The discography of The Aquabats, an Orange County, California-based rock band, consists of six studio albums, one compilation album, one soundtrack album, two EPs, one live album, one video album and three music videos, among other recordings.
| The Aquabats discography | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio albums | 6 |
| Compilation albums | 2 |
| Video albums | 1 |
| Music videos | 3 |
| EPs | 3 |
| Other appearances | 11 |
The Aquabats were initially formed as a ska band in 1994 by vocalist The MC Bat Commander, bassist Crash McLarson and trumpeter Catboy.[1] Attracting a significant local cult following for their eccentric music and theatrical stage shows, the band independently recorded and released their debut LP The Return of The Aquabats in 1996, ultimately selling over 24,000 copies without any distribution.[1] After being signed to Goldenvoice Records in 1997, the band released their sophomore album The Fury of The Aquabats! during the height of the American ska revival, becoming their minor mainstream breakthrough, peaking at number 172 on the Billboard 200.[2] The Aquabats' third album, 1999's The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!, proved to be a relative commercial disappointment following the band's complete shift in musical direction, resulting in The Aquabats' dismissal from Goldenvoice in 2000.[3]
Despite releasing a B-sides compilation and live DVD through Fearless Records in the early 2000s, The Aquabats spent most of this period in relative inactivity, leading to radical changes in both the band's line-up and musical style. In 2004, the group independently recorded the EP Yo! Check Out This Ride!, signing to Nitro Records several months later.[4][5] 2005's Charge!!, The Aquabats' first release as a new wave-influenced quintet, effectively revitalized the band's career, meeting with positive reviews and a return to consistent touring. Although plans for a follow-up album were announced in 2007, The Aquabats were dropped from Nitro in 2009, continuing as an independent band before rejoining Fearless in late 2010 to release their fifth studio album, Hi-Five Soup!, which debuted at 181 on the Billboard 200.[6][7][8]
In 2019, as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign to help produce several new albums and the continuation of The Aquabats' live-action television series The Aquabats! Super Show!, the band digitally released their first live album, The Fury of The Aquabats! Live at The Fonda!, as well as a compilation of songs from Super Show!'s first season, The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One, which was later given a wide physical release and debuted at 165 on the Billboard 200, The Aquabats' highest placement on the chart to date.[9] The band's sixth studio album, Kooky Spooky...In Stereo, was released on August 21, 2020 on The Aquabats' own independent label, Gloopy Records.
Albums
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | US Ind. [11] | US Heat [12] | US Rock [13] | ||
| 1995 | The Return of The Aquabats[14] | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | The Fury of The Aquabats![15] | 172 | — | 12 | — |
| 1999 | The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death![16]
| — | — | 35 | — |
| 2005 | Charge!![17]
| — | 30 | 21 | — |
| 2011 | Hi-Five Soup![18]
| 181 | 24 | 5 | 45 |
| 2020 | Kooky Spooky...In Stereo[19]
| — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | US Ind. [11] | US Heat [12] | US Rock [13] | ||
| 2000 | Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2[20]
| — | — | — | — |
| 2019 | The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One[21]
| 165 | 3 | 1 | 32 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Fury of The Aquabats! Live at The Fonda!
| A recording of The Aquabats' 20th anniversary performance of The Fury of The Aquabats! at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 8, 2018. Released as an exclusive download for backers of The Aquabats' 2018 Kickstarter campaign, a general release was released May 8, 2020.[22] |
- Live bootlegs
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| June 6, 2014 | The Aquabats Cadet Beach Party[23][24] | An 18-track bootleg recording of The Aquabats' all-request acoustic campfire sing-a-long set at the 2002 Aquacadet Summit in Huntington Beach, California on January 19, 2002. This was an officially endorsed bootleg released by Related Records and Pirate Ship Records as a limited run of 300 compact cassette tapes as well as a digital download. |
Extended plays and singles
EPs
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||||
| Hot Singles Sales[25] | ||||||
| 2004 | Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP
| — | ||||
| 2010 | Radio Down![26]
| 10 | ||||
| 2021 | I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas Too!
