Interview: Christian Jacobs of THE AQUABATS! SUPER SHOW!

The Aquabats! Super Show! is an exciting, fun-filled Saturday morning live-action series reminiscent of the shows we grew up on as kids.

Starburst recently had the chance to talk to Christian Jacobs (MC Bat Commander) about the show and here's what he had to say:

Starburst: As a kid growing up in California, what got you interested in music?

Christian Jacobs: I have fond memories of listening to the radio back in the '80s while going to school in the mornings and also listening to my parents' record collection. My dad had all these great records from the '50s we used to listen to. We weeded out the ones that were more obscure like the "Purple People Eater" and the likes, playing them over and over. That's what got us interested. He also had these '70s and '80s tunes we loved as well. It was a great variety. As kids, we got to pretend a lot as most kids do playing cowboys or astronauts. I discovered comic books in my tweens and teens starting at the age of 12, but mostly I was into TV cartoons, though my dad would let me stay up and watch World War II films, Burt Lancaster in the Flame and the Arrow and the Crimson Pirate along with Kirk Douglas in Sparticus. It was a great childhood and those moments influenced me a lot. 

SB: The creatures and bizarre villains are very creative, as are your very cool costumes. Let's talk about your wardrobe people, make-up and special effects team.

CJ: I can't highly praise enough our costumes, make-up people and special effects crew. They're amazing how they can come up with these creative ideas on a next-to-nothing budget showing a lot of production value on the screen. They super over-deliver!

SB: Like working on a Roger Corman film.

CJ: Yes, Aquabats is like a Roger Corman kids show! We love all of Corman's films! We grew up on them along with movies like Big Trouble In Little China, throwing in campy plots showing how ridiculous the situations are, but having fun at the same time while saving the day. It's part of the charm of the show.

SB: Like the Corn Dog, a dog with an ice cream cone on his head and Manant, a talking, man-sized ant that wears a suit and tie. I even see a little of ol' Jack Burton in your character, MC Bat Commander.

CJ: Yes! You get it!

SB: Where did you film the series? Bronson Cave? Griffith Park? The show has a great look to it. The colors really pop.

CJ: We filmed in Oak Canyon Ranch down in Orange County. It's in the Irvine Lake area. We used local crews too. Our director of photography, Jeff, is really gifted. For inspiration, we watched a lot of David Lean and Sergio Leone films to give Aquabats that grand, spectacle feel. Granted, we couldn't do it on the budget they had, but Jeff did a great job creating the look. We also watched a Kurosawa documentary learning how he used the sun a lot, reflecting it off his actors eyes in his films making them more dynamic. We applied that technique to our characters to give them that hero look as well.

SB: With a new TV series debuting, will you be performing again and is there another album in the works?

CJ: That's the idea. Our songs in the series are very short, so you only have so much time when you’re dealing with corn dogs and Manants, but we do plan on releasing another album in the near future. The show's episodes get better with each new one. The writing is very funny and people will get it. It's silly, but it's also smart too. There's a lot of reference jokes in there that kids will laugh at and adults even more so because they'll know what they mean.

SB: Thanks for taking time out and talking with us at Starburst. We wish you a lot of success with your show. It’s a lot of fun!

CJ: Thank you! It was great talking with you!

The Aquabats! Super Show! will consists of 13 episodes and debuts in the States on Saturday March 3rd, 2012 on HUB TV. A UK air date remains TBC.