In the time I’ve been writing about these guys here on ninebullets they’ve gone from a little loveable band from the Midwest to “band to watch” status. Having completed nationwide tours with a whole list of ninebullets favorites (such as Jason Isbell, Clutch, and William Elliot Whitmore), Bloomington, IL’s Backyard Tire Fire are back in 2008 with a new label and a new album, The Places We Lived.
Recorded over the span of two weeks in Bloomington’s analog-only Oxide Lounge Studios, the band (along with co-producer Tony Sanfilippo) has allowed themselves to experiment more with recording techniques and sounds this time around, and the result has no shortage of people out there talking about the new direction the band has gone in. I’m of a slightly different opinion. I think the band has made a more matured and focused return to the sound of Bar Room Semantics, which finally allows the band to stand on its own, instead of being a band that would fit perfectly into the Capricorn-era rock scene.
Check it out…The Places We Lived was released on Hyena Records today.
Backyard Tire Fire are celebrating the start of their southward journey towards Langerado by releasing a free acoustic EP, Sick of Debt. Ed (singer) describes it as such:
“We loaded into Oxide Lounge in Bloomington, IL on a cold December afternoon (12.17.07) to record a healthy dose of some acoustic Tire Fire twang. There had always been talk of sitting down in the same room and doing a stripped down recording and we finally found the time to do it! Some of these songs are favorites that have been around for years and never found a place on an album, while others were written only weeks before. All of the tunes feature our good friend Jerry “Muttonhead” Erickson on either dobro or pedal steel guitar and were recorded live with minimal overdubs. The result is a raw collection of some of our finest acoustic material that we decided to make available for download at no charge. Please enjoy and pass it around” - Ed Anderson
In other news, the boys are making a few stops along the way to Florida. If they hit up your neck of the woods you should check ‘em out. I sure wish I could. They have also completed the recording of their next album, The Places We Lived, which will apparently be coming out in August on a new, as of yet unannounced, label.
Shows:
02/21 The Dame Lexington, KY
02/22 Visulite Theatre - w/ The Radiators Charlotte, NC
02/23 Lincoln Theatre - w/ The Radiators Raleigh, NC
02/24 State Theatre - w/ The Radiators Falls Church, VA
02/25 The National - w/ The Radiators Richmond, VA
02/28 Smith’s Olde Bar - w/ Bloodkin Atlanta, GA
02/29 Hummingbird - w/ Bloodkin Macon, GA
03/01 Freebird Live - w/ Bloodkin Jacksonville, FL
03/07 Langerado Festival Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, FL
When I first posted about Backyard Tire Fire I said that their sound could have easily fit into any Capricorn-era album. With the release of their 4th cd, Vagabonds and Hooligans, they maintain the same basic sound but do so more confidently. That confidence has allowed them to venture away from their comfort zones a little on this release and the results are as solid as ever.
Vagabonds and Hooligans was co-produced by the band and Tony SanFlippo and recorded on a vintage early 70’s 3M tape machine in SanFlippo’s all analogue Oxide Lounge recording Studio in Bloomington, Illinois. The results are a very warm and record with a classic (see: Capricorn era) sound. One only needs to look so far as the title track to hear the these classic yet current results. The song, Vagabonds and Hooligans, is the type of song you wanna hear near the end of a whiskey night when you are ready for a little self-reflectance. Musically the title track has a barely restrained energy which helps to set the tone for the remainder of the cd.
The cd winds effortlessly between rockers to bar room sing-alongs. The gospel-flavored country anthem “Get Wise” shines a critical eye on the political landscape without taking an overtly partisan view. The chorus of Get Wise is definitely “stick in your head” material. Probably the most fun track on the cd is Tom Petty, a rollicking tongue-in-cheek view of the rock and roll dream. Downtime is the strongest track on the entire cd. A classic rock and roll song that harkens back to the glory days of the southern rock movement. This is the track that begs you to roll down the windows and make the people in traffic look at you funny.
While Vagabonds and Hooligans does not venture too far from the comfort zone Backyard Tire Fire do bring enough new elements to the table to keep from sounding stale. These guys are undoubtedly a band on the rise and this cd is as good a place as any for you to hop on and take the ride with them.
As Dave Terpeny from Kyndmusic says, “This is music that you drink to and sober up to, music that takes you places because the songwriter has been there and wrote about it.”
So, last week or so Aquarium Drunkard posted a small blip about a band called Backyard Tire Fire. I had never heard of them but he compared them to the Drive-by Truckers in a round about way so my interest was immediately peaked and I checked out the .mp3 he had posted with the entry. I am not entirely sure where the DBT comparison came from….first comparison that jumped out to me was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club….I guess this could be a case study in two people listening to the same song and hearing two different things. None the less, I was intrigued enough to pick up their latest full length “Bar Room Semantics” released in January of 2005. The cd opens up with it’s three, in my opinion, weakest tracks….I was just about to take it out of the cd player and forget about them but then the track Spinnin’ Around started….it’s a song that would fit perfectly on any Capricorn-era album….and there you go…I was hooked. From there the cd winds lazily through songs of bad luck, hard nights and hope in a style/sound that is *very* reminiscent of Roger Hoover and the Whiskeyhounds. They have a new cd entitled “Vagabonds and Hooligans” scheduled to be released on January 30, 2007 and you best believe I will be placing an order. They also recently released and EP entitled “Skin and Bones” in August…personally, I am not an EP kind of guy so I am just gonna let Bar Room Semantics tide me over until the new cd gets released.
