Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Fish.
Hi Drew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started playing music at a very young age. Looking back, I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t playing an instrument. My entire family is musical and playing an instrument was something that you just did. Both my paternal and maternal grandmothers sang opera and my dad played piano. Growing up, whenever my dad would start playing piano, it wouldn’t be long before all of the kids would be next to him singing. Every year at Christmas, my grandmother would bring her accordion over and we would walk through the neighborhood singing Christmas carols at all of the neighbor’s houses. Natalie Maines moved in a couple of houses down from us when I was in middle school. Over the years, our families had become friends. Around 7th grade, our family got invited to a New Years party with them and Natalie’s dad, Lloyd Maines, heard me singing to my dad playing piano. Unaware of who Lloyd was at the time, I didn’t understand his comment that night when he told me that I should get a band together. When I got to high school, Cory Morrow had invited our family to one of his shows in east Texas and had me on stage to play a song with him. Overcome by the rush of playing live music for a crowd, I decided that I wanted to put a band together. I started off playing acoustic at El Arroyo on 5th street, where Curtis Grimes and I met and became friends. Once we got into college, we got a residency at Blind Pig on 6th Street and were playing fraternity parties across the south at all of the schools that our friends went to.
When we decided to put out our first record, I reached out to Lloyd to see if he could set us up with someone to produce it. He introduced us to Adam Odor who brought us in and really taught us how to be a professional band. Adam not only taught us how to tighten up the band and make the music sound more professional but also taught us industry etiquette, how to network, and that work ethic is one of the most important things to success. When we went into the studio to record our second record, I had asked Curtis if we could cut a song that he had written with Byron Hill and Roger Brown called Sounds Like A Plan. That song was not only our first top 3 radio single, but it also introduced me to Roger and Byron who have become incredible friends and mentors. Through them, I have met a lot of the guys that wrote the songs that I grew up listening to, many of whom have since become co-writers with me on songs. Our last record, Wishful Drinkin’, that we released includes five songs that I wrote with Roger, two songs that I wrote with Byron, two songs that I wrote with Curtis, and songs with Tommy Conners, Brandon Steadman, Rick Garoutte, and Chris Colston. Sounds Like A Plan opened a lot of doors in radio for us also. It was the first song that we had chart in the top 20 (peaking at #3), it was the song that landed us our radio promoter (Tami Millspaugh), and it set us up for the four #1 radio singles that we have achieved since.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Avoiding the obvious (COVID), there are many struggles that bands go through that most people don’t see. In order to put on a show, you need a band that is skilled and knows the songs. When people get sick or have emergencies, you have to be prepared and have other musicians on standby then find someone that isn’t busy when you call with short notice. Especially with musicians who play instruments that are more scarce and a large number of bands in the area, this can be challenging. In addition, a band is a small business and, just like any other small business, the infant stages of the company create a lot of problem solving to generate enough revenue to cover the costs of having qualified employees (musicians in this case) and market yourself appropriately so that you can grow. As you grow, certain things become easier, but there are always new challenges that present themself. Also, anyone who has been on the road knows transportation issues that arise. Cars have blowouts, trailers break axles, airplanes get delayed… Some of the least visible struggles that musicians go through is maintaining relationships and socializing with family and friends. Most of the world works on a Monday through Friday work schedule, while we generally work on a Thursday through Sunday work schedule. This causes us to miss birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, funerals… This has broken up a lot of bands and caused many musicians to get off the road and change career paths. Most of the bands that are able to overcome this do so by setting aside time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think of our music as a modern take on 90’s country. With the exception of a handful of artists, a lot of the sound and songwriting style that I grew up listening to has disappeared in music that is currently being released. I think that we have done a great job of taking the songwriting approach of the 90’s and making it ours. When you listen to a Randy Travis song, you don’t have to ask who it is. When you listen to a Brooks and Dunn song, you don’t have to ask who it is. I think that we have done a good job at making it where you can hear a Drew Fish Band song and don’t have to ask who it is. We have made a sound that is unique to us.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
One of the most underutilized parts of the music industry is the network and community of people you meet along the way. Every person that you meet is not only a friend but someone that is usually willing to help. Every company that you work with is also an opportunity for a relationship. Frank Jackson at Smith Music distributes our music both physically and digitally and Mitch Ballard is the Austin rep for songwriters at BMI. Frank and Mitch are some of the best networkers that I know. They are both always introducing people and making connections to benefit artists. If you are ever in a write with another artist or songwriter, ask them if they could recommend anyone that you should write with that you may not know. You likely have someone that you could introduce them to as well. When you’re talking with artists, ask them what they are doing that is working for them and tell them what has been working for you. Unlike most other industries, artists aren’t mutually exclusive. If someone likes my music, it doesn’t mean that they can’t like another artist. In fact, it’s actually the opposite. If one artist is constantly talking about another artist, their fans are most likely going to be curious and look up the other artist’s music.
Contact Info:
- Email: manager@drewfish.com
- Website: www.drewfish.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/drewfishband
- Facebook: facebook.com/drewfishband
- Twitter: twitter.com/drewfishband
- Youtube: youtube.com/drewfishband
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@drewfishband
Image Credits
April and Amy Rankin Kathryn Fish Gabe Muniz Larry Pena
