from the road - Mountain Stage!!!

We got together last wed. with Andrew Weir and Scott Tipping to get ready for Mountain Stage and to just get an overall rehearsal in for the first time with either of them. Was good to get everybody in the same room. Thanks to Tony SanFilippo for lending us Oxide Lounge for the evening. With one practice under our belts, we took off as a five piece band the following afternoon for the first of 4 shows on the short run.

It was a rainy night in Indianapolis, but a good time was had by all. Our friends Steepwater Band sounded great opening the evening. Good trio for sure. Good players, good guys. There was this older couple that I thought maybe were the parents of one of those guys. Turns out they lived in the area and had passed that club many times, but finally went in to see what it was all about. They stuck around front and center for our entire set. This couple was in their 70’s and kicking ass. Awesome. Proof you don’t have to stop having fun when you’re older.

We headed to Cincinnati the next night to play the Southgate house. Cool venue, brutal load in. I’m still sore. Long haul with lots of stairs. We played this small parlor room that felt like an old living room. The house itself that the parlor was in was built in the early 1800’s. The fucking Tommy gun was invented on the premises. Anyway, we sold out the room and they turned away a bunch of folks as well. So we’ll headline the big room next time. Earlier that day we played a short live set on WNKU. This is a station that has actually been playing us on a daily basis. The staff over there voted Places as the best record of 2008! So they dig the Tire Fire and I think had a good bit to do with us selling that room out. The power of radio. Thanks NKU!

Knoxville, TN with our good friends Bloodkin. This is the second time we’ve played down there, the first time opening for Squirrel Nut Zippers about 5 or 6 months ago. A slow night at Barleys, but both bands brought it and we all had fun. We’ll be doing more shows with those guys in a couple of weeks. I’ve had a certain guitar melody of theirs in my head since this night. Can’t get it out. I dig Bloodkin. And you should too!


So we got up early in Knoxville and did the 5 hour drive to Charleston, WV to make our debut on the legendary nationally syndicated radio program Mountain Stage. It was everything we wanted it to be. I’ve been a fan of that show since living down in NC and was ecstatic when I found out we got the gig. You have be invited to Mountain Stage. First class operation from the second we showed up. The staff was helpful and extremely complimentary. The sound crew were pro. The Mountain Stage house band was on fire. In fact they do a finale song at the end of the program and Scott and I got to get out there and play with the house band and members of the Gourds and others on the song Six Days on the Road. I was a blast! Larry Groce himself sang the first verse. He’s the host and man behind 20+ years of Mountain Stage. Kevin from the gourds sang the second verse and did the third. Our set went well and we got a tremendous response from the audience. You can listen for yourself. I think it airs nationally during the second week of June.


After we loaded out we went to hear Michael’s band the Carpenter Ants at the Empty Glass down the street. Michael is the guitar player in the house band and a badass player/writer. Tim met a guy that had seen us before after the show who volunteered to cover all of our beers at the bar. Old Blue let him know that he didn’t realize what he was signing up for and our friend pulled a couple bills out of his wallet and assured tim it wasn’t a problem. So for the remainder of the evening we were double fisting Buds and listening to one of the best bands I have ever heard, especially in a small bar. This band was on fire! A good honky tonk band had the tough task of following those cats. They were called Wayword Drifters I think. They did a fine job as well. Stumbled to the hotel and after an 8 hour drive and Cub victory the following day, we were home. Fun little run. And by the end of it the 5 piece was starting to feel pretty damn good. Get out and see some of these upcoming shows. This is a nasty line up we’ve got going right now.

Cheers. And go CUBS!!!!!
Ed

stuck in NC w/ a sick transmission

All photos taken at The Hummingbird Macon, GA 3/17/2009
courtesy of Adam Smith www.adamsmithphotography.com

got some time on my hands, so i figured i'd bring everybody up to speed with what's been happening in the world of the tire fire. currently we a dropping a bunch of cash into a sick transmission in Asheville, NC., but i'll get back to that bullshit. first i wanna fill you in on the new album. a few weeks ago matt and tim and i flew out to portland, OR with guitars and a snare drum and some cymbals to make a record with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos.

we booked a couple of weeks at a saloon/venue/hotel called the White Eagle a few blocks from the studio. this i believe is the oldest bar in portland. the upstairs hotel used to be a brothel. 15 rooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 showers. matt and i on bunk beds and old blue on an air mattress. tiny room that had a foul smell by the time we left. the first night there the White Eagle had an open mic. Berlin came out, had some drinks, we talked about the record and what tune we'd start with and eventually we played the open mic. i assured steve we wouldn't get too sloppy as he departed, but that didn't really work out. we were all so excited to be there in the situation, the Rainer beers were flowing. needless to say matt and i weren't feeling very well the next morning heading into the studio. we worked about 12 hours and realized what we were in for.

joining steve behind the board engineering the record was Jeff Saltzman. he's worked with steven malkumus, death cab for cutie, the decemberists, etc. both steve and jeff have phenomenal ears and rode us hard. not many takes were acceptable on the first crack. or the second or the third. i left that studio exhausted and elated every evening. it was hard work, but worth every second. anything could be changed at any time. "tune the guitar a step lower and relearn it and let's roll again." "this song needs a bridge." "play with 5% more aggression." "how about a key change at the end?" "can you tune up again?" this went on for about two weeks and the result is fantastic. those guys really helped shape this record and it's the best thing we've ever done, easily. not sure when it comes out, but i can't wait for folks to hear it.

All photos taken at The Hummingbird Macon, GA 3/17/2009
courtesy of Adam Smith www.adamsmithphotography.com

so every night after the session, we'd walk back to the white eagle and drink Rainer. in fact they ordered an additional 10 cases after our first night in town. then we'd get up and do it all over again. got into a real routine you know. knew every bartender at the eagle, the housekeeper, cooks. it was an ideal set up for us. shit, they'd even let us listen to the rough mixes at the bar late night to hear what we'd done all day. hung out with our friend justin a good bit, helped him move on our off day. thanks to him for all the rides and everything like that. matt and i got a chance to catch up with our cousin and her husband and baby and ate delicious indian food and homemade chocalate cake. charles is a hell of a cook.

worked real late the last night. berlin was hearing something and he wasn't gonna quit until he was satisfied with a certain guitar tone on something we had listened to hours before. pretty amazing really. all the gear is put away. we've loaded up his van. the studio has been cleaned. headsets put away. and late into the evening he's unloading amps and carrying them up two flights and setting stuff back up. one of the coolest cats i've come across. he cares a lot about the records he makes and that shines through in these sessions. so a big thanks to Steve Berlin and Jeff Saltzman for all of their hard work. and thanks to tim and matt for making adjustments on the fly and being so easy to work and live with. berlin picked us up in front of the white eaglethe next morning, drove us to the airport, saving us a $50 cab, we exchanged hugs and were on our way.

All photos taken at The Hummingbird Macon, GA 3/17/2009
courtesy of Adam Smith www.adamsmithphotography.com

okay. back to the van bullshit. we've just finished a short tour through the southeast which included stops in macon, savannah & athens, ga, asheville, nc, and greenville, sc. the last three nights with our good friends Bloodkin. great to see and hear those guys. i first got hip to them when i was down in athens. i used to work with Eric Carter at the Georgia Bar. eric plays guitar (like keith richards). he was in bad shape when i was around. he's cleaned up and is a different person and is playing better than ever! unreal. night and day. so those guys are on it these days. they'll be playing before us at a number of shows coming up in the midwest. not to be missed.

anyway, while traveling between athens and asheville we noticed a smell and some "check engine" stuff had been happening for a day or so. pulled off and nick deducted it was transmission related. rented a mini van for the next show and played bloodkin's gear (thanks again guys) and headed back to asheville to pick up the beast. put Scott Tipping on a 20 hour bus trip so he wouldn't miss any gigs and here we sit. we're told we'll be moving by tomorrow afternoon. we'll see.

All photos taken at The Hummingbird Macon, GA 3/17/2009
courtesy of Adam Smith www.adamsmithphotography.com

regular season baseball begins in 2 weeks and i couldn't be more excited. baseball is back. go cubs. see you all at a show...cheers,Ed

p.s. my email was down while we were in the studio, so if i didn't email you back, it wasn't on purpose :-)