I Will Carry On (Live)

drumfish was formed in 1992 by Alex Petty, Larry France, Neil Richardson and Aaron Bertoglio. From its inception, the band has always melded a wide variety of musical sounds, cultures and genres. This approach has led the band to develop a signature sound forged in the fires of cross genre innovation, harnessed by an acoustic modern rock feel.

The band has always focused on writing and distributing their original music. In 1997 drumfish released its self-titled first CD. Before long the band was attracting the attention of various record labels and playing venues all across the United States and Canada. As the excitement for the band grew, the demand for a follow up CD grew with it. The band released “Ra’s Zoo” in 1998 to critical acclaim.

In 1999, due to uncontrollable circumstances, the band parted ways before their full potential was realized. However, there was still unfinished business, a message that needed to be sent. There was more music that had to be created and shared. In 2000, a year after the official breakup, drumfish recorded their third CD. Not to be outdone by their earlier releases, “Under Under Hill” went on to win a nationwide song writing contest and receive the strongest praise from critics yet.

But this third CD remained dormant for nine years, without artwork, labeling or packaging. This weighed on the foursome leading to attempted reunions in 2005 and 2007. Finally, in early 2009, the band decided it was time to release this long overdue work.

While the band was preparing for the release of the 3rd CD, they began writing new music. The material the band wrote during this period was fresh and invigorating. drumfish was now writing at a new level and doing its best work yet. More than that, there was an underlying message emerging from this new music, a message carrying a call to action for needed change in the world. The new work is filled with images of light and life.

In early 2010, drumfish began recording its 4th CD at Assembly Line Studios near Washington, DC with double-platinum award winning and Grammy winning engineer, Kevin "131" Gutierrez. Around this time, the band signed up bassist James Hanford to fill the position left by departing bassist and founding member Neil Richardson. The band spent the spring and early summer recording new material and “Memoirs” was completed in early June. The group embarked on an international promotional campaign of the new record resulting in winning first place in an international song writing contest and having two other songs place in the top ten. It was also featured on CBS Radio, AOL Radio and received more than 100,000 plays on Jango Internet Radio.

Margie Lang-Garnhart on violin, which added a whole new dimension to the sound. Another new addition was bassist Graham Drew, who had previously worked with the band as a guitarist during the development of the material that would ultimately become “Memoirs”. Graham’s British bass styling and perfectly blended vocals filled out the band in a way not seen before.

The band added new bassist, Graham Drew, who had previously worked with the band as a guitarist during the development of the material that would eventually become “Memoirs”. Graham’s British bass styling and perfectly blended vocals filled out the band in a way not seen before. There was also a desire to capture the string elements that were done by studio musicians on the “Memoirs” record so Margie Lang-Garnhart was added on violin. She not only added a new linear element to the music but also able to help arrange parts for a string quartet.

After the success of “Memoirs”, the (now) quintet was searching for a way to make the next project even bigger. They decided to film a live concert DVD. That project, the fifth release by drumfish, became Five Live. The band released the combo HD DVD & Audio CD on January 18th, 2014. The sound of an energetic and participatory crowd can be heard throughout the songs. It is a fun concert that moves through various themes and settings, all performed and captured from a live recording.