Christian Richards Jacobs (born January 11, 1972) is an American musician,

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

, and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. TV show ''

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...

'', on which he additionally serves as a writer, director, composer and voice actor. Under the stage persona of The MC Bat Commander, Jacobs is also well known for his work as lead singer for the Orange County rock band

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtur ...

, which he co-founded in 1994. In addition to his musical work with the band, Jacobs also portrayed the character of the Bat Commander on the live-action comedy television series '' The Aquabats! Super Show!'', which he also co-created and produced, from 2012 to 2014.

Biography

Early life

Jacobs was born in

Rexburg, Idaho Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statist ...

in 1972, the second of five children. Following his family's relocation to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

at the age of 4, Jacobs and his siblings, namely his older sister Rachel and younger brother Parker, began working as

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

s. Throughout the course of his childhood and into his late teens, Jacobs appeared in numerous productions, most prominently playing the role of

Joey Stivic Joseph Michael "Joey" Stivic is a fictional character who first appeared on the 1970s American sitcom ''All in the Family''. Joey Stivic was the son and only child of Mike Stivic (played by Rob Reiner) and Gloria Stivic (played by Sally Struther ...

in the short-lived ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' spin-off '' Gloria'', but primarily playing small roles in teen films such as '' Pretty in Pink'' and '' Gleaming the Cube'' and episodes of sitcoms like '' Married... with Children'' and '' Roseanne'', before retiring from acting in the early 1990s, citing a dislike of the competitive nature of the business. While working on ''Gleaming the Cube'', Jacobs befriended a number of well known and highly influential skateboarders and artists. In 1990, he worked alongside

Mark Gonzales Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Ti ...

and Jason Lee on

Blind Skateboards Blind (stylized as bLind) is a skateboard company founded by Mark Gonzales in 1988 under Steve Rocco's World Industries distribution company. Gonzales has since left the company and today the company continues under the ownership of Dwindle Dis ...

Video Days ''Video Days'' is a skateboarding video by Blind Skateboards released in 1991. It is considered one of the most influential skate videos, as director Spike Jonze's format is frequently cited as its definitive filming template. ''Video Days'' is ...

'', and as an artist, Jacobs designed board graphics for Tony Hawks Birdhouse Skateboards and for the Jason Lee and

Steve Berra Steve Berra (born May 10, 1973) is an American professional skateboarder and director, and is also the cofounder/co-owner of the skateboarding website The Berrics. Early life Berra grew up in both Nebraska and Missouri and he explained in 2007 ...

pro models. The great-grandson of prominent

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

leader LeGrand Richards, Jacobs is a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1991, he left the United States to serve as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in the Sendai, Japan mission and lived in and around Tōhoku, Japan for two years. Upon returning to California, he began working different jobs and moonlighting in bands.

The Aquabats

In 1994, Jacobs, along with friends

Chad Larson Chad Albert Larson (born October 27, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder and bass guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of Crash McLarson. From 2012 ...

and

Boyd Terry Boyd Terry is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members of the Californian band The Aquabats, of which he served as trumpeter from 1994 to 2002 under the stage name Catboy. Biography Terry helped form the original line-up ...

, formed the Orange County-based band

, wherein he acted as

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and lyricist under the stage name of The MC Bat Commander (formerly "The Caped Commander" and "The Bat Commander"). Noted for their matching costumes and theatrical stage shows centered around their superhero-themed alter-ego, The Aquabats initially formed as part of the burgeoning Orange County

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

scene, though since 2000 have evolved into playing more

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and new wave-influenced rock music. Though The Aquabats are most recognized for being a cult act, the band experienced brief mainstream commercial success in the late 1990s during the height of the American ska revival, when their second album ''

The Fury of The Aquabats! ''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Aquabats, released on October 28, 1997 by Goldenvoice Records and Time Bomb Recordings. Overview Much like their debut album, ''The Fury of the Aquabats!'' is ...

'' peaked at number 172 on the ''Billboard'' 200, granting the band national exposure on MTV and as part of the 1998

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running tourin ...

. During this time, Jacobs was also active producing skateboarding videos with his friend and creative partner Scott Schultz. In 1999, Jacobs anonymously performed with other members of The Aquabats in the side project

The Sandfleas 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 1 ...

