Christian Jacobs
Christian Jacobs | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Christian Richards Jacobs |
Also known as | The Caped Commander, The Bat Commander, MC Bat Commander |
Born | Rexburg, Idaho, United States | January 11, 1972
Genres | Rock, New Wave, punk rock, ska, synthpop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, television producer, actor |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 1982–present |
Christian Richards Jacobs (born January 11, 1972) is an American musician, television producer, voice actor and former child actor. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. children's television series Yo Gabba Gabba!, 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, 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 in 1972, the second of five children. Following his family's relocation to Los Angeles in 1976, Jacobs and his siblings, namely his older sister Rachel and younger brother Parker, began working as child actors. Throughout the course of his childhood and into his late teens, Jacobs appeared in numerous productions, most prominently playing the role of Joey Stivic in the short-lived All in the Family spin-off Gloria, but primarily playing bit parts 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.[1]
While working on Gleaming the Cube, Jacobs befriended a number of well known and highly influential skateboarders and artists.[1] In 1990, he worked alongside Mark Gonzales and Jason Lee on Blind Skateboards' Video Days, and as an artist, Jacobs designed board graphics for Tony Hawk's Birdhouse Skateboards and for the Jason Lee and Steve Berra pro models.
The great-grandson of prominent Mormon leader LeGrand Richards, Jacobs is a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1] In 1991, he left the United States to serve as a missionary in the Sendai, Japan mission and lived in and around Tōhoku, Japan for two years. Upon returning to California, he began working various jobs and moonlighting in bands.[1]
The Aquabats
In 1994, Jacobs, along with friends Chad Larson and Boyd Terry, formed the Orange County-based band The Aquabats, wherein he acted as lead singer 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 persona, The Aquabats initially formed as part of the burgeoning Orange County ska scene, though since 2000 have evolved into playing more punk 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! peaked at number 172 on the Billboard 200, granting the band national exposure on MTV and as part of the 1998 Vans Warped Tour.[2] 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, playing drums under the stage name "Fang".
As of 2014, The Aquabats continue to tour and record, and released their fifth studio album Hi-Five Soup! in January 2011 on Fearless Records. 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 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. Jacobs has repeatedly expressed plans to keep pitching Super Show! to other networks.
Yo Gabba Gabba!
In 1999, Jacobs and Schultz formed a production company 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 Yo Gabba Gabba!. The series was picked up by Viacom's Nick Jr. channel in 2007, eventually becoming an international success and winning numerous television awards. Yo Gabba Gabba! has since completed four seasons.
===My Little Pony Laugh And Learn=== in 2017 they made a show called My Little Pony Laugh And Learn Starring The Cast Of Zerby Derby But they have diffrent style they have hair from the g4 which takes place in earth in each episode the ponies go to a diffent location country state or contenit. the series is picked up in january 4 2017
Personal life
Christian Jacobs is an avid surfer, skateboarder, Japanese toy collector and artist. He lives in Huntington Beach, California,[3] with his wife and four children.
Discography
The Aquabats
- The Return of The Aquabats (1995) - vocals
- The Fury of The Aquabats! (1997) - vocals
- The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death! (1999) - vocals
- Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 (2000) - vocals
- Yo! Check Out This Ride! EP (2004) - vocals
- Charge!! (2005) - vocals
- Radio Down! (2010) - vocals
- Hi-Five Soup! (2011) - 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
Year | Film | Role |
---|---|---|
1986 | Pretty in Pink | Boy in record store |
1989 | Gleaming the Cube | Gremic |
1994 | There Goes My Baby | Jeff |
2008 | Punk Rock Holocaust 2 | The MC Bat Commander |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | The Love Boat | B.J. | Episode: "The Best of Friends/Too Many Dads/Love Will Find a Way" |
1982–1983 | Gloria | Joey Stivic | Series regular |
1984 | Second Sight: A Love Story | Bruce | TV movie |
Finder of Lost Loves | Scott Hargrove | Episode: "Maxwell, Ltd." (series pilot) | |
Highway to Heaven | Danny | Episode: "Catch a Falling Star" | |
ABC Weekend Special | Kurt Landry | Episode: "Henry Hamilton, Graduate Ghost" | |
1985 | The History of White People in America | Tommy Harrison | TV movie |
The Canterville Ghost | Rob | TV movie | |
Berrenger's | Bob | Episode: "Dangerous Ground" | |
V | Billy | Episode: "Breakout" | |
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears | Cavin | voice only; series regular (season one) | |
1986 | The History of White People in America: Volume II | Tommy Harrison | TV movie |
1987 | In Love and War | Jimmy (age 14) | TV movie |
Convicted: A Mother's Story | TV movie | ||
1988 | Portrait of a White Marriage | Tommy Harrison | TV movie |
Out of This World | Derek Rogers | Episode: "Broadway Danny Derek" | |
Just the Ten of Us | Club Leader / Todd | Episode: "Move It or Lose It" Episode: "The Unkindest Cut of All" | |
1989 | Married... with Children | Shep | Episode: "A Three Job, No Income Family" |
Hard Time on Planet Earth | Mark Brady | Episode: "Rodeo Show" | |
ABC Afterschool Special | Danny | Episode: "My Dad Can't Be Crazy...Can He?" | |
Roseanne | Andrew | Episode: "Chicken Hearts" | |
1990 | Guns of Paradise | Henry | Episode: "The Gates of Paradise" |
Exile | Derf | TV movie | |
Major Dad | Private LaBonte | Episode: "Infant-ry" | |
1999 | The Aquabats in Color! | Bat Commander | TV pilot. Also co-creator, writer and director. |
2007–present | Yo Gabba Gabba! | Plex (voice only) | Also co-creator, writer and director. |
2008, 2012-2014 | The Aquabats Super Show! | The MC Bat Commander | Also co-creator and writer |
2013 | Big Time Rush | Security guard/Plex (voice) | Episode: "Big Time Cameo" |
Awards
The following list is of awards Christian Jacobs has been personally nominated for:
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Young Artist Award | Best Young Actor in a New Television Series (Gloria) | Nominated |
1986 | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Young Actor - Animation Voice Over (Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears) | Nominated |
2008 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Nominated |
2009 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Nominated |
2011 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Nominated |
Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Nominated | |
2012 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Nominated |
Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Nominated | |
2013 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Children's Series (The Aquabats! Super Show!) | Nominated |
2014 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (The Aquabats! Super Show!) | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b c d "MC Bat Commander's Head Explodes!". OC Weekly. March 1, 2012.
- ^ "The Aquabats > Charts & Awards". Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- ^ O.C. dads strike gold with 'Yo Gabba Gabba' - The Orange County Register Retrieved 2016-12-23.
External links
- 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 rock singers
- American male television actors
- American television producers
- American television writers
- Male television writers
- The Aquabats members
- Eagle Scouts
- Living people
- Singers from California
- Musicians from Idaho
- People from Huntington Beach, California
- People from Rexburg, Idaho