Series / I'm in the Band

I'm in the Band is a TV series on Disney XD about 15-year-old guitarist, Tripp Campbell who won a chance to meet his favorite rock band, Iron Weasel. He learns that lead singer Derek Jupiter, bassist Burger Pitt and drummer Ash Tyler haven't had a big gig in years and now live out of their tour van. Tripp asks to join their band after their original lead guitarist, Bleed broke up with them. They say no at first but after showing them his guitar playing skill, and convincing his single mom into letting them live with them, they accept. Tripp is also taking point on securing new gigs for Iron Weasel and trying to make them popular again.

But yeah, the thing about Derek, Burger and Ash, they're lazy, shallow, stupid (mainly Ash) and incredibly childish. Tripp's best friend, Izzy Fuentes, an aspiring singer and borderline-obsessive rock fan, can help the situation or make things worse. Add to the fact that most of Tripp's ambitious plans for Iron Weasel backfire and Hilarity Ensues. It is chronologically the sixth series in the Disney Channel Live-Action Universe. Has a Crossover episode with The Suite Life on Deck.

The series is noted for having slightly more crass and inappropriate humor in comparison to the Disney Channel sitcoms, being made for the then-new boys-oriented Disney XD channel.

Only lasted two seasons and was cancelled due to low ratings.

The main cast:

• Tripp Campbell (Logan Miller)
• Burger Pitt (Greg Baker)
• Ash Tyler (Stephen Full)
• Derek Jupiter (Steve Valentine)
• Izzy Fuentes (Caitlyn Taylor Love)

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I'm in the Band provides examples of:

• Advertised Extra: Izzy, while listed as a main character, is the only member of the main cast to ever be absent, not appearing in 18 episodes throughout the series.
• All There in the Manual: Ash's last name was only shown in promotional material.
• Arch-Enemy: Charles "Chucky" Albertson and Metal Wolf serve as such for Iron Weasel in Season 2, actively trying to sabotage the band so they'll lose their record label with Simon Craig.

• Bilingual Bonus: Derek in "Annoying Arlene." Apparently, he's fluent in Spanish, Finnish, and Turkish. Or at least knows how to say "Her neck smells like vanilla" in all three.
• Birthday Episode: "Birthdazed" has everyone celebrating Tripp's birthday with two parties. One is thrown by Beth which is more of a kid's party, another by the band to showcase that Tripp's a teenager. Beth learns to accept that her son's too old for her parties and allows him to celebrate how he wants to.
• Breaking the Fellowship:
  • Happens to Iron Weasel in the Season 2 premiere, "I'm Out of the Band" when Tripp's frustrations with the guys leads him to quitting Iron Weasel and joining Metal Wolf. They later make up and hijack Metal Wolf's gig at the Super Bowl halftime show.
  • Happens to the guys again in "Weasels on a Plane" after a nasty plane crash. Ash succeeds in getting the band back together at the end of the episode by renting another plane for them all to go up in so Iron Weasel can work together as friends in landing it.
• "Brilliant" But Lazy: Derek, Ash, and Burger.
• Character Catchphrase:
  Tripp: Guys
  Iron Weasel: What?
  Tripp: *tells them to do something*
  Iron Weasel: Kay.
  • Also:
    Derek: Well played.
  • And:
    Derek: Well, it didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped, but I don't think anyone noticed.
  • Ash's "Aaaaawwww, yeah."
• Casting Gag: On the show it is revealed that Derek used to be a Stage Magician as well as the band's singer. In Real Life, Steve Valentine is a Stage Magician as well as an actor.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Jared doesn't appear in the second season, so his role of Tripp's best friend was reassigned to Ash.

• Couch Gag: The lining in the guitar case in the intro is a different color every episode.

• Crossover: With The Suite Life on Deck in the episode "Weasels on Deck".

• Determinator: Tripp, who is probably the most committed into making Iron Weasel a success again.
• Didn't Think This Through: In "Weasels on a Plane" when Ash succeeds in getting Iron Weasel back together as friends through landing a plane together, he doesn't realize that he was also putting his own life at risk until Tripp pointed it out.