| — | ||||
Singles
- Cassette singles
| Year | Title | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Martian Girl" "CD Repo Man" | The Return of the Aquabats | A cassette-only Horchata Records release of two songs from The Return... which was handed out by the band to promoters, venues and labels prior to the album's official release. The songs on this cassette were a different mix than the ones on the final album.[27] |
- CD singles
| Year | Title | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Super Rad!"[28] | The Fury of The Aquabats! | Official CD singles issued by Goldenvoice and Time Bomb Recordings |
| "My Skateboard!"[29] |
- Digital singles
| Year | Title | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2005 | "Fashion Zombies!" | Charge!! | Digital download offered exclusively through The Aquabats' website, posted on the same day the band officially announced Charge!!. |
| December 14, 2010 | "The Shark Fighter!" | Hi-Five Soup! | Digital stream first released through The Aquabats' Facebook page before being put up for iTunes download on January 4, 2011. |
| April 26, 2019 | "COBRAMAN THEME! / BURGER RAIN!"[30] | The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One | |
| October 25, 2019 | "Skeleton Inside!"[31] | Kooky Spooky...In Stereo | |
| April 10, 2020 | "Pajamazon!" | ||
| May 1, 2020 | "No One Wants to Party!" | ||
| July 31, 2020 | "Karate Body!" |
- Vinyl singles
From 1998 to 1999, The Aquabats planned to release a series of nine limited edition 7" picture discs, one for each member of the band, featuring an unreleased demo or B-side alongside a track from The Fury of The Aquabats!. Due to Goldenvoice Records' financial constraints at the time, only four of the nine discs were produced.[32]
| Year | Title | Tracks | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Catboy vs. The Cat With 2 Heads[32] | 1. "Cat With 2 Heads" | Goldenvoice/Time Bomb |
| 2. "Tiny Pants" (demo version) | |||
| Dr. Rock vs. Clowny Clown Clown[33] | 1. "Magic Chicken" | Goldenvoice/Time Bomb | |
| 2. "Why Rock?" | |||
| Ultra Kyu vs. The Sandfleas[34] | 1. "The Ballad of Mr. Bonkers" (demo version) | Goldenvoice/Time Bomb | |
| 2. "The Story of Nothing" | |||
| Chainsaw vs. Powdered Milk Man[35] | 1. "Powdered Milk Man" | Goldenvoice/Time Bomb | |
| 2. "Radiation Song" (demo version) |
In July 2017, to coincide with a U.S. tour, The Aquabats released an exclusive 7" single as part of a fan ticket package featuring alternate full-length recordings of two songs from The Aquabats! Super Show!.
| Year | Title | Tracks | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Burger Rain[36] | 1. "Burger Rain" | Self-released |
| 2. "Beat Fishin'" |
- Miscellaneous singles
| Year | Title | Tracks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2009 | Holiday Extravaganza![37] | 1. "Holiday Road!" (Lindsey Buckingham) | A free CD-R passed out to attendees of The Aquabats' 2009 holiday shows. Its songs were later released for download on the band's website and much later appeared on their 2021 Christmas EP I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas Too!. |
| 2. "Santa Claus' Party!" |
Demos
The following are demo versions and otherwise unreleased recordings of songs released exclusively by The Aquabats.
| Year | Title | Tracks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Revenge of the Midget Punchers[38] | 1. "Ska Robot Army" | The Aquabats' debut demo cassette. Under 500 copies were released. The untitled track is a spoken word story. |
| 2. "CD Repo Man" | |||
| 3. "Martian Girl" | |||
| 4. "Marshmellow Man" [sic] | |||
| 5. "Untitled" | |||
| 6. "Pinch and Roll" | |||
| 1995 | Bat Boy | 1. "It's Crazy, Man!" | Two different pressings of this demo cassette were printed in a combined run of 360 copies. The song "Doll Art" is an upbeat acoustic cover of Hole's "Doll Parts" with semi-improvised lyrics.[39] |
| 2. "Marshmallow Man" | |||
| 3. "My Skateboard" | |||
| 4. "Phantasma del Mar" | |||
| 5. "Doll Art" | |||
| 1999 | Three Song Sampler[40] | 1. "The Thing in the Bass Amp" | A CD sampler of three unmixed and unmastered tracks from The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!. "Better Than This?" is an alternately titled "Lotto Fever". Issued by Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings. |
| 2. "Giant Robot-Birdhead" | |||
| 3. "Better Than This?" | |||
| July 2002 | Versions Not Demos[41] | 1. "Awesome Forces" | This was a free CD-R printed in a limited run of 100 copies, passed out to attendees at an Aquabats show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on July 31, 2002. |
| 2. "Comic Book Man" | |||
| May 2003 | May 2003 Demos[42] | 1. "Awesome Forces" (new mix) | These were three demo tracks The Aquabats released through their website via download between the hours of 12 AM and 8 AM on May 9, 2003. |
| 2. "Yo, Check Out This Ride" | |||
| 3. "Mechanical Ape" |
"Other Rarities" (digital b-sides)
In November 2000, to promote the release of the b-sides compilation Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2, The Aquabats launched a sub-section of their website providing free downloads of the majority of their then-unreleased demos and rarities dating from 1995 to 1999.[43] The following songs are demos and b-sides that were not previously released on either a demo cassette or compilation:
Videography
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Serious Awesomeness![54] |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Director | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "CD Repo Man" | The Return of The Aquabats | |
| 1997 | "Super Rad!" | Bobcat Goldthwait[55] | The Fury of The Aquabats! |
| 2005 | "Fashion Zombies!" | Christian Jacobs | Charge!! |
| 2018 | "Powdered Milk Man!" | The Fury of The Aquabats! | |
| 2020 | "Pajamazon!" | Kooky Spooky...In Stereo | |
| 2020 | "Karate Body!" | Kooky Spooky...In Stereo! |
Compilation appearances
The following Aquabats songs were released on compilation albums. This is not an exhaustive list; songs that were first released on the band's albums are not included.
