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Eight years ago, Mike Vivas, Jason Miraglia, Frankie Pedano and Nick Anastasi were just your average South Philly boys — running around the neighborhood, attending the area’s private schools and occasionally getting into trouble.
Eight weeks ago, they were rubbing elbows with Prince, the Black Eyed Peas and Beyonc� at The Roots’ pre-Grammy part in Los Angeles.
The foursome are the music makers behind Fat City Reprise, the band Pedano, 24, Anastasi, 24, and Vivas, 20, formed five years ago in South Philly. Though many members have come and gone, the core group has stayed put in its birthplace.
It’s not easy to classify their genre — among the comparisons they gave were rock, soul and dance rock — but followers have no difficulty seeing their success has grown steadily.
In the beginning, the band members were working more than 50 hours a week at odd jobs — "eating jelly on crackers and not having any money at all," Anastasi said — performing and rehearsing at night in bars like now-shuttered Abilene, 429 South St.; Pyramid, where Pub on Passyunk East, 1501 E. Passyunk Ave., now sits; and Grape Street Pub in Manayunk. Today, they share a home in Queen Village and have just returned from California, where they toured and gained some serious attention thanks to an invitation by The Roots, another local band who had previously worked with Fat City’s management company, Mike Lowe Music. The Grammy winners, who are slated to play House of Blues in A.C. April 19, were impressed with Fat City after hearing their music through Lowe.
"We’re [at the pre-Grammy party], drinking free drinks that usually cost $15 at this club [Hollywood’s KeyClub] and then I’ll flash back to living [at 12th and Shunk streets] and think how did I get here?" Pedano said.
The answer, according to Anastasi, is persistence.
"Ever since we started the band, especially for the last two years, every day we wake up we play for an hour or two, then we start hitting e-mails, then we work on graphics, then we promote, then this, then that. Twenty-four hours a day we’re hustling trying to get it done, I think that’s what makes us successful," he said.
Fresh off their cross-country RV tour where they played at larger venues, mainly in California, the foursome are glad to be home. Next up is a May 3 show at The Fillmore at the TLA, 334 South St. They dubbed it a "coming home" performance that’s open to all ages, sure to draw the under-21 fan base that can’t attend shows put on in local bars. Likewise, fans on the opposite end of the age spectrum will no doubt be in attendance, as many followers are in their 60s and 70s, the members said.
"One good thing about the music we’re doing [is] it doesn’t really stick with a certain age group," Miraglia, 30, said. "It’s definitely universal."
The history of Fat City Reprise stretches back to the childhoods of all four members, who were connected in very separate ways. Pedano, who plays keyboard piano and sings, and Anastasi, who plays guitar, were classmates at St. Monica’s Elementary and St. John Neumann High schools, and neighbors in the 18th and Ritner streets area. While walking in the 2001 New Year’s Day parade, they met Vivas — who grew up at Ninth and Ritner streets and graduated from Bok Technical High School — playing the drums atop the Two Street String Band’s float. They were impressed and asked him to come jam with their yet-to-be-named band that mostly played covers.
In the years following, several members came and went for personal reasons. Five years ago, they adopted their name from Hunter S. Thompson, author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," who, while running for mayor of Aspen, Colo., in the 1970s, wanted to rename the town "Fat City" to deter rich investors from moving in.
"We thought that was really cool, and when we were starting the band, Philadelphia was voted the fattest city in the world. We were like, ‘Wow that’s crazy. We’re from Philly; Fat City’s a cool name,’" Pedano said. "And the ‘Reprise’ came from the meaning, ‘to bring something back.’ Philly has and always had such great music — we’re bringing Philly back to the spotlight."
Two years ago, Fat City’s drummer left. Online postings and inquiries all pointed to Miraglia, who grew up at 22nd and Jackson streets. The fellow Neumann grad had a network of friends that overlapped the band’s though they had never met.
"We always kept missing each other, just by a block," Pedano said.
Once the foursome were together, success became the unofficial fifth member. They started playing gigs at local bars — singing original songs — and put their music on MySpace, creating a global draw.
In August ’06, Fat City was featured on 93.3 WMMR FM’s "Local Shots" album and performed live on the radio.
Last May, they released their self-titled debut produced by their management company that has since sold close to 2,000 copies. After Pedano met manager Lowe at Abilene, he took them to The Studio on Seventh and Callowhill streets, where they put in two weeks recording followed by a week of finishing touches.
Refreshingly, the homespun songs pull inspiration from their own lives. "Long Gone" traces the overdose death of Pedano’s stepsister. "People Like You" and "You’re Fired" reflect on betrayal by friends.
Around the same time their album dropped, the band flirted with the idea of touring. They placed cold calls to venues, looking to set up concerts. In a few cities, they reached out to bands they met last August while auditioning for reality TV show "American Band" — similar to "American Idol," but for which Fat City did not make the cut.
"The Midwest is one of the best places for bands to go through right now," Anastasi said. "They’re all hardcore rock fans with nothing to do."
Fat City Reprise hit nine cities in three weeks last fall — from Philly to Omaha, Neb. — traveling in an RV packed with a few friends who lent a hand selling shirts, hats and posters. They returned to the area, played a few more shows and geared up for their next tour, which ran through March and was planned around the pre-Grammy party. While on the West Coast, they played several shows in and around L.A., where Miraglia said audiences seemed "really refreshed" by their music.
They plan to release another album in the coming months and possibly tour again, but were adamant they have no plans to relocate from their hometown, where they’ve received support since the beginning.
"They won’t lie to you. If you sound bad, they’ll tell you that you sound bad," Anastasi said of South Philadelphia’s rock fans. "If you can get applause in Philly, you can get applause anywhere."
"It’s a great feeling to go to some of the greatest places in our country, then come back here … and get the welcome we get," Pedano said. "It doesn’t feel like anywhere else, it definitely feels like home."
And the home of the foursome, who share their four-bedroom digs, is a center of inspiration and music. The space often doubles as a studio with sporadic rehearsals and non-stop work. Surprisingly, the close quarters have not given way to arguments, as the members say they balance each other out.
"In any band I think there’s going to be differences and disagreements, but [with us] it doesn’t lead to actual fighting," Miraglia said.
Added Vivas, "We try to keep the attitude of staying relaxed and calm. If we were all screaming at each other, we wouldn’t get anything done."
Contact Staff Writer Caitlin Meals at cmeals@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