, playing drums under the stage name "Fang". As of 2022, The Aquabats continue to tour and record, and the band's sixth studio album, '' Kooky Spooky...In Stereo'' was released in August 2020. On March 3, 2012, '' The Aquabats! Super Show!'', a live-action musical television series starring the band, premiered on cable channel The Hub, with Jacobs serving as co-creator, producer, writer and star. Despite accumulating six

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

nominations over the course of two seasons, winning one for stunt coordination, The Hub declined to pick ''Super Show!'' up for a third season, effectively cancelling the series. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2018, ''Super Show!'' was retooled as a bi-weekly

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

series which began airing in late 2019.

''Yo Gabba Gabba!''

In 1999, Jacobs and Schultz formed a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

which was later formalized as "The Magic Store" with the goal of creating family-oriented television entertainment. Together, the two independently created, wrote and directed two pilot episodes in 2005 for a preschooler-targeted children's television series called ''

''. The series was picked up by

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

channel in 2007, eventually becoming an international success and winning numerous television awards. ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' has since completed four seasons. The pilot started in 1999.

Personal life

Christian Jacobs is an avid surfer, skateboarder, Japanese toy collector and artist. He lives in Huntington Beach, California,O.C. dads strike gold with 'Yo Gabba Gabba' - The Orange County Register
Retrieved 2016-12-23. with his wife and four children.

Discography

The Aquabats

*''

The Return of The Aquabats ''The Return of the Aquabats'' is the debut album by American band the Aquabats, independently released on Horchata Records on July 26, 1996, and subsequently re-issued by Fearless Records. Overview ''The Return of the Aquabats'' firmly establis ...

'' (1996) - vocals *''

'' (1997) - vocals *''

The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death! ''The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!'' is the third studio album from American band The Aquabats, released on October 26, 1999, on Goldenvoice Records. After the success of ''The Fury of The Aquabats!'', ''Floating Eye'' found the band m ...

'' (1999) - vocals *''

Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 ''Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2'' is a compilation album by American band The Aquabats, released on May 17, 2000 by Fearless Records. The album is a collection of studio outtakes, b-sides and miscellaneous unreleased tracks ...

'' (2000) - vocals *'' Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP'' (2004) - vocals *'' Charge!!'' (2005) - vocals *''

Radio Down! ''Radio Down!'' is an EP single by American band The Aquabats, released on November 9, 2010. Overview In early 2010, The Aquabats announced plans to release their next studio album by the end of the year, eventually confirming a tentative rel ...

'' (2010) - vocals *'' Hi-Five Soup!'' (2011) - vocals *'' The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One'' (2019) - vocals *'' Kooky Spooky...In Stereo'' (2020) - vocals

Collaborations

*"Got Sumethin' (That You Ought to Know)" from Bad Credit's album ''Giving Back by Giving Up'' (2004) *"This Gigantic Robot Kills" from MC Lars album '' This Gigantic Robot Kills'' (2009)

Filmography

Film

Television

Music Videos

Awards

The following list is of awards Christian Jacobs has been personally nominated for: , - , 1983 , Young Artist Award , Best Young Actor in a New Television Series ('' Gloria'') , , - , 1986 , Young Artist Award , Outstanding Young Actor - Animation Voice Over ('' Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears'') , , - , 2008 ,

, Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling (''

'') , , - , 2009 ,

, Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling (''Yo Gabba Gabba!'') , , - , rowspan="2", 2011 ,

, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design (''Yo Gabba Gabba!'') , , - ,

, Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series (''Yo Gabba Gabba!'') , , - , rowspan="2", 2012 ,

, Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling (''Yo Gabba Gabba!'') , , - ,

, Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series (''Yo Gabba Gabba!'') , , - , 2013 ,

, Outstanding Children's Series ('' The Aquabats! Super Show!'') , , - , 2014 ,

, Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (''The Aquabats! Super Show!'') ,

References

External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Christian 1972 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American male child actors American child models American Latter Day Saint writers American male singers American Mormon missionaries in Japan American punk rock singers American male television actors Television producers from California American television writers American male television writers The Aquabats members Living people Singers from California Singers from Idaho People from Huntington Beach, California People from Rexburg, Idaho Latter Day Saints from California Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Idaho 21st-century American singers