Imagine standing on stage in front of approximately 20,000 people at the Wells Fargo Center during the notable eating contest of the year — Wing Bowl 21. After defeating four bands in WIP 94.1’s Battle of the Bands at McFadden’s, Voorhees-based band Brotherfish walked away from a 20-minute long competition and an appearance at the Wing Bowl.
Tom Yanno, keyboard/guitar player and founder of the band, said standing up on stage was the most exciting experience the band has ever faced.
He said the band is used to playing in local bars and clubs.
“It was unbelievable just to stand on stage and look out at the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center. It’s definitely an experience we will never forget,” Yanno said.
The band was formed a little more than two years ago. Yanno and his co-worker and the band’s bass player, Joe Archible, were tired of playing at open mic nights. They wanted to play their own music and not songs the crowd would call out.
“We started out trying to play nontraditional kinds of songs. Songs that you wouldn’t think to hear. We would play Nirvana, but wouldn’t play the popular songs,” Yanno said.
Brotherfish plays mostly cover songs when they are on stage. Songs such as The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout,” Cheap Trick’s “Surrender,” Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova” and more are on the band’s playlist.
Yanno said they try to add new cover songs to the list just “to keep it fresh.”
“There are certain songs that we will probably always play,” he said, adding that when it is time to create a set list for the gig, it’s a little difficult. But the group tries to switch it up now and then.
“The first set we like to warm up a little bit and get into it. Usually, in the second or third set, we really rock out,” he said.
Cover songs are not the only thing Yanno and the group is trying to throw into their set lists. The band is working on a few original songs.
“We have about five or six songs right now that are 90 percent done,” he said.
According to Yanno, the band members bring their own flavor to the recording studio. The group practices in Yanno’s basement in Voorhees, or their drummer’s house in Mt. Laurel.
“We each have our own touch. They are slightly different than the songs we cover,” Yanno said, adding the group may sound like a cross between Pink Floyd and Incubus, but “we kind of sound like Brotherfish.”
The band didn’t play any of their new songs at the Wing Bowl or at Battle of the Bands.
“We tried to pick the 10 best songs that we thought would flow, and really knock their socks off,” he said when asked about the set list at McFadden’s.
He said playing at Wing Bowl 21 was completely different than any other gig the band has played. Typically, Brotherfish is used to playing longer sets with no breaks. At the Wing Bowl, the band would play during commercials, which would last about five minutes.
“We would only play during commercials. We played about a song and a half and had to stop,” he said.
Yanno said since Brotherfish won the Battle of the Bands, they will automatically be entered in next year’s competition. As for Wing Bowl 22, Yanno expects to play those shorter sets in front of 20,000 people again.
“We will be back next year,” he said.
To find out more information on Brotherfish and the group’s next performance, visit www.brotherfishband.com. Check out a few of their songs on www.reverbnation.com/brotherfish.
