Fisher Street

Biography
For press kit bio click here
For a list of venues we've played click here

The FISHER STREET Band started in the Spring of 2006 when two music business majors (Eric Finland and Nick O'Kelly) and a theatre major (Justin Dionne) met at a local “open mic” at Las Palmas Restaurant and Bar located on Fisher Street in Salisbury, NC. Finland, a pianist since age 6, and O'Kelly, a growing bassist, were musicians that had been playing around in Jazz duets and trios and participated in the modern rock ensemble at Catawba College, where they attended school along with Dionne. Dionne was a local Salisburian who had been performing in Salisbury since he was in high school, both as an actor and as a singer/songwriter. When the three decided to start playing together they enlisted the talent of a well-known orchestral percussionist (Jennie Brooks). Finland and O'Kelly had played with her in several trios. Dionne had known Brooks for over 3 years; she had played percussion in several of the musicals he had acted in. The four banded together and started playing small shows. Some of the songs included the Dionne originals "Proclamation", "Kiss", and "Dream" as well as the Finland original "Blanket". At that time, they named the band FALSTAFF.

That summer, Dionne and Finland met up and played a small acoustic set in Falls Church, Virginia. The show was a great success and the club owner wanted them back with the full band! FALSTAFF, with a fill in bassist (Dan Hazard), played at Bangkok Blues in Falls Church, VA in August of '06. After the success of the show, Dionne and Finland played another acoustic set, turning heads at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA.
That fall, after returning to Catawba, the band saw the first change in the line up. Bass player Nick O'Kelly had to leave the band for personal reasons allowing for Dan Hazard to jump on the team. Dan had thoroughly enjoyed playing with the band in Virginia and fit the band like a glove. His style brought a groovy, funky bass to the already interesting mix.
The band started to play more shows throughout the fall, obtaining support from not only the student body and faculty of Catawba, but from local crowds and businesses in and around Salisbury. In December, they decided it was time to record. They decided to “keep it local” and record with native Salisbury producers Jerod Jacobs and Domenic Sabol at AVA Recording Studio. Because of copyright concerns, the band changed their name to FISHER STREET, the name of the street where they first met. The “In The Background of the World” EP was released in February 2007 to a crowd of over 300 people at Las Palmas Restaurant and Bar where everything had first started.
While recording their EP, they asked another Catawba musician (Therron Causey) to help them by coming in and playing saxophone. They enjoyed his performance so much that they asked him to join the band full-time.
During the spring of ‘07, armed with a full groove sound, the FISHER STREET Band started spreading out around NC, playing at renowned venues such as Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem, The Evening Muse in Charlotte, and The Cave in Chapel Hill. The Band decided it was time to give the dream a try and in July of 2007 FISHER STREET embarked on their first tour experience. They played for intimate crowds as small as 6 and as big as 600 in bars, clubs, and concert venues in NC, VA, and MD. The tour covered 9 cities, 10 venues, 26 days, and over 2300 miles. The band found a new sense of cohesiveness through their countless hours spent on the road writing, rehearsing and having fun. It was a great success.
The band is continuing to grow both as musicians and in their fan base. After over a year of playing and growing they look forward to returning home for the fall and playing as much as possible.