FEED THE FIRE // Rising From The Ashes

Meet Feed The Fire: the radelaide rockers here to tear it up with their debut LP, Maybe You Need This?!

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Inspired by a relationship breakdown, the record is as cathartic as it gets and a massive statement for the band. Ahead of its release, we spoke to frontman Dan Pearce about the recording process, their history and plans for 2021.

Hysteria: Let’s get the band introduced.

Dan: Paul (Clements, bass) and I have been jamming together in various bands for close to 10 years. The band we were in before this went through some lineup changes and, in 2018, became Feed The Fire. The lineup is now me, Paul and our drummer, Joel “Keeny” Keen.

Maybe You Need This?! was recorded with Andy Kite, tell us about that experience.

We’ve all worked with Andy at some point over the last 10 years. We’ve always gotten along with him, sometimes that’s a curse because we do get locked into a conversation when we should be recording (laughs).

While he doesn’t overproduce, he’s never been afraid to come forward with ideas. We knew the sounds he was going to capture would suit us. He knew what we were after; it wasn’t a journey to get to something we were happy with.

In terms of putting the record together, what were your standout moments?

We never actually thought this album would be written. I’m someone that’s always looking for their next source of inspiration. Nothing had hit for a while, but then I went through the end of a relationship which really rocked my world. It really inspired me, so I got stuck into it.

It’s a very cathartic album for me. If I didn’t have the ability to put all my thoughts into my music, I’m not sure what would’ve happened.
[ Dan Pearce ]

It must’ve been therapeutic, getting all that out there.

Most definitely, it’s a very cathartic album for me. If I didn’t have the ability to put all my thoughts into my music, I’m not sure what would’ve happened. Being the main songwriter, I feared the album might be a little too insular but I think that goes with every album. You just worry if people will get it, but in saying that, some of the best albums have been written about heartache and getting through it. I hope people can relate to it. We had one Youtube comment on one of our last singles saying, this is a song I’ve needed my whole life and it just made everything feel worth it. You know your job’s done then.

You released a few tracks from the album last year, what was the response like?

It was good! Haunted House was the first single we released and while I never saw it like that; Andy actually pulled us aside and said it has the hooks, big breakdowns and big choruses and will be the best song to put out there.

Who are some of the bands biggest influences?

They’re so varied, whether or not they actually come through in our music is a different story. Keeny is a massive fan of bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and ’70s rock. Paul is into heavier stuff, like Lamb of God and Pantera but also loves bands like Karnivool and I grew up in the ’90s, so I love guitar-driven rock and bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and GNR. The Living End has always been a massive influence on me too, whether it actually comes through in my songwriting or not.

In a dream world, who would Feed the Fire love to tour with?

There are so many bands! The Living End would definitely be up there for all three of us; I also think NOFX are incredible, both live and with their whole ethos. The boys would have to have Sabbath as well. It’s a weird and varied lineup (laughs), we just dig those bands. We’d have to chuck Karnivool in too; Paul wouldn’t go without having them in!

What else do you have in store for us this year?

We’ve got the album launch on April 3rd at Port Noarlunga Football Club. We’re also in the midst of booking tours for Sydney, Melbourne and The Gold Coast, but there is nothing set in stone at this point. Since we couldn’t tour in 2020, we actually built our own studio. We’re almost ready to go in and start demoing our next album; we have a whole heap of material to go through.

How did you go about building your own studio?

Trial and error (laughs). I say we built it, but Keeny pretty much singlehandedly did it. We approached other studios, asked how they went about things. Thankfully, Keeny’s also got a few mates in the building trade that lent a hand and kept costs down. You can make an album on a computer these days, so doing this was almost a no brainer. It’ll be great having our own rehearsal space and studio, as well as the ability to go in whenever we want and lay down music.

I know so many bands that practice so hard before heading into the studio to record. The fact that we don’t have to pay to demo means we can rip our songs apart, make them exactly what we want and walk into a big studio with everything ready to go. We’ll be using our time in the best way possible.