Give someone a fish and they will eat for a day; give them a dose of The Wet Fish however, and they’ll boogie 'til their fins fall off.
Whether it's freshwater, salt water or plain old tap water, The Wet Fish know how to whip up a wave with their catch-of-the-day renditions of classic '50s and '60s surf rock.Swimming along happily for many years as an instrumental setup, The Wet Fish have evolved over the past year or two, writing original songs and incorporating vocals for the first time.
It's a whole new kettle of fish for a band largely known for instrumental covers, bringing the shoal into uncharted waters, led by Brendan Murphy.
A line was cast, the bait was taken and we managed to catch Brendan and reel him in for an interview. Don't worry, we're all about catch-and-release; he'll be fine.
So, wax up the board and throw out a sweet "shaka, bruh!" as we take a gnarly ride with Brendan through the strange waters of The Wet Fish.
We last spoke in January 2019 – the band had been busy with shows and babies; how does that compare with your experiences in 2020/21?
Well, it's just the bassist Tim who is busy with a young family right now. After COVID wiped all of our bookings, we decided to take ten months off gigs between March 2020 and January 2021.
Live work in 2021 has been pretty constant and we're hoping it'll eventually get back to the way it was a few years ago.
Any new faces onboard?
Our excellent drummer Jasper is our 'newest' face, but he's been around for a while now. He played his first gig with us at the Caxton St Seafood Festival in 2016. We've had a few line-up changes over the years but after hundreds of gigs and plenty of fine-tuning, we feel we're playing our best shows yet.
Once an instrumental act, The Wet Fish have recently undergone a foundational change by adding much more vocal material. Tell us about the new approach?
Correct, we were an all-instrumental act for our first six years. In early 2019, we finally decided to start adding vocals to the repertoire. We now have over 70 vocal songs (including our new originals).
We still love playing instrumentals too. The band was in need of a shake-up and it was getting more challenging to keep up lots of live work as an instrumental act.
From day one, some venues and events just weren't prepared to give an all-instrumental band a shot. Sometimes inebriated punters would carry on a bit between the songs with 'where's the bloody singer?' crap. They taught us an important lesson – don't have gaps between the songs.
How have fans responded to the shift?
Fans and audiences have responded very well. I think some of our regulars needed a bit of a change, like ourselves. We only had one diehard '60s surf fan who was disappointed with the addition of vocals.
The Wet Fish have been very active in the studio, releasing two albums in 2020/2021. What was it like getting back into writing and recording mode after focussing on live performances for so long?
It was a lot of fun to write and record again, but it was kind of forced on us because of the whole COVID situation. We released 33 original tracks in under 12 months, and that couldn't have happened with regular live work consuming us on the weekends.
Speaking of live shows, you've got a big run of live shows coming up, it must be nice getting back onstage after last year?
It's been great to get back to gigs. We decided to return in January and then our first show was cancelled due to a last minute lockdown! We've got a lot of bookings for the remainder of the year, so it'll be good to feel like 'working musicians' again. Fingers crossed we don't lose them all like we did in 2020.
What do the music-loving public need to know about The Wet Fish live shows?
Well, it's usually about 75 per cent vocal material now and that's mostly rock & roll stuff that blends in nicely with our surf instrumentals.
We do play some well-known selections, but we still like to resurrect the more obscure gems too. We've always aimed to play fun music that's upbeat and danceable, and nothing has changed with the addition of vocals and a new repertoire.
What inspires a Wet Fish original track?
Politics, current events, the challenges of modern society and the world we live in. Kidding, you can bet it's definitely none of that stuff! I write the lyrics and I'm inspired by many things, but never anything too deep. A lot of it is written with tongue firmly in cheek, but I'm probably the only one that's amused.
I previously suggested a song called 'Fishin' Impossible' – any progress?
I'll tell you what Matt – if you're still interviewing us in ten years time then you'll be the first to receive an autographed album copy of 'Fishin' Impossible'.
The Wet Fish are obviously known for their repertoire of '50s/ '60s surf and spy rock. With the new setup, do you still give some love to the classic songs?
Yeah, we sure do. The Wet Fish will always cover and 'revive' music from that era. It's been our shtick since we started, and we've got no desire to change it.
However, the original songs on our albums sound very different to the '50s/ '60s music that we cover. It is original music after all.
'Misirlou' and 'Apache' get into a fight – who wins?
It's got to be 'Misirlou' for me. Even though 'Apache' is much easier to play! Over the years, 'Apache' has been one of our most-requested covers. I discovered surf music in my teens through the American stuff and I never realised how popular The Shadows actually are in Australia.
Finish this sentence: 'One fish, two fish. . .'?
Three fish and no more. We're a three-piece now.
The Wet Fish 2021 Tour Dates
Fri 9 Jul - Felons Barrel Hall (Brisbane)Sun 18 Jul - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Sun 25 Jul - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Sat 31 Jul - Tewantin Noosa RSL (Sunshine Coast)
Sat 7 Aug - Mt Gravatt Street Food (Brisbane)
Sun 15 Aug - The Wallaby Hotel (Gold Coast)
Fri 27 Aug - The Walrus Club (Brisbane)
Sat 4 Sep - Mt Gravatt Street Food (Brisbane)
Fri 10 Sep - Suzie Wongs Good Time Bar (Brisbane)
