Save Ferris is an American ska punk band formed circa 1995 in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, United States. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...

''. In 1995, the band began to perform underground venues in Southern California. In 1996, the band won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

showcase award for best unsigned band and a contract with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. Their album ''

It Means Everything ''It Means Everything'' is the debut studio album of American rock band Save Ferris; it was released on September 9, 1997, through Epic Records and Starpool Records. Save Ferris formed in 1995 after its members appeared in other bands. Vocalis ...

'' from 1997 was their first full-length album. By 1999, the band moved from ska-pop into pop-punk. After a hiatus, in 2017, Save Ferris released the '' Checkered Past'' EP. The band is best remembered for their 1997 cover of "

Come On Eileen "Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners (credited to Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express), released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album ''Too-Rye-Ay''. It reache ...

", originally by the British new wave band

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

History

1995–1996: Early years and ''Introducing Save Ferris'' EP

The band came together after the dissolution of a number of Orange County, California bands. With the band working together under their own “Starpool” label, they began to book shows around Southern California to a great underground response. The band released their debut EP '' Introducing Save Ferris'' on their own label, Starpool Records in 1996, and ended up selling close to 20,000 copies of their EP “out of the trunks of their cars.” That year, Monique Powell provided vocals on the Reel Big Fish song " She Has A Girlfriend Now" from their album ''Turn the Radio Off'' (Mojo), which is considered one of RBF's most requested songs to date. Riding a wave of support from fans all over Southern California, Save Ferris became favorites of

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...

radio's legendary “Rodney on the Rock”, which resulted in regular airplay on LA's world-famous KROQ radio station, possibly being the first unsigned band to do this in LA alternative radio history. Later that year, the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

gave the band a

showcase award for best-unsigned band, earning them a recording contract with

(

SONY is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

1997: ''It Means Everything'' and mainstream success

Save Ferris eventually released their debut full-length album, ''

'', through Epic, in 1997. The album features several re-recorded tracks from their EP, several new songs, as well as a cover of

' "

", the 1982 hit which became Save Ferris' most iconic single to-date. ''It Means Everything'''s opening track is the single "The World is New," which was featured in the 1998 film '' The Big Hit'' (starring

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

), and was also later featured in the trailers for '' Senseless'' (1998) and ''

Thomas and the Magic Railroad ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' is a 2000 children's fantasy adventure film written and directed by Britt Allcroft and produced by Allcroft and Phil Fehrle; the cast includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Didi Conn, Russell Mean ...

'' (2000), as well as an episode of the TV series '' 7th Heaven''. Save Ferris toured extensively in support of ''It Means Everything'', opening for bands such as

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". Th ...

The Offspring The Offspring is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dexter Holland, Bryan "Dexter" Holland, ...

, Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish, as well as two mainstage spots on the Vans ''Warped Tour'' in 1998 and 2000, respectively. In April 1998, the band made their television debut on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's music series ''

Reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

'' before making an on-screen appearance in the teen film '' 10 Things I Hate About You'' (1999). Their debut album sold over 400,000 copies, and spawned three Top 10 hits in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. With two singles charting in the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, and full rotation on

alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

globally, ''It Means Everything'' was able to achieve

platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

as per the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

1998–1999: ''Modified'' era

After the departure of the band's first drummer, Marc Harismendy, in 1998, Save Ferris regrouped and released their appropriately titled sophomore album for Epic records, '' Modified'', in October 1999. The album saw the band moving away from their ska-pop roots and into pop-punk territory. The album also spawned three Top Ten hits in both

and

. The song "The Only Way to Be" was used in 2000 film ''

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon Wayans, Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon ...

''. Save Ferris supported ''Modified'' on tour throughout the next several years including a trek with Lit in the U.S. and a headlining tour of the UK.

2000–2003: Hiatus, and ''For the Fans'' tour

Save Ferris performed at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

between the qualifiers and the finals of the Men's Halfpipe at the competition venue in Park City. Throughout the years, Save Ferris experienced a number of changes in their lineup, most notably the departure of Brian Mashburn, the band's main songwriter, who quit in 2002. Soon to follow Mashburn were Eric Zamora and Bill Uechi, departing to start a new band. Save Ferris announced their breakup in October 2002. Soon after the departure of Mashburn, Powell self-financed what she called For the Fans, a US tour in 2003, which included a mainstage performance at Ska Summit in Las Vegas for over 10,000 fans.

2004–2012: Post-breakup

From 2004 to 2008, Powell appeared on albums by

The Used The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, formed in 2000. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Steinec ...

