 "Photo:")
When it comes to inspiration, Towson-based band Fire In The Hole finds it in one another.
"We all feed off each other's energy really, really well," lead guitarist Michael Klicos said.
Klicos and drummer Brian Sturgeon both attend the university, while bassist Tim Davis and keyboardist Matt Rampolla both attend Towson University. Lead singer and guitarist Zach Cummins has a full-time job and rounds out the five-piece band, which plays Santa Fe Cafe tonight.
The band released its first full-length album, Love and Malice, on Nov. 21 - a six-month-long studio effort that cost the band more than $10,000 to create. To finance the album, the guys borrowed from friends and family in addition to putting a lot of their own money into it.
"I think after our CD release, we've paid everyone else but ourselves back," said Sturgeon, a junior communication major.
The album's release is just one part of Fire In The Hole's eventful year, which included playing some bigger shows, such as Towson's annual Tigerfest, where the band opened for The Roots, Immortal Technique and The Calling.
"About a year ago, we decided to start taking it really seriously, so we got the right people in the band who are all on the same page, everybody who really wanted to take it seriously and take it further, and ever since then, things have been going so well for us," Sturgeon said.
As far as music goes, Sturgeon said each band member's personal preferences contribute to Fire In The Hole's sound.
"That's one thing about our band - there's five of us, and we're all five completely different in musical interests, musical tastes, musical styles," Sturgeon said.
Sturgeon said he classifies the band's sound as "rock 'n' roll with a psychedelic twist." Personally, he's into keeping up with current trends, while Klicos said he draws from heavy metal and classic rock.
Sturgeon said you'll find this range of musical preferences in Love and Malice.
"The one thing we tried to do is we made all the songs as intricate as we could, and we spent a lot of time on every layer, but we made the lyrics and the vocals approachable so that people that don't really have a whole lot of knowledge, or wealth of knowledge of music, could still get into it," Sturgeon said.
If Fire In The Hole conveys any sort of message, it seems to center around one thing in particular: having a good time.
"Our lyrics are not like, 'break up with your boyfriend and then listen to our song,'" Sturgeon said. "Our music is like, 'drink a lot and put our music on.'"
"It's just fun music, you know?" Klicos, a junior economics and international business major, said.
"Yeah, it's heavy, and it's upbeat, but it's not dark," Sturgeon added. "It's like feel-good rock 'n' roll."
The desire for fun is something not only found in their music but in real life, as well.
"We have the best time with just the five of us; no one else understands, but that's fine," Sturgeon said.
As for goals, Sturgeon has a clear idea of what he would like to have happen.
"I hope that everything keeps snowballing in enough time that we can finish our degrees and get out of college and have that behind us and then right then, the day we graduate, start a tour," he said. "So that in the event that we don't have that forever, you know - even the biggest bands don't last that long anymore - that we still have something to go back on."
Fire In The Hole performs tonight at Santa Fe Cafe. Cover is $5.
diversionsdbk@gmail.com
Be the first to comment on this article!