A quickie with … Underpaid Packy

Winning best student band at the 2008 WPGU Local Music Awards, Underpaid Packy has quickly made their music heard in the year or two that they have been playing together in CU. With the April release of their debut album, Tales From a 5th Street Roof, along with their commitment to Canopy Club this summer to headline a show every other week, we here at buzz thought it necessary to get more familiar with the band and their music.
buzz: Before you started working on Tales From a 5th Street Roof you were mostly a cover band. How does having original material change your performances?
Underpaid Packy (UP): For awhile it didn’t get much better than playing covers and having the audience digging them, but over time people we didn’t even know really got into our originals and started requesting them. It’s much more exciting for us to have people enjoying our music than them enjoying other artist’s music that we cover.
buzz: You guys started off about a year and a half ago playing bar gigs but are now booking actual music venues. Are shows any different playing on stage rather than in the corner of a bar?
UP: At a venue like Canopy, you have a fan base that comes out specifically to see you. When we played at bar gigs, we just relied on the drunk people that showed up and enjoyed the music just because it’s there.
buzz: What is your favorite place to play in CU?
UP: Canopy Club. There’s a good atmosphere there and they’re really nice to us. They’ve been helping us out a lot and have given us regular shows this summer, every fortnight or every other week. They’ve given us a certain responsibility or learning experience, letting us recruit our own openers so we can start trading shows with these bands outside of CU.
buzz: How would you describe the audience that you have established in CU?
UP: Hippie-dance crew — very lively people that like to drink. Canopy told us they like having us because the audience is all over 21. We like the people that dance at shows, they give the energy, letting us feed off of the crowd and then in return they feed off of us.
With plans to record a new album this summer, Underpaid Packy continues to establish their own identity, relying no longer on bar gigs and cover songs to get their music out. Make sure to check them out at the Canopy Club on Friday at 9 p.m.

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