Biography
Performing in front of a crowd has never been an issue for The Fire Department. Dubbed as “party rockers” by The Santa Barbara Independent, the musicians first gained notoriety in the Isla Vista, CA party scene while the members attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. Following in the footsteps of other Isla Vista standouts, such as Rebelution and Jack Johnson, the artists grew to be the talk of the town by hosting wild house party concerts that were routinely attended by thousands of fans.
“We started performing on the ground, playing danceable music that made folks groove” says lead singer and guitarist Zeal Levin. “There was an immediate response from the community, and our shows started growing fast. Soon, there were too many fans coming out for us to play on the dirt, so we spent weeks building a custom stage complete with full speaker and light systems. By the time we graduated, our events were so packed that folks had to start climbing the roofs of the neighboring houses just to see us play.”
The massive parties soon attracted attention from members of the local press as well as people immersed in the Santa Barbara music scene. The band began touring around California, performing at venues such as The Stork Club and Milk Bar in the Bay Area, Hotel Café and House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, and everywhere else in-between. The Fire Department also appeared at festivals around Santa Barbara, including Earth Day, Fiesta, as well as sharing the stage with Snoop Dogg at UCSB’s Extravaganza.
“Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed about playing music for a living” says drummer Evan Monroe. “The most difficult part about doing anything you love to its full extent is surrounding yourself with likeminded people. There was no doubt in any of our minds about becoming professional musicians right out of college. We knew we were ready.”
After graduating, the group moved to an orange orchard together in Ojai, CA to explore new music and write their first work to be shared worldwide. The band, once again, came together on a project to convert their garage into a functioning music studio. “It was a lot of hard work,” recalls bassist Thomas Semow, “but building that studio allowed us to grow together more than anything we had done before. We came out of that process more unified than ever, and that’s when things just clicked with us musically.”
As The Fire Department began jamming in the refurbished space, a clear new style emerged for the youthful musicians. Weeks upon weeks were poured into songwriting and practicing before the songs were finally ready. To fully capture this new sound, the band made arrangements to record the tracks at Santa Barbara’s renowned Playback Studios with the same talented staff that contributed to Katy Perry’s smash hits “Teenage Dream” and “Prism.” The result was magical. The Underwater – EP showcases a more mature sound from the artists that can be described as a blend between the incendiary energy of modern rock and the fiery emotion of old school R&B. The April 2nd, 2014 release will be coupled with the band’s debut music video for the titular track, “Underwater,” as well as an album release party at Velvet Jones on April 3rd, 2014 in Santa Barbara.
“Underwater has been a hit amongst our fans since we started playing it,” remarked lead guitarist Kevin Harvey, “and we knew that it was the right song for our first video. We were all really nervous on the night of the shoot because we had planned a stunt that involved our crowd waving hundreds of blue glow sticks back and forth while we played. Dozens of things could have gone wrong, but our band’s media director made sure we got the shots.”
The band will tour up and down the West Coast to promote the EP during the summer of 2014. Tour dates are to include venues such as The Mint and Hotel Café in Los Angeles, SOhO and Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara, and Brick and Mortar Music Hall, Milk Bar, and the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. But no matter where their travels take them, they will always be closest with the people that first helped them get off the ground.
“As The Fire Department continues to get gain traction,” says keyboardist and saxophonist Joe Farey, “it becomes humbling to see fans in the crowd who have been there since it all started. You realize how your dreams are linked to the fans that support you, and that makes you respect everyone that has helped you out along the way. I am incredibly thankful that I get to brighten people’s lives with music, because without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I love to do.”
The future is bright for The Fire Department, and expectations are high. The “party rockers” have grown into a new sonic complexity, and they are ready to take the world by storm.
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