Reel Big Fish was one of the legions of Southern California ska-punk bands to edge into the mainstream following the mid-'90s success of No Doubt and Sublime. Like most of their peers, the band was distinguished by their hyperkinetic stage shows, juvenile humor, ironic covers of new wave pop songs, and metallic shards of ska. The group cultivated an underground following that broke into the mainstream in summer 1997, when their single "Sell Out" became a modern rock radio and MTV favorite. Reel Big Fish's popularity gradually waned in the subsequent years, following the decline of ska-punk as a marketable genre. Nevertheless, the band restructured its lineup and continued issuing new material to a smaller (yet considerably rabid) fanbase.

Reel Big Fish happily parted ways with Jive in January 2006, having wished to be dropped from the label since Cheer Up!'s release. A co-headlining tour with MxPx followed that summer, allowing Reel Big Fish the chance to gain their footing as an independent band. In August, the group self-released a double-disc live CD (along with an accompanying DVD) titled Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album. A few months later -- and much to the annoyance of the band -- Jive issued its own Reel Big Fish album, a best-of compilation entitled Greatest Hit...and More. Reel Big Fish received no money from the album's sales, as Jive Records now owned the rights to the bulk of their songs. Nevertheless, the band returned with some new material in February 2007, splitting an EP (Duet All Night Long) with their friends in Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer. Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free followed several months later, marking Reel Big Fish's first full-length studio release since leaving Jive's roster, and 2009's Fame, Fortune and Fornication found the band covering songs by the likes of Poison, Slade, and Tom Petty. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi