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INTERVIEW + FREE DOWNLOAD + SHOW at 529 on 2/4/16 :: The Fire Tonight (vinyl release ft. MC Logic!) w/ Bear Girl + Swank Sinatra + Plague of Pilgrims

by Adam Keen…
 
On Thursday, Feb 4th, The Fire Tonight will release their long awaited vinyl and perform with DC rapper MC Logic. We had a chance to speak to the band about their new music, the upcoming show and what has changed since we last spoke in late 2014.
 
The Interview (Free Download and Streaming below):
 
B: Has the lineup for The Fire Tonight changed at all since we last spoke (in 2014)?
 
Stephen: Nope! Just the three of us still. We’ve been holding steady since 2010!
 
B: Tell us about the new record. Why do you say “we finally have our sound on this new record…”?
 
Collin: We’ve been roaming around sonically since we started in 2007. We started with some decent alt rock, then moved to more of a classic rock feel, then we went weird/mono/a-little-lo-fi, then an album which sounded more like an mp3 player on shuffle, and now we’re here: a Zeppelin flavored piano trio of dudes who like prog and classical. And we’re not likely to stray far from here because we sound better than we ever have before.
 
B: How does this record differ from past albums?
 
Stephen: This is the first time we’ve recorded totally live, and we did it to analog tape. It was a really neat and challenging experience because you really have to nail everything. We also structured this record totally for vinyl instead of digital or CD, which was an interesting task to take on because there is so much more to think about like track order, mixing, and lead time for reproduction.
 
B: We asked you in 2014 (http://beatlanta.com/like-this-band-the-fire-tonight-w-members-from-atlanta-d-c-and-s-carolina-official-video-pics-and-more/) about what its like to play/make an album with musicians in different states – has anything changed? Have you found even more benefits, or come to dislike it? Do you tour – How does it affect touring?
 
Stephen: I feel like we are holding steady! Since I’m the only member not in Atlanta, I find myself in airports a lot.
 
Collin: Since Jesse moved to Atlanta it’s the first time we’ve ever had two members in the same city! It’s been helpful for logistics to coordinate two places instead of 3.
 
Jesse: I still enjoy getting Stevo’s outlandish rhythmic stuff in emails but it’s also been really refreshing to have the melodic and harmonic aspect shift from being over email to in person. The jokes fly like you wouldn’t believe and it’s really helpful to the process overall.
 
B: Staying on the location question…what is the process of putting together a song like for The Fire Tonight? Does one person come up with something and then you all add pieces? Or do each of you generally write a track for all to play? Or something else? Is there one lyric writer?
 
Collin: We’ve done this lots of different ways over the years. Our current method is that someone brings an unfinished idea to the group and we finish the music as a collective. It helps the final product feel like a group effort and, honestly, makes our songs much better. We all compromise some but end up with a product that is genuinely written by all three of us. I write 90% of the lyrics but occasionally Stephen or Jesse have some particularly dark emotions they need to get off their chest in a song.
 
Jesse: What Collin describes is essentially how we found our voice as a band, but in finding that we’ve also discovered that we’re moving forward to something much more organic. We’re actually really excited about a much more collaborative process for our next batch of music. Seems like we’re all comfortable enough now  with our individual voices to put all of them in a room and just go for it.
 
B: We have the track “Suckerpunch” available for folks to stream below. There is a lot going on in that track. Can you tell us a bit about the song? (Stream and Downlaod “Suckerpunch” for FREE here: https://soundcloud.com/the-fire-tonight/suckerpunch)
 
Stephen: Jesse wrote this one because he is a masochist and he hates us. We got back at him by agreeing to play a Ben Folds Five cover set when he knew none of the songs.
 
Collin: “Suckerpunch” is the sequel to ‘Facepunch’ on our album ‘How Could Anyone Do This?’. They’re meant to feel like being punched.
 
Jesse: I just love polyrhythms and fast licks. One day I’ll win these guys over. Or die from the amount of Ben Folds riffs I have to learn. Both will be a life well spent.
 
B: You also mentioned in our previous interview that you were going to work on perfecting your live piano sound – did that work out? How did it go?
 
Stephen: I think it’s been really great! We are probably ready to branch out into more weird effects and different sounds with that as the basis, but we have really enjoyed it. This album is definitely the culmination of that.
 
B: Tell us about the show on Feb 4th. How did you get that lineup? What can fans look forward to?
 
Stephen: For all of the vinyl tour shows I just contacted our very favorite bands in the area. We got really lucky in Atlanta because everyone said yes! I actually haven’t heard Bear Girl live, so I’m super excited about that. Swank Sinatra and Plague of Pilgrims have been personal favorites of mine for a long time.
 
Collin: The show is going to be amazing! Swank Sinatra has three talented dudes who understand how to entertain from the stage. Plague of Pilgrims, in addition to having the best band name, bring the feels. Bear Girl has some complex tunes that they pull off live really well. And we’ll be there too!
 

 
The Fire Tonight on FaCeBoOk
 
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