Lostprophets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets or LOSTPROPHETS) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruit ...

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, author and businesswoman. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hilary Duff, various accolades, including a World Music Awards, World Mus ...

, Goldfinger and others. She also started a now defunct band called The Mojo Wire in 2008, and toured in the LA area. In 2003, Bill Uechi, Brian Mashburn, T-Bone Willy, Eric Zamora, and Oliver Zavala started the band Starpool with Alan Meade original member of No Doubt on vocals and Phil Hanson on drums.

2013–present: Revival

Save Ferris, now led by Powell, went on indefinite hiatus from 2003 until the spring of 2013, at which time Powell once again regrouped the band (with new musicians) and headlined the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California, to a sold-out crowd of over 7,000 fans, with another sold-out show at the El Rey Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The Costa Mesa gig resulted in a lawsuit being filed against Powell by the former members of Save Ferris over use of the band's name, stating that she had not contacted nor invited her former bandmates to perform at the show, although she stated that that was not the case. Powell thus responded with her own countersuit in 2015. Ultimately, Powell won the rights to the band's name, branding, and social media. She was also awarded writing credits on several songs she had previously not been credited on. In October 2015, a public message indicating that the lawsuits between the members had been amicably resolved was posted to the band's official website; this message has since been removed. Additionally, in 2015, ASCAP songwriting records were updated, crediting Powell as co-writer on a number of Save Ferris songs for which her name had not previously been listed. Save Ferris2 8-19-2023

In 2016, Save Ferris ran a successful PledgeMusic campaign to raise money for what would be their first new album in over 15 years. The financial goal was achieved in only a couple of weeks, fully funded by the fans. The band co-headlined

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Ska Fest 2016 with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. On February 10, 2017, Save Ferris released the '' Checkered Past'' EP, their first release in 18 years. The EP was produced by

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

bassist John Avila and features a guest appearance by Neville Staple of

The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

on the EP's first single, "New Sound". The band toured for the album in 2017, and took part in the Vans Warped Tour that summer. Save Ferris released their first Christmas single, as well as their first single in six years, "Xmas Blue", to their official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on December 14, 2023. Another single, "Lights Out in The Reptile House", was released on July 19, 2024.In 2025, the group released the single and music video for a new song called "Get Dancing".

