Get to know Papafish. One of the Top 3 Finalists in #MarleyUprising.
Sonicbids : Where did your band name come from?
Nancy Rae: (singer) I was on vacation in Lake Tahoe, we were in desperate need of a band name because we had some shows coming up and didn’t know what to call ourselves yet. While brainstorming over the phone I was wearing pajamas with fish all over them and somehow we came up with the name PapaFish.
Greg: (guitarist) The name definitely grew on us and our fans seem to love it so we are happy with the way it all came together.
Sonicbids: What advice would you give to bands who are trying to increase their fan base?
Greg: I would tell people to always think outside the box when looking to engage people and utilize social media in a creative way to keep people talking about you. With all of the social media outlets available to everyone today I think it is really amazing how people all over the world are able to connect with a band and their music, in spite of physical distance. We really enjoy doing live feed shows so that our fans who are physically far away can still tune in and get the full experience.
Nancy Rae: “I agree with Greg, staying on top of the latest social media is extremely important. I also suggest researching bands you relate to yourself and see what types of marketing they use, study the way bigger bands reach out to their fans. As a band we are constantly researching ways to spread our music, the more you learn the more you can utilize in your own life.
Sonicbids: If you were stranded on a desert island with only ONE musician to listen to who would it be?
Greg: If I were stuck on a deserted island I would definitely need Bob Marley’s positivity there with me. I already listen to his music on a daily basis so it wouldn’t be far out of my usual routine haha
Nancy Rae: It entirely depends on the type of deserted Island I was on. If it was a situation where I only had a few days to live I also would want Bob’s music there with me to carry me through or fight to survive. I could imagine being upset being on a deserted island, I would need the strength of people I look up to and the type of music that pumps me up and gives me hope. If I could choose to have a personal mixed CD on that island it would consist of Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman, Alanis Morissette, Pink Floyd, Sublime and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Sonicbids: What was your favorite thing about performing at the Sierra Nevada festival?
Greg: The overall atmosphere of the festival was amazing; It’s hard to pin point one favorite thing. Working with the Marley’s Mellow Mood crew and connecting with new fans are definitely two huge highlights for me personally.
I would say for the band as a whole that the opportunity alone was a big highlight, we gained so much together through this experience.
Nancy Rae: The festival in its entirety was amazing. The people were great, weather was great and to be able to play alongside so many amazing performers that we look up to really made it that much more memorable. One of my favorite parts of being at a festival, besides playing on stage ourselves, is to watch all of the other acts and to learn from those who are more experienced. Stephen and Damian Marley really brought a high energy and strong presence to the stage. I love watching how each performer delivers their message and connects with their audience, festivals are places that inspire and grow the creativity in others. I am grateful every time I step out onto a stage and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival was a very special experience.
Sonicbids: How has Sonicbids impacted your music career?
Nancy Rae: Sonicbids continuously helps our band earn amazing opportunities by connecting us to people searching for acts. We have been booked for many shows through Sonicbids and each show benefited us greatly. The Marley’s Music Uprising contest brought our band into the lives of so many new people, we can not believe how fast our fan base is growing and how many people are contacting us because of the competition. No one in the band came from any big connections, we are all financially strained musicians and we built this band from the ground up so this opportunity is exactly what we needed to take ourselves to the next level. We are far beyond grateful for all of the exposure Mellow Mood and Sonicbids is bringing to our growing band.
Greg: What I love the most about Sonicbids is the EPK feature. Even when we are not specifically using it for shows posted on Sonicbids we are able to send it out to opportunities presented outside. Self managed bands like us have a lot on our minds between, writing, booking and playing shows, recording and keeping on top of our social media. To have a website like Sonicbids where we can keep everything organized and professionally presentable is really amazing. This entire contest is such a special opportunity for PapaFish and I am thankful every minute. You really have some tough days as an independent artist, it is a labor of love to be in a band, so when you get that chance you have been waiting for things start to really come together. I believe that Sonicbids and Marleys Mellow Mood coming together to create such amazing competition for underdog bands really gives hope not only to the bands involved but everyone else watching who are also grinding it out every day to make their passion and dreams a reality.”
Sonicbids: If you could tell your fans one thing that they don’t know about you what would it be?
Band as a whole: Every member in the band comes from different backgrounds of music. Nancy loves 90s “angry chick” music (Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Meredith Brooks etc.), Greg (guitarist) comes from classic rock background, Tony (saxophone) grew up listening to Jazz, Dante (bass) and Seth (percussion) are both largely into metal/hard rock, and Jason (drummer) pretty much loves anything that’s catchy.
Nancy Rae: “hmm this is a tough one, I guess that not many people know that my favorite hobbies are scuba diving and ceramics, I LOVE vegetarian Indian food and I have a degree in psychology.”
Greg: “I LOVE video games, huge video game nerd at heart.”
