"The Shark Fighter!" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by The Aquabats | ||||
from the album Hi-Five Soup! | ||||
Released | December 14, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2010 | |||
Genre | Pop rock, comedy rock, new wave | |||
Length | 2:56 | |||
Label | Fearless Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | The Aquabats | |||
Producer(s) | Cameron Webb | |||
The Aquabats singles chronology | ||||
|
"The Shark Fighter!" is a song by American band The Aquabats from their fifth studio album Hi-Five Soup! , released on Fearless Records in 2011. The song was issued as a single in December 2010, the second single released from Hi-Five Soup! following "Radio Down!" in November 2010.
Like a good number of The Aquabats' songs such as "Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates!" or "Tiger Rider vs. the Time Sprinkler!", "The Shark Fighter!" is a humorous narrative centered on the outlandish adventures of a fictional character. In this instance, the song pertains to the eponymous Shark Fighter, a wavy-haired ocean vigilante who dedicates his life to avenging the implied shark-related death of his past lover by single-handedly fighting the sea's shark population, with the song noting "He will not die/Until all sharks cry".
Musically, the song follows in the same guitar-driven pop rock direction as most of Hi-Five Soup!, featuring The Aquabats' characteristic new wave-influenced synthesizer melodies, a type of sound which Punknews.org specifically described as being like "Devo on a sugar high". [1] The instrumentation of the song additionally features an introductory timpani roll and a simulated choir to lend the track a grand and pseudo-orchestral feel.
On December 14, The Aquabats released "The Shark Fighter!" as an exclusive stream on their official Facebook page. [2] On January 4, 2011, two weeks before the release of Hi-Five Soup!, "The Shark Fighter!" was released to iTunes as a downloadable single. [3]
While critical response to Hi-Five Soup! was generally mixed, "The Shark Fighter!" received almost unanimous praise as one of the album's standout tracks and one of The Aquabats' overall best songs. Punk publication DyingScene listed "The Shark Fighter!" as one of the album's tracks which "definitely hold up to the sound of their past albums", sentiments echoed by the likes of Geekscape, who called the "wackiness" of the song's concept "classic 'Bats", and the OC Weekly newspaper, who opened their review with the first line of the song, writing "And with those words...The Aquabats are once again at it". [4] [5]
Though no music video for "The Shark Fighter!" was ever filmed, the narrative of the song was later adapted into an episode of the same name for The Aquabats' live-action television series The Aquabats! Super Show! and aired as the twentieth episode of the series on December 28, 2013.
Written by bassist Chad Larson (Crash McLarson), the episode centers on The Aquabats encountering the mythical Shark Fighter, played by guest star Rhys Darby, after he saves them from a roving gang of "land sharks". The band become endeared to the Shark Fighter, in particular Crash, who views him as a brotherly figure after he's selected to train as the Shark Fighter's apprentice. As Crash begins to distance himself from the rest of The Aquabats to study under the Shark Fighter, he's ultimately forced to decide between his loyalty to his new mentor or to his friends when another group of land sharks attack the city.
The studio version of "The Shark Fighter!" is played during a training montage in the episode depicting Crash training under the Shark Fighter, while an orchestral sting derived from the song's melody is played several times throughout the episode. Several lyrics from the song are quoted verbatim or near-verbatim by both the Shark Fighter and The Aquabats.
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer The MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtures. Since 2006, The Aquabats' members also include keyboardist Jimmy the Robot, drummer Ricky Fitness and guitarist Eaglebones Falconhawk.
Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP is an EP by American band The Aquabats, independently recorded and released by The Aquabats themselves in 2004.
The Return of The Aquabats is the debut album by American band The Aquabats, independently released on Horchata Records on July 26, 1996, and subsequently re-issued by Fearless Records.
Charge!! is the fourth studio album by American comedy rock band The Aquabats, released on June 7, 2005 by Nitro Records.
The Fury of The Aquabats! is the second studio album by American band The Aquabats, released on October 28, 1997 by Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings.
Christian Richards Jacobs is an American musician, television producer, voice actor and former child actor. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. children's television series Yo Gabba Gabba!, on which he additionally serves as a writer, director, composer and voice actor.
Ian Fowles is an American musician, author, and actor, best known as the current guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of EagleBones Falconhawk. Prior to joining The Aquabats, Fowles was also one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Death by Stereo.
Chad Albert Larson is an American musician, best known as the co-founder and bass guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of Crash McLarson. From 2012 to 2014, Larson also played Crash McLarson on The Hub original series The Aquabats! Super Show! and on the series' 2019 YouTube-based revival The Aquabats! RadVentures!.
Courtney Adam "Corey" Pollock is an American musician, best known as a member of the Orange County band The Aquabats, in which he played guitar under the stage name of Chainsaw, the Prince of Karate from 1995 to 2006.
The Aquabats! Super Show! is an American action-comedy musical television series which aired from March 3, 2012 to January 8, 2014 on The Hub Network and resumed as an independent YouTube web series in September 2019. The series was created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, both the creators of the Nick Jr. series Yo Gabba Gabba!, and Jason deVilliers.
Radio Down! is an EP single by American band The Aquabats, released on November 9, 2010.
Hi-Five Soup! is the fifth studio album from American band The Aquabats, released on January 18, 2011 by Fearless Records.
The discography of The Aquabats, an Orange County, California-based rock band, consists of five studio albums, one compilation album, one soundtrack album, two EPs, one live album, one video album and three music videos, among other recordings.
"Fashion Zombies!" is a song by American band The Aquabats and the leading single from their fourth studio album Charge!!, released on Nitro Records in 2005.
"Pool Party!" is a song by American band The Aquabats which appears on their 2000 album Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2, which itself was a compilation of B-sides and unreleased tracks from the recording sessions for the band's 1999 studio album The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!.
The Sandfleas are a fictional gang of masked hooligans within the mythology of the superhero-themed American comedy band The Aquabats, who featured prominently as the latter's "arch enemies" in their stage shows and related media during the late 1990s.
"Burger Rain" is a song by American band The Aquabats, released as a 7" single in July 2017.
The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One is a soundtrack album for the first season of the American television series The Aquabats! Super Show!, consisting primarily of songs performed by the series' eponymous rock band, The Aquabats.
Kooky Spooky...In Stereo is the sixth studio album and eighth album overall by American band The Aquabats, released on August 21, 2020.