WESTERLY — Badfish, the Rhode Island-based band featuring Joel Hanks on bass, Scott Begin on drums, Pat Downes on vocals and guitar and Danny Torgersen on horns, keyboards, and guitars plan to stop by Paddy’s Beach Club next week on their “High With You” tour.
Badfish has been paying tribute to Sublime — the short-lived but influential California group that brought ska-punk and reggae-rock to the mainstream — for the last 22 years.
Now the band that has headlined theaters and sold out shows, and has played anywhere from 15-20 gigs a month, has released a few of their own songs which they plan to share when they visit Paddy’s.
“Putting out original music alongside being a tribute band has always been a point of interest to us,” said Begin in an email. “It’s been a tricky path to walk, though. Yet as the years have gone by and we’ve gotten to witness our little show turn into somewhat of a movement within the scene, we are at the point where we feel we have something of real heart and value to add not only to our show but to the American reggae scene.”
Music critic Mario Tarradell called Badfish “a vibe … a sonic house party complete with plenty of gyrating fans sipping libations and enjoying other various extra-curricular activities … Badfish is feel-good music.”
Along with Sublime staples “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Wrong Way” Badfish will intertwine groove heavy “High With You,” “Surf Party Lord,” “Trippin’,” and the in-your-face swagger of “FYPM,” Tarradell said in a story submitted to the Sun.
“The new tunes are vibrant, brimming with reggae beats and rock-punk strut,” he added. “Resistance is futile, you’re going to move.”
“With the kinetic energy that the band has amassed over years of performing, the ideas just started to flow out of the blue and we were lucky enough to capture them,” said Begin. “Perspective is a great tool in music composition, and we’ve got plenty of that by now. When it feels right, it feels right … and these songs sure feel right.”
Badfish will be playing the best of Sublime and the best of Badfish in concert July 26 and 27 at Paddy’s Beach Club, 159 Atlantic Avenue in Westerly. Tickets are $30-$40; 21 & over, please.
