Badfish Tickets

 
 
Badfish is essentially a tribute band to the Long Beach-based ska punk group Sublime from New England. The group takes its name from a song that appeared on the album titled 40oz. to Freedom. Formed at the prestigious University of Rhode Island in 2001 by computer science majors, the band started performing across local Rhode Island clubs, soon making its way into playing sold-out shows. They went on to tour the Midwest and East Coast of the US, gaining popularity among college campuses as well as among Sublime fans who had not been able to see Sublime since it disbanded in 1996.
 
Badfish has been performing live shows since then while it has also carried out many national tours every year. In 2008, the group received a nomination for a Boston Music Award in the category of Best Tribute Act. In 2006, they performed more than a hundred and fifty shows throughout the US, selling nearly a hundred thousand Badfish tickets, grossing more than a million dollars in sales. The band members also perform in a non-tribute group known as Scotty Don’t that is often made the show opener at Badfish: Tribute to Sublime concert. In 2009, the group played at the famous Hoodwink festival after which they performed in Salem’s Shwagstock in 2010.
 
Tribute band Sublime was formed in 1986, but dissolved following the death of its lead singer Bradley Nowell in 1996. However, by 2009, it resurfaced under the title of Sublime with Rome, with a new lead vocalist Rome Ramirez. Badfish has started playing their music before the band came back. The four-member band currently comprises of Joel Hanks as bassist, Scott Begin as drummer, Pat Downes as guitarist and vocalist, and Dorian Duffy as guitarist and keyboardist. Previous members fo the grou include Ben Schomp who was part of the original lineup as guitarist, keyboardist and horn-player, and quite in 2009. Another original member is Dave Ladin, guitar and vocalist who left them in 2006.  Bassist Hanks has frequently expressed pride in the fact that the group has been able to stick around for over a decade now.
 
While several tribute bands comprise of diehard fans impersonating their inspirational source, according to Hanks, this is not the way it is with Badfish. At the time of the band’s formation, the members were not aware of that many tribute groups, coming together merely because they felt that many Sublime fans had not gotten to see the band perform live and playing their songs seemed to be quite an opportunity.
 
The PromoWest Productions’ promotion manager Mike Hunter, has reported that the company has done well with Badfish, which tends to bring out the younger, party lot. They play concerts in Columbus once or twice a year, and it is usually a great show. Regarding the band’s progress, their publicist Mike Farley describes how he has seen the quartet grow so rapidly within a short while; its audience expanded at a very quick pace and to high levels such that the group has continued to being the most popular in the country regardless of it being a tribute or non-tribute band. Farley considers their sound to be sonically quite close to the ‘real thing’, gather gigantic crowds of dedicated Sublime fans. For him the most exciting element of the group’s success is how it has done so well on an indie level, gaining such a dedicated following with each performance.
 
 
Badfish is not rigid about singing strictly Sublime covers, and has been noted for playing those by the heavy metal English band Led Zeppelin, reggae singer-songwriter Bob Marley, and Los Angeles-based punk rock group Bad Religion, among many other acts. It is no wonder they have been associated with a mix of various genres including alternative rock, reggae, dub and ska punk. Badfish performances are a must-see with their fun, party-like ambience, so make sure you grab some cheap Badfish tickets in time.