Band:

Backyard Tire Fire

BiografieED ANDERSON, vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, percussion

MATT ANDERSON, bass, vocals, percussion

TIM KRAMP, drums, percussion, vocals



As their moniker suggests, Backyard Tire Fire churns out a barely-controlled conflagration-starting off low and slow, flaring into a flat-out blaze at the whim of a breeze, then drawing back down into a pungent, smoky flame-yet always smoldering with a stubborn intensity that will not be ignored.



On their third disc, Vagabonds and Hooligans, Backyard Tire Fire continues to hone and expand upon the distinctive, pan-genre songbook of front-man Ed Anderson, tapping into the serpentine roots mélange that´s fueled fellow-travelers Brent Best (Slobberbone, The Drams), Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers), Adam Levy (The Honeydogs) and many more.



The band began to take shape in late-2000/early-2001 in the hill country of Asheville, NC, where Anderson (fresh from a five-year stint as guitar avatar in the popular, Chicago-based Brother Jed) looked to redirect his songwriting efforts into a vein that was, at once, more musically subtle and more emotionally sophisticated.



Along with co-founder Tim Kramp, Anderson and BTF performed regularly in the Asheville area beginning in 2001, quickly expanding into the alt-rock haven of Athens, GA. After recording their debut, Live at the Georgia Theatre in 2002, Anderson and Kramp relocated to the Midwest, setting up base camp in Bloomington, IL with Ed´s rock-solid brother Matt more than ably taking over bass/backing vocal duties.



Through it all, BTF continued to expand their stylistic range, dipping into folk, pop, alt-country, Southern rock, R&B and rock´n´roll, all of which was imbued with Anderson?s deft, seemingly-effortless lyrical gift for illuminating blue-collar stories with shock-of-recognition detail and a voice as comfortably worn as a favorite shirt.



Via extensive touring (from clubs to festivals), BTF has built a reputation as a compelling, remarkably flexible live act, sharing stages with such diverse luminaries as Son Volt, Alejandro Escovedo, James McMurtry, The Radiators, North Mississippi Allstars, Will Hoge, Jackie Greene, The Mother Hips, William Elliot Whitmore and Dan Bern-and gathering a hard-won fan-base along the way.



The band´s uncommon growth and casual command of their material were underscored by their slinky sophomore disc (2005´s Bar Room Semantics), which drew across-the-board critical acclaim while garnering glowing comparisons to Drive-By Truckers (Harp), Jeff Tweedy/Wilco (Cincinnati´s City Beat), the Jayhawks and Whiskeytown (Americana UK), Slobberbone, Neil Young and Gram Parsons (Dallas Observer), Violent Femmes (JamBase) and Jay Farrar/Uncle Tupelo (Illinois Times).



Like its predecessor, the brand-new Vagabonds and Hooligans is co-produced by BTF and Tony SanFilippo with organic, old-school immediacy, utilizing the vintage early-´70s 3M tape machine (a la the Rolling Stones´ Exile on Main Street) and gear housed at SanFilippo´s proudly-analog Oxide Lounge Recording studio in Bloomington.



Although outwardly similar in tone and texture to Bar Room Semantics, Vagabonds and Hooligans is palpably more assured, accomplished and cohesive, the tracking order of the far-ranging tunes more expertly positioned, and-as Ed readily acknowledges-"this record rocks a little more; I take a couple of solos out a little bit, something we do much more live."



Not surprisingly, the aforementioned "out"-bound solos underscore Anderson´s six-string facility and range, from the soaring, lyrical fretwork on the impossibly lovely, Beatle-esque (right down to Kramp´s "puddin´ head" tub-work) anthem "Corinne" to the muscular, stream-of-consciousness Southern rock rave-up of "Downtime."



Clearly, the boy could be an all-world air-guitar poster-child, but the lyrical content herein and the band´s attendant, sublime attention to making the music "serve the song" holds sway.



Whether delivered in the first or third person, Anderson?s tunes continue to eloquently address regret, disconnectedness, internal demons and the dark end of the street, in general-just witness this brain-pan-spinner from the outwardly-placid title cut:



"Vagabonds and hooligans are beating down the door

Of the house that burns on the hill inside my head..."



Yikes!! It´s not all heavy-lifting, though, as the spirited, tongue-in-cheek rock-star romp on "Tom Petty" underscores, but most of Anderson´s hunting takes place in the tall, tall grass, simply because that´s where the biggest beasts are...



Big-hearted, jarringly direct and riding a powerful, upward arc, Backyard Tire Fire is a happening thing. Wake up and smell the burning rubber...



--Jim Musser, October 2006

Quelle: http://www.backyardtirefire.com/Discografie2002 - Live At The Georgia Theatre

2003 - Backyard Tire Fire

2005 - Bar Room Semantics

2007 - Vagabonds And Hooligans
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Reviews

Bar Room Semantics - Cover
Mann, was sind TRUCK STOP heavy! Man denke nur an den grandios - kultigen Titelsong vom "Großstadtrevier”, wenn man headbangend - mitgrölend vor der Kiste sitzt… Scherz beiseite.
Vagabonds And Hooligans - Cover
Mit dem 2005er Album "Bar Room Semantics” dieser Truppe aus North Carolina hatte ich wirklich meine Probleme, denn die von Art Rock, Country, Blues, Rock´n´Roll, Jazz und Singer/Songwriter-Elementen b