Bargain Music was formed in 1997 in Long Beach, CA, the L.A. suburb that has spawned everyone from gangsta rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg to Mexican-American banda star Jenni Rivera to Sublime -- a well known, ska-friendly alternative rock band that Bargain Music has often been compared to. However, Fischel has been quick to stress that Bargain Music and Sublime are two very different-sounding bands. Fischel formed Bargain Music with his friend Sean Whisner, and the artists they recruited in the late '90s included bassist Jeff Ward, guitarist Trey Pangborn, singer/rapper Skeleton Man, and trumpeter Dave Williams (among others). By the end of 1998, Bargain Music was circulating their demo cassette Feelin It (Rough Mixes), which is also known as The Green Tape. After that, they hired bassist Mike Watt (of Minutemen and fIREHOSE fame) to produce their first official album, 77 003, which was released by the Washington, D.C.-based Beatville Records in 2000. The following year, Beatville put out Cook the Beans, an album that ranged from new songs to previously unreleased and remixed material.
Along the way, Bargain Music has been through more than their share of lineup changes. Williams left the band in 2000, as did Skeleton Man. 2001 found Pangborn taking off as well, and eventually, Zach Zippy Goodin became the band's guitarist. Then, in 2002, Ward announced his departure, and he was replaced by Matt Brein. Fischel, Brein, and Goodin are the main participants on The Magic Is Over, which Beatville released in 2003. A Little Taste Of... was issued in early 2005, followed the next year by the stripped-down mostly acoustic American Born, which prominently featured Fischel out front. That album would prove to be the band's last, as by 2006's end, Bargain Music announced their dissolution. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi