It all started in Laramie, Wyoming at Ann’s Pawn Shop with a little guitar and a girl who decided to teach herself how to play.
“I started playing music my sophomore year of college at UW. I was always intrigued by songwriting,” Alysia Kraft, the front woman of band The Patti Fiasco, said.
Now she has been playing guitar and writing her own songs for about eight years. The band is coming up on nine years together and do not plan on stopping there.
“That’s like 900 years old in band years,” Kraft joked.
The band originated one night at Coal Creek when Kraft was playing at open mic night and met fellow musician Dee Tyler. The two began playing at the local Farmer’s Markets and in her garage when Tyler decided to call up a few friends to try and rehearse a full-band set.
“We had a fun first gig and the ball started rolling from there,” Kraft said.
The band now consists of Niles Mischke on the bass who joined in 2010, Ansel Foxley on the dobro who entered the group in 2011, Peter Knudson on drums who joined in 2013, and its two original members with Kraft on vocals and Tyler as lead guitarist. Together they create a rock and roll style with a western influence as Kraft described it.
“We’ve been jokingly calling it, ‘twang and bang,’” Kraft said about their genre.
It seems to be the perfect match-up to the band they will be opening for on March 14 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
“Everyone and their mom has heard of Bon Jovi,” said Kraft. “It’s pretty crazy s—.”
As to how the band got the opportunity to open for Bon Jovi, Kraft said it was actually her own mom who convinced her to enter the online competition. The submission was through the group Live Nation and the Bon Jovi Opening Act Contest. Kraft said out of thousands of bands that entered the contest, Live Nation picked 10 finalists and Bon Jovi’s management ultimately selected The Patti Fiasco.
“This is a huge exposure opportunity and definitely our biggest, most exciting show yet,” Kraft said. “I’m so excited. Just ready.”
Although the venue is going to produce an audience almost double the size of The Patti Fiasco’s biggest shows, the band is prepared. Their 2013 album “Small Town Lights” generated great success for the band. They received a Wyoming Public Radio’s Best Regional Album award, and a FoCoMA’s Best Album award that year and landed in Colorado’s top 10 most-played records list. While they are a big hit in Colorado, the band recognizes that its origins are in Wyoming.
“The subject matter for the songs comes mostly from my own experience and a lot of that is rooted in my upbringing in Wyoming,” Kraft said.
The band visits Wyoming often for performances knowing that it gets passed over a lot with other band’s tours and because of the great experiences they have had here.
“We’ve had, and continue to have some of our best shows in Wyoming. The energy is always off the hook and I think both the crowd and the band leave those shows feeling really good,” Kraft said. “It’s nice to be able to share some pride in where you’ve come from, what makes you unique in this big crazy world. That connection always happens with the Wyoming crowds.”
The band described their performances as fun, energetic and cathartic. They will be back in Wyoming to play at the Cowboy Saloon on May 5 for a big Cinco de Mayo party as Kraft described it.
The show in Laramie will be their first appearance after the performance with Bon Jovi. They will also be releasing a new single and music video in May, their first release after their album “Saved by Rock and Roll” last year.
“I hope music gets to be a big part of all of our lives forever, continues connecting us to people all over the world, and that it takes us on a million more adventures like this one,” Kraft said. “As long as those things are happening, I’ll be satisfied,”