| Year | Release details | Track |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | California Ska-Quake, Vol. 2: The Aftershock[56]
|
|
| 1997 | Take Warning: The Songs of Operation Ivy[57]
|
|
We Are Not Devo[58]
|
| |
The Ska Parade: Runnin' Naked Thru the Cornfield[59]
|
| |
Freedom Sounds: A Tribute to the Skatalites[60]
|
| |
| 2000 | Punk Goes Metal[61]
|
|
Rice Capades
|
| |
| 2005 | Dead Bands Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo[62]
|
|
| 2010 | Yo Gabba Gabba!: Music Is Awesome! Vol. 2[63]
|
|
Mega64: The Soundtrack[64]
|
| |
| 2011 | Yo Gabba Gabba!: Music Is Awesome! Vol. 3[65]
|
|
Horchata Records
Horchata Records was the record label owned and operated by The Aquabats from 1994 to 2001.[66]
Named after the beverage of which the Jacobs brothers shared a particular affinity, Horchata Records was originally conceived by Parker Jacobs in the early 1990s for use with his band GOGO13. Though the Horchata label appeared on GOGO13's demo tapes and show posters, it was not made official until 1994 when Christian Jacobs established the Horchata Records LLC to release The Aquabats' early demos.[67] Following The Aquabats' signing to Goldenvoice, Horchata became used for the band's mail order merchandise until 1999, when Parker Jacobs began re-developing it into a branded record label.[67]
According to Parker Jacobs, he had planned to expand Horchata into its own entity, releasing music from bands both real and fictionalized within The Aquabats' universe: "it wasn't a specific sound", Jacobs explained, "but a movement of fun, theatrical bands like The Aquabats and Sandfleas".[67] The official Horchata Records website listed The Aquabats and all of their respective side projects among their roster, including active bands such as GOGO13, The Sandfleas, The Moon Monkeys and Digital Unicorn, as well as either planned or entirely fictional groups like Planet V, Cactus Jack and The She-Goats. Horchata's line-up also included the indie pop band Majestic, surf-punk group The Immortals, new wave band NU-TRA and Utah ska band The Soulutions, though none of these bands would ultimately release material through Horchata. Many of these bands, both real and fictional, were later represented on the 2000 Horchata sampler album Rice Capades.
Following their dismissal from Goldenvoice Records in 2000, The Aquabats entered a period of extended inactivity and limited finances during which it became clear Jacobs' ambitions for Horchata had become unfeasible and the label eventually faded into a state of non-existence in 2001.
The following is a list of releases under the Horchata Records label:
| Year | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | GOGO13 | Demo Tape O' Fun |
| 1994 | Toy Guns and Pixy Stix EP (unreleased) | |
| The Aquabats | The Revenge of the Midget Punchers | |
| 1995 | Bat Boy | |
| Attaboy Skip | Size 8 EP | |
| 1996 | The Aquabats | The Return of The Aquabats |
| 1999 | The Moon Monkeys | So Far, Far Out! EP |
| The Sandfleas | Four Songs Four Jerks EP | |
| 2000 | Various artists | Rice Capades: Music Sampler Vol. 1 |
| 2001 | Digital Unicorn | Theirs Travel Began and Loaded the Dream |