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I've been brought to tears seeing music. And, maybe it was too many beers or something, but on a couple of occasions been brought to tears while I was playing. It can be intense. I've gotten so lost while playing I've fuckin' drooled all over myself.
-Ed Anderson |
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Photo by Adam George
Touring Life
"You got three guys who aren't out on the road trying to get laid. We aren't trying to be on MTV. We really enjoy playing music together and would like to be able to do that for as long as we can. There's nothing else to it," says Anderson. With contemporary radio the corporate-controlled sham it is, BTF's primary exposure has been through constant touring, both as a growing club headliner and opening for national acts.
Ed Anderson at HSMF '06 by Dave Vann |
He says performing is often "an intense, almost meditative thing." Watching them wrap their music around crowds at last year's High Sierra Music Festival, it was immediately obvious that they were born to rock it live. Sweaty, dark-eyed, and muscular, BTF plays balls out every second of their set. It's a role they've grown into through getting out there and bruising their knees in front of audiences.
"We're a lot more comfortable on stage lately than we've ever been. Having that kind of presence is infectious. People can sense when someone is having fun. They dig the energy," says Anderson. "We're not statues. It's so much more fun to see people get into it. Like My Morning Jacket, those guys are fuckin' rock stars – running around, hair all over the place. I love that shit!"
Besides MMJ, Anderson mentions Lucero as another together live band. He says, "When Ben Nichols is singing he's believable. Those guys look like honest degenerates! Guys like John Mayer aren't my bag. He looks good though [laughs]."
"It's a lengthy process. I don't think it happens for anybody overnight, at least not a band like us. You just have to get out there and win people over by putting on good shows every fucking night and making interesting records. That's what we try to do."
The Name
Backyard Tire Fire by Eric Schwab |
Backyard Tire Fire is a pretty evocative moniker, full of elemental hillbilly charm. Wearily, Anderson explains, "We've told the story so many times we decided that in the future we'd say it came to us all in a dream [laughs]. In reality, it's a redneck nod to the Simpsons' Springfield Tire Fire. We were living down in North Carolina and it seemed an appropriate name for a rock 'n' roll band. Naming a band is not an easy thing to do. It's an important thing and we did it over several bottles of whatever and a big fire in my yard that we couldn't get started. The next morning, I came out to find everything burned. There must have been 50-foot flames out there at five in the morning. That next day is when we settled on the name."
Tom Petty And The Sacred
Besides a passing resemblance to him musically, BTF has penned a bang-up tribute to Tom Petty that appears on Vagabonds. Long a concert staple, it has the right on chug of The Replacements' immortal nod to Big Star founder "Alex Chilton" and the star-eyed wonder of The Byrds' "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star."
Backyard Tire Fire by jeffmullerphotography.com |
"The whole thing is tongue-in-cheek," comments Anderson. "Who wouldn't want to be Tom Petty? The man is a brilliant songwriter that continues to write fantastic songs that will last forever. I was driving home after a solo gig and heard a live Petty thing. He was playing 'Learning To Fly,' and the band was laying out, so it was him and the crowd, who were louder than him. The whole audience was wrapped around his finger, and I was thinking, 'It doesn't get any better than this.' It's the dream of going to L.A. and making it. He did it, man. He came from nowhere, this small town redneck from Gainesville, and he rules L.A."
"He's one of those guys – like Neil Young and Bob Dylan – who've been able to put out quality music and tour in a business where it's hard for anybody to maintain longevity. If they do, generally it's living off of past successes and not creating anything new that's worth a shit. Those guys have continued to make good, honest, interesting material. Those are the cats we have the most respect for."
Anderson concludes, "Television sucks. We all know that. Music to me is so pure, or it should be. Television was always based on advertising. Music can be a business where you sell it but it should be more sacred than TV. I hate seeing Steve Earle sell 'The Revolution Starts Now' to Ford Trucks. That doesn't sit right with me. He sold his political platform to Ford. We're not likely to do that."
CATCH BACKYARD TIRE FIRE ON TOUR NOW
02/08/07 Hangar 9 Carbondale, IL
02/09/07 | Canopy Club | Urbana, IL
02/10/07 | The Picador | Iowa City, IA
02/16/07 | NV Ultra Lounge | Normal, IL
02/17/07 | Double Door | Chicago, IL
02/18/07 | Top Cat's | Cincinnati, OH
02/19/07 | The Basement | Columbus, OH
02/20/07 | Garfield Artworks | Pittsburgh, PA
02/21/07 | Funk 'n Waffles | Syracuse, NY
02/22/07 | Iron Horse Music Hall | Northampton, MA
02/23/07 | Bayou Mount | Vernon, NY
02/24/07 | Appalachian Brewing Company | Harrisburg, PA
02/25/07 | Sonar Nightclub | Baltimore, MD
02/26/07 | Jewish Mother | Virginia Beach, VA
02/27/07 | Hideaway BBQ | Raleigh, NC
02/28/07 | The Soapbox | Wilmington, NC
03/01/07 | Empire | Richmond, VA
03/02/07 | Lion's Den | New York, NY
03/15/07 | The Music Mill | Indianapolis, IN
03/30/07 | What's Up? Lounge | Mankato, MN
03/31/07 | The Broken Axe | Moorhead, MN
04/13/07 | Spirit of The Suwannee Music Park | Live Oak, FL
04/17/07 | Vogue Nightclub | Indianapolis, IN
04/18/07 | Southgate House | Newport, KY
04/19/07 | High Noon Saloon | Madison, WI
06/08/07 | Wakarusa - Clinton Lake State Park | Lawrence, KS
06/09/07 | Wakarusa - Clinton Lake State Park | Lawrence, KS
JamBase | Everywhere
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