what brings you back now?
Well, a few of us got a bit distracted. Especially myself. I’ve been working on this children’s show called Yo Gabba Gabba for a couple of years now. It’s taken a lot of time away from us and our ultimate goal of world conquest. So much time is spent writing songs for the show. We’re also really lazy and keep saying we’ll get around to it. It’s a vicious cycle.

Do you think the show at Soundwave will go ok then after such a break?
I hope so! We’re gunna have to start practicing. Honestly I don’t remember the last time we did a show as the Aquabats.

Have you got anything new to give us then?
We’ve been writing since 2005. We have a lot of songs sitting there waiting to be finished. It’s like we’ve baked a bunch of cakes and forgot to put the icing on them. What we’re hoping to do is actually finish the songs then record an album and hopefully come back and do another tour.

And what have you guys been getting up to in your downtime?
You know its tough because were pretty busy. Between the band and the TV show, we’re just pretty busy. I go surfing here and there.


Do you guys have anything you like to do to psyche yourselves up before you go on stage?
We always do a cheer and a lot of dude hugs. Going on stage is like going into battle for us. We’ve been playing together for 15 years now and we always embrace. But it’s like a really macho embrace. We clasp hands and do a gladiator type thing. Because I mean this could be our last year. You never know when someone could hurl something at someone, which has happened before.

What’s been your most awkward moment on stage?
We’ve had some real fights with audience members in the earlier days of the Aquabats. I know we’re lovable and cuddly now, we’re like big teddy bears, but yeah we were like gun fighting once and we fought some skinheads and actually got hurt.


If you had to give the band a theme song that had nothing to do with the Aquabats what would it be?
Maybe an extract of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack. It’s such an epic song and it’s all about the gold.

Go any weird fan stories you'd like to share?
I don’t want to polarise anyone we haven’t met but we tend to bring out the socially awkward side of people. So we’ve had a lot of socially awkward fans because maybe we’re a little socially awkward. We’ve definitely had some interesting fan encounters. A lot are usually just the kind of quiet kind of stand and hover types.

Tell me about the stage show you've got planned for Soundwave.
We’re hoping to beef up for Soundwave. Usually while we’re playing a set it’s a battle and you never know what’s going to happen. There could be fireworks or poop fights but the monster ultimately boils down to rocking.

Anything to add/say to fans?
Just that we can’t wait to come to Australia.


The Aquabats will perform at the following venues:

February 20 - Soundwave Festival, Brisbane
February 21 - Soundwave Festival, Sydney
February 26 - Soundwave Festival, Melboune
February 27 - Soundwave Festival, Adelaide
March 1 - Soundwave Festival, Perth

By Nikkita Dixon