The Sandfleas

The Sandfleas
The Sandfleas (with Silver Skull in background), as seen in the liner notes of 1997's The Fury of The Aquabats!. Artwork by Parker Jacobs.
Background information
Origin	Orange County, California
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1997-1999, 2005
Labels	Horchata Records
Associated acts	The Aquabats, GOGO13, The Moon Monkeys, The Immortals

The Sandfleas are a fictional gang of masked hooligans within the mythology of the superhero-themed American comedy band The Aquabats, who featured prominently as the latter's "arch enemies" in their stage shows and related media during the late 1990s.

From 1997 to 1999, The Sandfleas occasionally performed as a live band almost exclusively as an opening act for The Aquabats, fronted by Aquabats creative consultant and GOGO13 singer Parker Jacobs and filled out by a rotating roster of former and present Aquabats members. The group released one extended play on The Aquabats' Horchata Records label before disbanding shortly afterwards.

As part of their comic book-inspired superhero aesthetic, The Aquabats have maintained an elaborate fictional mythology and origin story centering on their persona as costumed crime-fighters since the earliest days of their career, including an extensive roster of recurring villains who play into the band's live shows in mock fight scenes and comedic skits. Billed as "The Aquabats' arch enemies", The Sandfleas were depicted as a musical punk band of five obnoxious masked hooligans, intended to be the "bad guy" inversion of The Aquabats' own group of musical do-gooders.

Played by a rotating assortment of The Aquabats' friends and road crew, The Sandfleas became a staple of the band's late 1990s concerts when they would routinely crash The Aquabats' sets and comically antagonize them and the audience, segueing into a staged fight scene which The Sandfleas would inevitably lose. In the documentary "A Band Called the Aquabats!: A Sweaty History of Radness!" featured on the 2003 DVD Serious Awesomeness!, The Sandfleas are also shown having waged mock protests at The Aquabats' concerts, brandishing picket signs with messages including "The Aquabats R Dumb!" and handing out anti-Aquabat pamphlets to fans waiting in line.

In addition to The Aquabats' stage shows, The Sandfleas appeared in most of The Aquabats' promotional material and merchandise during the late 1990s, appearing in the liner note artwork for 1997's The Fury of The Aquabats! and 1999's The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!, the band's 1997 coloring book, the 1998 7" picture disc single Ultra Kyu vs. The Sandfleas and a brief cameo in the 1999 television pitch promo The Aquabats in Color!. In 2013, over a decade since their last canonical appearance with The Aquabats, The Sandfleas made a brief cameo in an animated segment in The Aquabats! Super Show! episode "Bad Apple!", appearing as an unnamed group of "" who attempt to rob The Aquabats.

...
Wikipedia