July 23, 2008
3:46 pm
Powerhouse acoustic rock phenomenon FIREWEED began as a solo singer/songwriter's vehicle to realizing his dream of eventually supporting himself as a musician....
Drawing as much from older, traditional influences, like Dylan and Cash, as from contemporaries such as Uncle Tupelo, Cobain, and Lanagan, FIREWEED offers up a rugged blend of rock-flavored anti-folk. Kelley Vice's artfully applied guitar textures and powerful vocal harmonies nicely offset John Enga's unique voice and rough charisma as storyteller and front-man, weaving a tapestry of inviting melodies, dynamic harmonies, crushing honesty and a lasting, hooky, pop sensibility. Drummer Jon Hedges and bassmaster Rick Herrin round out the group with a driving, dynamic rhythm section.
The Band
Former frontman for Seattle metal group Rawhead, John is a veteran of such infamous venues as RKCNDY, OK Hotel, Off Ramp, Vogue, Color Box, Lake Union Pub, Capital Theatre, Satyricon, and The New Bone.
John has this to say about his involvement in music: “All I’ve ever really wanted to do was play music. That dream has lead me down some strange roads. Life has a way of throwing you curveballs to test your endurance but through it all it’s definitely what my life has been focused on. I consider myself fortunate to have had the experiences I’ve had along the way. Hopefully it’s only the beginning.”
About the band's upcoming CD, "Dreams Of The Black Dog", Kelley says: "We wanted to capture the essence of live performance on this CD. Too many studio recordings suffer from a deficit of presence... it's hard to end up with something living in a studio environment. When we perform live, it's 100% balls-to-the-wall raw emotion, and that was way more important to us recording this CD than technical perfection."
Click here to check out Kelley's solo stuff, and here to listen to j@ck screw.
Northwest grown Jon Hedges is a familiar figure on the Seattle music landscape. A student of the Berklee School and veteran Seattle drummer of such bands as Inflatable Soule, Mickey Postle, Throttle Rod, and Kindred, Jon funks it up and keeps the boys in line. His aim with those drumsticks is deadly.
Native Californian Rick Herrin has been onstage since childhood. After acting in community theater and school plays, Rick took up music at the ripe old age of 17, studying guitar, drums, and bass. Rick's love of performing and building instruments brought him to the greener (greyer, anyway) pastures of Seattle in 1993.
In addition to his fulltime musical workload that includes selling, building and repairing instruments, Ricky also books, promotes, records and performs music all over the Puget Sound. He cans also be found playing bass for Seattle groups The Clevers, Bebe Le Strange and Fascination Street.
Performing at coffee houses and bars throughout the Northwest, John Enga polished the songs he had written over the 6 years prior, leveraging the showmanship skills he had developed as the frontman for Seattle's acclaimed Rawhead in the early-to-mid 90's. John became a fixture at local Seattle venues, such as the Hop Vine on Capitol Hill. As he continued to pursue his new direction as a solo performer, he still hungered for the energy and camaraderie of a solid group.
Early 2002 brought John the opportunity to perform at Music 101, an Atlanta rock festival scheduled to take place in October. This was the right time to build the band. During a Memorial Day camping trip with friends on the Oregon coast, John and lifelong friend Kelley Vice, singer/songwriter and fellow veteran of the music business, began to discuss putting a band together. Back in Seattle, the pair began work on what would become Fireweed's debut album Dreams of the Black Dog. The songs became more rock in nature as the musical roots of the duo rose to the surface, striking an interesting blend of folkish honesty and harnessing the emotional power and intensity of their rock backgrounds.
Though both John and Kelley had produced numerous commercial recordings, they were both amazed at the way this recording was coming together. Recorded primarily at Kelley's home studio with minimal equipment, the music really started taking on a life of it's own. Although the original intent was simply to record basic tracks to aid in preparing future members for the show in Atlanta, John and Kelley decided to try to complete a full-length CD before the gig. They knew they had something different, and wanted to have more than just a demo to take with them to Georgia.
By the time they recruited Jon Hedges, a Berklee alumni and session drummer, the drum tracks had already been recorded, but Jon added depth to the rhythm tracks with hand percussion and creative suggestions. When the band left for Atlanta, they were armed with CDs and a broader vision than simply playing a few shows.
In November 2004, Seattle bass player Rick Herrin joined the group, adding his dynamic style to the band's tight rhythm section. Rick was well known to the group as the host of the open mic at O'Shea's Irish Pub, a regular Fireweed venue. A few years of association eventually led to the mutual conclusion that Rick would be the perfect bassist for the group.
Today, Fireweed is building a following in the Northwest and gaining momentum as a truly original musical force. Dreams Of The Black Dog was released in July 2005, and will be followed by a second CD, Blue Crush, coming in early 2006.
