Fish Upon a Star : Happy Dreams Have a Reel Big Chance of Coming True for the Ska-Punk Band, Headlining a Y Benefit

Enough already with “the slacker generation.”

Listen to alternative-rock radio these days, and you may notice that Generation X is starting to sing a different tune--a happier one than angst-filled grunge rock.

What’s emerging is the skittering, upbeat ska-punk sound of Anaheim’s No Doubt and other such bands.

“I think young fans are tired of people whining and crying,” said Patrick McDowell, head of A&R; for Mojo Records, the home of Reel Big Fish, another O.C. ska-punk band that’s making its way up the charts. “Ska is a happy music, and now it’s more pop-oriented than it’s ever been, and it has a real strong fan base.”

Reel Big Fish headlines a ska-punk marathon concert on Saturday at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine, where the lineup also includes Save Ferris, Goldfinger, Voodoo Glow Skulls and Aquabats. The festival, dubbed “For the Kids,” is a benefit for the South Coast YMCA child-care program. (See accompanying performance schedule.)

“Everyone’s so serious all the time. Ska is a fun, happy kind of music whose purpose is to get everyone dancin’ and feeling good,” said Aaron Barrett, Reel Big Fish’s 22-year-old lead singer and guitarist, by phone from a tour stop in Boise, Idaho. “To me, it means nothing more than that. I really think kids are bored, and our upbeat music and goofing around brings a little joy and energy into their lives--and ours too.

“There’s always a deeper side to life, and sometimes our songs do get into relationship problems or stuff that’s been bothering us,” he said. “But that’s just so we can get it out [of our systems.] Then we feel better, so do our fans, and we can start laughing again.”

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Following its 1995 self-produced CD titled “Everything Sucks,” the seven-member band last year released its major-label debut, “Turn the Radio Off” (Mojo/Universal.) It included new mixes of eight tracks from “Everything Sucks,” plus eight new, punk-edged tunes that mix sharply shifting tempos, skipping ska rhythms and solid vocals.

“The energy of our music does stand out, but I do want my lyrics to be good too,” said Barrett, a Huntington Beach resident whose disparate influences range from such ‘80s pop acts as Wham!, Duran Duran and A-ha to the ska and reggae acts UB40, the English Beat, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the Specials.

“If you’re not jumping around or dancing, you can listen to our songs and think about it a little bit,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe the words will mean something to somebody.”

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One person taken in by both the band’s words and music was Mojo’s McDowell, who signed the band within a month of having heard them for the first time at the end of 1995.

“I went out and saw them open for Goldfinger at the Whisky one night,” McDowell said by phone from Mojo’s Santa Monica offices. “Seeing their infectious performance made a believer out of me. . . . They were funny, charismatic and could actually play.

“You know how big No Doubt is everywhere, and Reel Big Fish is drawing well on their current U.S. tour. As a matter of fact, there were so many pre-sold tickets in Portland last week that the promoter had to switch the sold-out concert to a larger venue.”

Barrett said he and his bandmates--including drummer Andrew Gonzales, bassist Matt Wong and a four-piece horn section featuring trombonists Grant Barry and Dan Regan and trumpeters Tavis Werts and Scott Klopfenstein--are thrilled to be making a living playing the music they love. After signing with Mojo, they all quit their day jobs--including Barrett, who had been making sandwiches at a Subway shop in Seal Beach.

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Much of alternative-rock radio has embraced the band’s new album, and if it takes off commercially--it’s sold 75,000 units since its September release, McDowell said--Barrett will be on his way to becoming the rock star he repeatedly mocks in “Sell Out,” “I’ll Never Be,” “Snoop Dog, Baby,” “Everything Sucks” and other songs.

As Barrett tells it, his verbal jabs at rock stardom are satirical.

“I like to make fun of things that people take so seriously, like ‘Gee, they’ve sold a million records, so we should hate them now,’ ” says Barrett, who’s known for wearing baggy shorts, Hawaiian shirts and black-and-white checkered glasses in concert. “That’s lame, like all these people who say No Doubt sucks just because they’re so popular or aren’t strictly ska.”

“Personally, I always wanted to be a famous rock star. I think it’d be great if lots of people heard our music,” he said. “But all everyone ever talks about is how it isn’t cool, how it’s this big sell-out. So yeah, I did write some songs expressing that.

“Sometimes we forget it’s all about the music--the rest is just hype, really,” he said. “I love playing every night. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and here I am actually doing it. I enjoy meeting the kids after our shows and hearing what they think about our music. That’s the coolest part.”

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FOR THE KIDS

Main Stage

1 p.m.: Save Ferris

2: Aquabats

3: Goldfinger

4:10: Voodoo Glow Skulls

5:20: Reel Big Fish

Second Stage

Noon: Furious IV

12:30: Union

1:30: Total Chaos

2:30: Assorted Jelly Beans

3:40: Youth Brigade

4:50: Home Grown

“For the Kids” is Saturday at Oak Canyon Ranch, 5305 Santiago Canyon Road, Irvine. Noon to 7 p.m. $15. Net proceeds benefit the South Coast YMCA Child Care Program. (714) 991-2055.