A Fish Called Piranha
Vancouver-based A Fish Called Piranha
Vancouver-based A Fish Called Piranha began as a Mardi Gras project to perform live in front of 200,000 people at a summer event in 2007. It then evolved into a martial arts modern rock opera concept designed by brainchild Kwong Kok Heung (U-Turn, A Forever Sunday), with Forrest Rosenthal, Emil Stefan, Shawn Brown & various friends joining to perform it live.
After years in the indie ‘underground’ & a few solo releases (including the Skyjuice EP hitting #1 on HMV’s Alternative Indie Charts), Kwong teamed up with co-producer Sam Ryan (Krome, Destino) to record the long-awaited, “The Year Of The Fish”. And it was magical. As Kwong explains, “I’ve worked with a lot of producers in the past including Mike Plotnikoff (KISS, Cranberries), John Shepp (Matthew Good Band, GOB), and John MacLean (Limblifter) but there was a major vibe steaming from the sessions with Sam. The first day we met at a MusicBC Schmooze night, it was kismet. He called me up after & we were then in the studio together for almost 2 years! Also, I decided to record my personal favorite songs (not management’s) that I had written over the years that were never recorded. So, it’s sort of like a greatest hits package. I always wondered why I had never recorded Rome or Two if By Sky which the fans at our shows always went nuts over! I think I had pressure from management at the time to record pop, instead of the music which I love. After laying down the screams in Rome, I remembered Sam turning around immediately with inspiration madness in his eyes! And he said that there was something special with this and that we should keep going in this direction. We also got my good friend, celebrity chef Tojo Hidekazu to do a funny cameo, Eric Davis (The Left) for background vocals, and the incredible Shawn Meehan (Krome) to add some guitar textures. So, the whole recording process was insanely awesome!”
Whether performing solo acoustically or as a band, A Fish Called Piranha has taken this EP to a new level; a high watermark in what has already been a great career, marked by recognition from the CBC, Muchmusic & CTV. The time is now for A Fish Called Piranha!
10/12 The Year Of The Fish album release @ The Backstage Lounge (Vancouver)
10/16 House Of James, In-Store Performance and Autograph Signing (Abbotsford)
11/12 Vancouver, BC @ The Cellar (Vancouver)
11/19 Trees Organic Coffee House, Solo Acoustic Performance (Vancouver)