  Tripp: Our friendship means more to him than his own personal safety!

  Ash: I did WHAT?!?

• Dissension Remorse: In "Weasels on a Plane", after their first plane crash, Iron Weasel don't speak to each other (apart from band business). The reality kicks in early for Ash, then it hits Tripp, Burger, and Derek once Ash takes them up in another plane so they can reconcile and land it together.

• Downer Ending: Happens a lot. Though it's as down as a Disney comedy gets.
• Dumb and Drummer: Ash is considered a Genius Ditz... at best, especially in "Weasels on a Plane".
• Dumb Blonde: Tripp dates Lana in "I Wanna Punch Stuff", and she isn't very intelligent. When the band needs to make him angry so he'll finish writing a song, they trick Lana into breaking up with him.

• Evil Counterpart: Iron Weasel has a rival band, Metal Wolf, who constantly steal the spotlight from them.
• Failure Is the Only Option: Iron Weasel will always fail in becoming successful. SQIG after all. Subverted when the guys end up under the label of Simon Craig with a new album titled "Back in your Face" being released.
• Fake Brit: Bryan Callen as Bleed. This applies in-universe too, as Bleed is also faking a British accent. Subverted with Steve Valentine as Derek (He's Scottish pretending to be English).
• Gasshole: Izzy learned to burp the names of state capitals from either Burger or the band in general. Eventually she was able to put as much force behind them as Burger can.

• Hypocritical Humor: After finding out that Ash has called his pet fish "Sushi", Burger complains that "Sushi's a food, not a name." Lampshaded by Tripp.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Somewhat, as many of the episode titles contained the word "Weasel".
• Improbable Hairstyle: The members of Iron Weasel sans Tripp have rather unusual hairdos: Ash's hair looks like a porcupine, Derek has too-wavy hair, and Burger has feminine wavy hair held up by a sweatband.

• Likes Older Women: Burger has a crush on Tripp's mother Beth.
• Literal-Minded: Ash, being The Ditz, has a tendency to take things overly literally. For example, when he hears about a gig that's going to "put Iron Weasel on the map," he has an Imagine Spot where his face is literally on a map.

• Not So Above It All: Tripp is the most responsible member of the band by far, but he's still a teenager and does act immature at times. An example was when Derek, Burger, and Ash lost all their money to support elderly while they were taking skydiving lessons in "Geezers Rock".
  I can't believe you guys. You went skydiving without me!?

• Parental Substitute: Tripp admits that he considers Derek to be his father figure at the end of "Lord of the Weasels".

• Poke the Poodle: The band attempts to make Tripp angry in "I Wanna Punch Stuff"; they aren't able to insult him without apologizing soon after.

• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Jared and Tripp.
• Signature Move: Iron Weasel's "flip of doom". Unfortunately, they haven't done it in a while.
• Shout-Out:
  • The episode "What Happened?" to the movie The Hangover.
  • In "Road Tripp", Burger yells "Skateboard on the sidewalk, Zeke!"
• Small Name, Big Ego: Derek in spades, as he always focuses on himself more than the band.

  Derek: They're not chanting for Izzy. They're chanting for Derek!

  Crowd: Iron Weasel! Iron Weasel!

  Tripp: They're chanting Iron Weasel.

  Derek: Well, kid, you hear what you want to hear.

• The Smurfette Principle: Izzy is the only girl in the main cast.
• Stage Magician: Derek, much to his chagrin, used to be one and retains all of his skill.

• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Principal Jenkins from the second season is similar personality-wise to Principal Strickland from the first season.

• Teen Genius: Tripp, when it comes to playing the guitar.
• Title Drop: Towards the end of "Weasels On Deck" and complete with a partial one for The Suite Life on Deck.
  Tripp: So, you go to school on a ship?
  Cody: Yeah, it's a sweet life. You should join us!
  Tripp: Can't, I'm in the Band.

• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Arlene's cat Hip-Hop and her turtle Jazz.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Tripp, though that's only because his best friends are idiotic, childish, and lazy.

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