Fight Songs

By Scott McDonald
Photo by Kevin Knight
(Published in the August 2010 issue)

Alex Bigman knows how to party. Back in 2004, the one-time SDSU frat boy decided that he preferred entertaining a crowd far more than simply being a part of one. That’s when the aspiring singer, along with friend and drummer, Josh Reef, started the pop-punk quintet Fight Fair.

For the last six years, they’ve added three new members, toured extensively, produced a pair of EPs and continuously worked to refine their sound. Just a few weeks ago, they finally released their full-length debut, California Kicks, a collection of upbeat punk tunes steeped in classic surf rock.

“We really wanted to bring what we love about California to the rest of the world,” says Bigman.

And as luck would have it, they’re currently getting a chance to do just that.

Fight Fair was invited to play the entire June to August run of the 2010 Vans Warped Tour, a nationally touring music festival that stops in San Diego’s Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre on August 10. Bigman says the transition from long-time audience members to performers on the popular tour has been a dream come true.

“I went to my first Warped Tour years ago,” he says. “All the way through high school and college, I’d go with my friends every single summer. And now, it’s just so exciting and awesome that we can actually be a part of it.”

While Fight Fair started out with a harder-edged sound (think lots of guitars riffs and screaming), the band has worked diligently to hone their sound into one that is more accessible to a broader audience. But even in doing so, the young five-piece has never lost track of the So-Cal culture that has significantly impacted all of their lives.

By drawing from a wide range of classics like The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean and Buddy Holly, and channeling it through punk influences like NOFX and Pennywise, Fight Fair comes off like a version of Beach Blanket Bingo directed by Joey Ramone. And that happens to be exactly what they’re going for.

“I think it’s a totally original sound,” says Bigman. “There’s really no one else doing what we’re doing right now. And more than anything, we just want to do our own thing. We’ve been getting a great reaction so far and want to see where it can go. Hopefully, it’ll just keep going and going.”

myspace.com/fightfair