Lineup

; Current * Monique Powell – lead vocals (1995–2003, 2013–present), keyboards (1995–2003) * Justin Linn - guitars, vocals (2018–present) * Alex Csillag – trombone and keyboards (2017–present) * Tristan Hurd - trumpet (2023–present) * Jamie Howell - drums (2023–present) * Jake Courlang - bass (2023–present) ; Past * Bill Uechi – bass (1995–2002) * Eric Zamora – alto and tenor saxophone (1995–2002) * Brian Mashburn – guitar and backing vocals (1995–2002) * Jesse Tunnell – trombone (1995–1996) * T-Bone Willy – trombone (1996–2002) * José Castellaños – trumpet (1995–2000) * Oliver Zavala – trumpet & backing vocals (2000–02) * Adam Plost - Guitar (2000) * Steve White – trumpet (2002) * Steve Cordero – drums (1995) * Marc Harismendy – drums (1995–98) * Evan Kilbourne – drums (1998–2002) * Denny Weston Jr. — drums (2013–2015) * Joe Berry — saxophone, additional guitar and backing vocals (2013–2015) * Gordon Bash — bass and backing vocals (2013–2017), trumpet (2013–2015) * Patrick Ferguson — guitar (2013–2017) * Erik Hughes — trombone (2013–2016) * Alex Burke — keyboards (2013–2016) * Scott Jones — trumpet (2015) * Connor McElwain — trumpet (2015–2017) * Richard Velzen – trombone (2016–2017) * Jonathan Levi Shanes – keyboards (2016–2017) * Alexander Mathias — saxophone (2016–2017) * Jesse Stern – bass and backing vocals (2017–2018) * Nate Light – bass and backing vocals (2018–present) * Max O'Leary – trumpet (2017–present) * Brandon Dickert — drums (2015–present) * Adrienne Nolff - co-lead vocals (1995–1996)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:90 top:5 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1995 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1995 Colors = id:voc value:red legend:Vocals id:bvoc value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Tru value:yelloworange legend:Trumpet id:Sax value:skyblue legend:Saxophone id:Tro value:coral legend:Trombone id:g value:green legend:Guitar id:key value:purple legend:Keyboards id:b value:blue legend:Bass id:dr value:orange legend:Drums id:album value:black legend:Studio_album id:ep value:gray(0.85) legend:EP id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars BarData = bar:Adrienne text:"Adrienne Knolff" bar:Monique text:"Monique Powell" bar:José text:"José Castellaños" bar:Oliver text:"Oliver Zavala" bar:SteveW text:"Steve White" bar:Scott text:"Scott Jones" bar:Connor text:"Connor McElwain" bar:Max text:"Max O'Leary" bar:Eric text:"Eric Zamora" bar:Joe text:"Joe Berry" bar:Alexander text:"Alexander Mathias" bar:JesseT text:"Jesse Tunnell" bar:TBone text:"T-Bone Willy" bar:Erik text:"Erik Hughes" bar:Richard text:"Richard Vezlen" bar:AlexC text:"Alex Csillag" bar:AlexB text:"Alex Burke" bar:Jonathan text:"Jonathan Levi Shanes" bar:Brian text:"Brian Mashburn" bar:Patrick text:"Patrick Ferguson" bar:Adam text:"Adam Bones" bar:Bill text:"Bill Uechi" bar:Gordon text:"Gordon Bash" bar:JesseS text:"Jesse Stern" bar:Light text:"Nate Light" bar:SteveC text:"Steve Cordero" bar:Marc text:"Marc Harismendy" bar:Evan text:"Evan Kilbourne" bar:Denny text:"Denny Weston Jr." bar:Brandon text:"Brandon Dickert" PlotData= width:11 bar:Monique from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2002 color:voc bar:Monique from:01/01/2013 till:end color:voc bar:Adrienne from:01/01/1995 till:31/12/1995 color:voc bar:Brian from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2002 color:g bar:Patrick from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2017 color:g bar:Adam from:01/01/2017 till:end color:g bar:Bill from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2002 color:b bar:Gordon from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2017 color:b bar:JesseS from:01/01/2017 till:03/01/2018 color:b bar:Light from:03/01/2018 till:end color:b bar:SteveC from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/1995 color:dr bar:Marc from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1998 color:dr bar:Evan from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/2002 color:dr bar:Denny from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2015 color:dr bar:Brandon from:01/01/2015 till:end color:dr bar:Eric from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2002 color:sax bar:Joe from:01/01/2013 till:12/01/2015 color:sax bar:Alexander from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 color:sax bar:José from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2000 color:tru bar:Oliver from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2002 color:tru bar:SteveW from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2002 color:tru bar:Scott from:01/01/2015 till:01/07/2015 color:tru bar:Connor from:01/07/2015 till:01/01/2017 color:tru bar:Max from:01/01/2017 till:end color:tru bar:JesseT from:01/01/1995 till:31/12/1995 color:tro bar:TBone from:01/01/1996 till:01/07/2002 color:tro bar:Erik from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2016 color:tro bar:Richard from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 color:tro bar:AlexC from:01/01/2017 till:end color:tro bar:AlexB from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2016 color:key bar:Jonathan from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 color:key width:7 bar:Gordon from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2015 color:tru bar:Joe from:01/01/2013 till:12/01/2015 color:g width:3 bar:Monique from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2002 color:key bar:Brian from:01/01/1995 till:01/07/2002 color:bvoc bar:Adam from:01/01/2017 till:end color:bvoc bar:Gordon from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2017 color:bvoc bar:JesseS from:01/01/2017 till:03/01/2018 color:bvoc bar:Light from:03/01/2018 till:end color:bvoc bar:Oliver from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2002 color:bvoc bar:Joe from:01/01/2013 till:12/01/2015 color:bvoc bar:AlexC from:01/01/2017 till:end color:key LineData = layer:back at:10/02/2017 color:ep at:24/02/1997 color:album at:23/08/1999 color:album at:25/01/1996 color:ep

Discography

Albums

EPs and other releases

Singles

Other appearances

In 2001, Monique and her family appeared in the unsold pilot for

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

called ''Rock Feud''Rock Feud, Rare Pilot
/ref> a musical spinoff of the classic game show '' Family Feud'', hosted by former ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'' cast member Johnny A. Sanchez. Their opponents were Lit. The following Save Ferris songs were released on compilation albums and soundtracks. This is not an exhaustive list; songs that were first released on the band's albums and EPs are not included.

References

{{Authority control American ska punk musical groups Musical groups from Orange County, California Third-wave ska groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2013 Columbia Records artists Epic Records artists Orange County School of the Arts alumni Female-fronted musical groups Mixed-gender bands