By GREGG KIRK
Big Shout Magazine, September 1992

Don’t call them a grunge band, and don’t typecast them as a group of hippy-dippy kids in their early 20s who are trying to resurrect an era they were too young to experience. Labeling them as just another group of angry, young punks playing loud garage music would be selling them short. But while there are elements of psychedelia, the Seattle sound, and post punk influences in Newark, DE-based Fire Tribe‘s music, there is one thing that makes them different from every other area band trying to do the same thing — these guys have a plan.

The fact that Fire Tribe members sat down and forged a concept, drew up a marketing plan, and set a list of goals before they even played a note, is a reflection on what it takes for bands to survive today. It also shows the band is savvy to the current social and economic climate. Groups who are relying solely on their songwriting or musicianship to take them to the top are having a tough time of it. They may wonder why crowds don’t magically show up when they play, and why A&R reps aren’t returning their phone calls.

The members of Fire Tribe aren’t wondering — they’re busy printing up posters, T-shirts, stickers, and other paraphernalia to advertise their next festival-like performance. And while they’re at it, they’re writing some righteous music and trying to unite the area’s music scene.

This month, Big Shout will showcase the band at the Four & One Nightclub in New Castle, DE on Sept. 20 for a gig the group is calling a “Firefest” — a multi-band bill featuring Godpocket, Railhed, Red Paint People, the Procreators, Grinch, and the tribesmen as headliners.

In the meantime, band members Sean Pierce, Shane Trimble, and Rob DiGiacomo, stopped by the Big Shout offices to tell us what it’s all about…

Big Shout: You guys started under the name Stoneface and were even in the studio under that name, when suddenly this Fire Tribe concept erupted. What was the first thing you did as Fire Tribe?

Rob: Took out a loan…

Shane: From the “Bank of My Mom” and got motivated on the tapes, T-shirts, and stickers. It was a whole marketing plan.

Sean: It was kind of like an agenda. ‘Cause bands that are jammin’ are like, “Why aren’t people really catching on?” People won’t catch on unless they are just blistered with your name constantly.

Shane: So we laid out a whole marketing scheme and set up a skeleton of a strategy.

Sean: And I think it’s been working, too, ’cause we’ve hit all the goals that we’ve wanted to by this time. And if we continue to stay on schedule, the shit that’s gonna be happenin’ in Delaware is gonna be phenomenal.

BS: What are some of the goals you’ve met already?

Sean: Just to sort of be a headliner, to get shows in Delaware and Philly pretty easily, and to have our say. When we first started out, the Rubber Uglies were happenin’ on the scene. Zen Guerrilla was definitely happenin’ on the scene, but the scene wasn’t really there… There was a lot of stuff goin’ on, but we wanted to get in and make a scene for ourselves. We said we wanted to play Philly by the summertime…

Shane: We’re going to start invading New York soon. Our press kit is done, and we’ve got a 16 mm video that’s done…

BS: Who filmed it?

Sean: The Art Institute of Philadelphia. They treated us real kind.

BS: How did that come about?

Shane: We have a couple friends who go there, and their film class had a project to do, and they decided to do it on us. They had a handsome budget to work from, and it just took awhile to get it done.

Sean: This is the best Fire Tribe story yet: They had two fire trucks, a whole fire company, and 30 people on hand for one scene. They built this big bonfire, turned the cameras on us, and said, “Do something.” We were standing there and going, like, “What the hell are we supposed to do?” It was insane.

BS: What are some plans you have for the immediate future?

Sean: We’ve got a lot of plans for conceptual stuff. We’re definitely into incorporating a multimedia thing into our sound. That’s where the industry is going. If anything, that’s where we wanna take things. I mean, Christ, the live band thing’s dying off, man. You can turn on MTV and watch a ten-times better show than going to see a band in a club. So we wanna do more than just being a band onstage… and that ties into “Firefest.”

BS: So what’s “Firefest” all about?

Sean: Right now the music scene is starting to turn to that vibe that was going on in the ’60s with, like, the festival deal… people gettin’ together, and it’s an event more than just paying money and going to see a band. We wanna just work on that vibe. There’s such a ragin’ scene in Delaware, and there’s a lot of beautiful bands down in Newark that we can play with, and people will start comin’ out.

I mean, the nation’s eyes have already been opened up to the “alternative” thing. So I have a feeling that a lot more people are going to be into it, and Delaware’s going to be a hot spot, man. And we want to establish this whole vibe, like, more than just a show but like a happening — not just for us, but for the bands that are playing with us. Like people’ll come out and check it out, and they’ll be much more open minded to it because it will be like a party-type atmosphere.

I’ve noticed myself, when I go see a band, and I’m having a good time, you know, I’m enjoying the whole atmosphere and the whole groove, not just the music that’s on stage. And that’s what we’re trying to do is establish an all-day, all-night groove.

BS: So what are the details? What’s going on the day of the event?

Sean: Newark is gonna be buzzin’ with activity. There’ll be bands playing during the day at parties in Newark, and that party atmosphere will be established, hopefully, early in the day. At 7 pm, we have buses that are stopping at Wilbur St. (the corner of Wilbur St. and Cleveland Ave.) to take people to the Four & One Club, and the bus ride is free. We’re sending some of the most social, like, kindest, beautiful people out during the day to establish this great vibe. The kingpins of the butterfly scene are gonna be out there to establish this great vibe during the day, and we hope to move it to the Four & One Club and turn the Four & One Club out like it’s never been turned out before. I think now’s the time, and with the quality of bands we have in Delaware, I think we could help in any way to turn some kind of national eye this way that we want to do it, and we’re hoping this is going to be something to get it started.

BS: What are your goals after “Firefest?”

Sean: The main goal after “Firefest” is to hopefully get some sort of press clippings and we’re trying to get some people to document it and put together some kind of promotional video to get to promoters and stuff to say, “Look, this is what we’ve got going on.” And we’ll just start moving it within the tri-state area and to start having it spread out. The seed’s planted with this article and some other things. We wanna start gettin’ down with as many bands as we can to get this thing as big as we can. If the bands come out and support it, it’s going to be nothing but better. Wherever we do it, its gotta have the bus thing going, and a lot more than just two or three bands and a high cover charge.

The kingpins of the butterfly scene are gonna be out there to establish this great vibe during the day, and we hope to move it to the Four & One Club and turn the Four & One Club out like it’s never been turned out before.

BS: How are you affording the buses?

Sean: We’re lucky enough that the people at the Four & One Club have faith in us and are very cool people. They’re gonna have a very cool club.

Shane: They’re giving us enough money for the buses and promotions.

Sean: They’re very cool. I think they see what’s going on, too, that Newark and Delaware is going to bust out.

Shane: Rick (at the Four & One) has been more than helpful with us. Whatever you say, he’s at least willing to give anything a listen.

Sean: And bands should really talk to him; he’s into helping people.

Shane: No doubt. He realizes that if he does that extra little bullshit for us, that just one show can start helping establishing, say, a fan base of 50 people on every Sunday night. And he realizes that if this show goes well, then so goes the rest of the season for his Sunday nights.

BS: Anything else to add?

Sean: This message goes out especially to bands: If they help out and support it, it’s going to do nothing but come back for them. I wanna see every band that’s playing with us that night get a good turnout and a good reaction. I even wanted to do this article more for the “Firefest” rather than the Fire Tribe, you know what I mean? I think musically, we speak for ourselves, and we’re doin’ okay. I just hope people start pickin’ up on other bands playing because they deserve it.