''Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP'' is an EP by American band

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. ...

, independently recorded and released by the band themselves in 2004.

Overview

After being dismissed from Goldenvoice Records in 2000 and subsequently failing to find another record label, the Aquabats entered an extended period of relative inactivity in the first half of the 2000s, delaying all plans for extensive touring or future recording due to financial constraints. ''Yo! Check Out This Ride!!'', the Aquabats' first self-produced album since 1996's ''

The Return of the Aquabats ''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. Overview ''The Return of the Aquabats'' firmly establish ...

'', was recorded to both appease the band's fanbase after four years of no new material, as well as to serve as a potential

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

to attract interest from record labels. This would ultimately prove successful, as the Aquabats were signed to Nitro Records later in the year. ''Yo! Check Out This Ride!'' was recorded during a transitional period in the Aquabats' career. Following the departure of trumpeter and co-founder Catboy in 2002, the band had dropped their once characteristic

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

and predominant

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

elements to focus more exclusively on the guitar and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

-driven rock and new wave influences which had dominated their previous studio album. Musically, the album showcases a hip hop-tinged rock song in the title track and straight

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

in "Todd-1 in Space Mountain Land!", while featuring

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or Sound recording and reproduction, recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referr ...

from

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

bands

the Plimsouls The Plimsouls are an American rock band known for their hit single "A Million Miles Away" which was featured in the movie ''Valley Girl''. History The band was formed in Paramount, California in 1978. They recorded two full-length albums and an ...

and

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

, and vocal group

the Kids of Widney High The Kids of Widney High is an American music group composed of students with mental disabilities from the special education J. P. Widney High School in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The band consists of students with physic ...

. The EP was the first Aquabats album to feature drummer Ricky Fitness, who joined the band in 2002, as well as the final to feature original member

Prince Adam He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...

as an official member. The cover art, depicting a horseback Aquabat lassoing a dinosaur-like creature, was painted by Brandon Bird.

Reception

Scott Auth of Punknews.org gave ''Yo! Check Out This Ride!'' 3½ out of 5 stars, writing "Musically this isn’t the greatest work they’ve ever prepared; sadly there's not a trace of

to be found on ''Yo! Check Out This Ride!'' As heartbreaking as that is, it's still a quality EP worthy of purchase."

Track listing

Previous versions

*A demo version of "Todd-1 in Space Mountain Land!", an outtake from the '' Floating Eye of Death!'' recording sessions, was first released on The Aquabats' website in the early 2000s.

Personnel

The Aquabats

The MC Bat Commander Christian Richards Jacobs (born January 11, 1972) is an American musician, television producer, and actor. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. TV show ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', on which he additionally serves ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Crash McLarson Chad Albert Larson (born October 27, 1965) 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 ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Jimmy The Robot Randall James Briggs, Jr. (born February 27, 1978), credited professionally as James R. Briggs, Jr., is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist for the California rock band The Aquabats, of which he has been a member since 1996 under ...

–

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Chainsaw, Prince of Karate –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Ricky Fitness –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Production

*Produced, engineered and mixed by

Adam Deibert Adam Deibert (born August 12, 1976) is an American musician and voice actor, known for his work as a member of The Aquabats from 1994 to 2004, where he played guitar, trumpet and keyboards under the stage name of Prince Adam, and as the bass guita ...

and The Aquabats *Mastered by Alex Reverberi *Recorded at "Global International Worldwide Studios" in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

and "The Deibert Ranch Studios" in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

References

{{Authority control The Aquabats albums 2004 debut EPs