Vine(yl) Club #5 - Fires

I remember when I first REALLY fell in love with music. It wasn’t JUST listening to Barry White on my Mom’s 8-track in our 1975 Gremlin, nor was it JUST listening to The Beatles “Abbey Road” and The Stones “Beggars Banquet” on my Dad’s turntable. It was ALSO listening to AC/DC’s masterpiece “Back in Black” with my friend Bryan Lansford in his 1982 Monte Carlo SS as a freshman in high school in rural Georgia. And as much as I appreciated my parents’ good taste in music (for the most part at least), neither of them were listening to “Let Me Put My Love Into You” while the Alpine Stereo/cassette deck was cranked to 11! Of course, I also blame Bryan on my current hearing situation, but that’s another story. What does Barry White, The Beatles, The Stones, and AC/DC have to do with our next VINE(YL) Club release? Absolutely nothing and absolutely everything, of course.

I’m so excited to introduce you to the band F!RES from Ballard, WA! Just like the Seattle music community has done for the past 40 years, F!RES began as a casual invitation to jam between friends. That jam evolved into the sexy piece of wax you are now holding in your hands! Titled “High Tide”, this debut album is both a throwback to the Seattle music scene in the 1990’s, as well as sounding refreshingly heavy in today’s landscape of music (which we also love, but man, give us some ROCK every once in a while!). F!RES does that and more with “High Tide”. Lucky for you, I’m best friends with the bass player and songwriter, Dave Place! When I heard that they were going to record this album (with Floyd Reitsma on the boards) at Stone Gossard’s legendary Studio Litho (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mastadon, Deftones), I knew that I had to get in on that release. Dave and the rest of the band were kind enough to press 250 copies JUST FOR US, in a killer variant color pressing of bright yellow and red splatterings! F!RES sold the other 250 LP’s (different color pressing) to independent record stores in the NW. So how lucky are you!!!??

The band includes Regan Hagar (Brad, Satchel, Malfunkshun) on drums, Ty Willman (Green Apple Quick Step, Novatone, Hulabees) on vocals, Dave Place on bass, Alan Hunt (Nine50Nine, McDicken) on guitar, and Cody Davis (Drkst8, Novatone, DB Cooper) on guitar. Guest vocalist Shawn Smith (Brad, Satchel, Pigeonhed, From the North) sang vocals on several of the tracks, which were recorded just before his passing. If you remember, both Shawn and Regan were on one of our other VINE(YL) Club releases (Satchel’s “Heartache and Honey”). There is a reason Rolling Stone Magazine named Shawn as one of the Top 100 Vocalists of All Time. His unmistakable soulful sound comes through on this album, and complements Ty’s powerful and unique voice.

I am so excited for you all to give this powerhouse of an album a listen. And I guarantee you’ll hear a little Barry White in these songs, along with John, Paul, George, and Ringo, The Stones, and yes, even some Angus Young… Having friends that are the same age as you, growing up listening to the same stuff, and re-digesting that music is how F!RES came to be, and we are lucky it did!

Enjoy!

Trey