Papas Fritas
| Company type | Indie rock band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Papas Fritas (presented as pApAs fritAs) was an American indie rock ensemble founded in 1992, which produced three studio records before their dissolution in 2000. Their moniker, translating from Spanish as "fried potatoes" (equivalent to "French fries" in American English), also serves as a wordplay on "Pop has freed us," a phrase they adopted for their music publishing entity and a 2003 compilation album summarizing their career. A German band using the same name issued a single in 2006, frequently confused with the American group’s work.
History
Tony Goddess (guitar, vocals) and Shivika Asthana (drums, vocals) first connected during high school in Delaware and later enrolled at Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts, where they encountered Keith Gendel (bass, vocals). Starting as a casual campus act with self-released cassette tapes, by 1994 they had recorded a seven-inch single titled Friday Night under Sunday Driver Records and embarked on a nationwide tour. Their track "Smash This World" received airplay on college radio stations, prompting Chicago's Minty Fresh to sign them and release their eponymous debut album in October 1995.
Throughout 1996, they toured extensively alongside the Flaming Lips and the Cardigans. Their sophomore effort, Helioself, arrived in April 1997 and was followed by additional tours supporting the Cardigans, Blur, and Eels. In 1999, Donna Coppola (keyboards, percussion) and Chris Colthart (guitar) joined the touring ensemble to promote their third album, Buildings and Grounds, which was released in March 2000.
Following the tour cycle, Asthana pursued a master's degree in public health at Boston University, completed in 2002; Gendel relocated to Los Angeles to study architecture. Meanwhile, Goddess remained active musically—co-writing “Amsterdam” for Guster in 2003; collaborating on Bleu's Alpacas Orgling (2006); contributing to the Nickelodeon show Yo Gabba Gabba!; and producing or performing with Boston-based acts such as the Rudds and Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents.
In May 2011, Asthana, Goddess, and Gendel reunited for performances at European festivals and concerts in Boston, featuring Samantha Wood Goddess on keyboards. They subsequently appeared on Yo Gabba Gabba! in December 2013 performing the song "Home."
Discography
Albums
- Papas Fritas (1995)
- Helioself (1997)
- Buildings and Grounds (2000)
- Pop Has Freed Us (2003; compilation)
Singles
- "Friday Night" (1994; 7" only)
- "Passion Play" (1995; 7" and EP)
- "Wild Life" / "Afterall" (1995, Europe)
- "Hey Hey You Say" (1997)
- "Way You Walk" (2000, France)
- "Vertical Lives" (2000, Belgium)
- "Far From an Answer" (2000, Australia)
Self-distributed cassettes
- "Retards/Cowboys" (1993) containing early versions of songs later officially released on EPs and singles.
- "Careers for Culture Lovers" (1993) featuring tracks re-recorded for their debut album and EP.
- Untitled third cassette (1993) with material that appeared subsequently on early singles and albums.