Fire Sale is a punk rock supergroup comprised of Matt Riddle (Face to Face and No Use For A Name), Chris Swinney (The Ataris, host of That One Time On Tour Podcast), Pedro Aida (Ann Beretta), and Matt Morris. Their recent 2-song single was mixed/mastered at legendary studio, The Blasting Room and has hand-painted art by Mark deSalvo. More importantly, the band fucking rules. TGEFM was lucky enough to get a few minutes to speak with Chris Swinney for a Roll the Dice to discuss the band, their dynamic and what’s next.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on the release of the “A Fool’s Errand” single. What can you tell us about the formation of the band and songwriting process on these tracks?
During the pandemic I was going stir crazy and started writing songs. I sent my demos to Matt Riddle, and he sent me back bass tracks. I had worked with Pedro before…so we decided to try and start a band. My buddy Timmy from Protest The Hero was also in the original lineup…but PTH got busy so duty called. Tucker Rule from Thursday and LS Dunes played drums on the initial demos…but he is a busy dude, so our first two singles a friend named Will handled the drum duties. Last year we recruited Matt Morris to be a full time member and solidified the Fire Sale lineup. Our first 7″ was put out by SBAM Records. Those two songs got us on the radar of Seth over at Negative Progression Records. We signed a new deal last year with them…and it has been amazing! We cannot say enough about how great working with Seth and NPR has been.
As far as the song writing process…it’s different than anything I have ever done before. Since we all live in different states…we rely on technology. I will write a song or Riddle will send me a bass intro or full song with programmed drums and we piece everything together remotely. Once the music is fleshed out…we send it to Pedro and he edits it…writes and records his vocals. Lastly when it is all done, we send to Matt Morris and he lays down the drums. It’s backwards and takes a long time…but we enjoy it and it is very collaborative. It works for us…and we really get to analyze every little part to make sure we are happy before we mix and master. I do miss being in the studio though.
You guys have all been at this for quite a bit now, what about the chemistry of Fire Sale separates this project from your previous ones?
We want this band to be stress free. We have all been in bands, toured, everything. With that comes pros and cons. You name a dab band situation and we have all dealt with it. Fire Sale is all about being equal. We split everything equally…we all write. It is a total democracy. We are just stoked that we are getting to release new music and people seem to like it and care. If we get offered a tour or a festival…and it makes sense for us to do it, we will. If one person can’t do it, we don’t. It’s all for one and one for all. I love how supportive my band mates are. It has become a little family.
What stood out most to you with this recording compared to your previous trips to the studio?
Like I talked about before. We record remotely…so it is very different. As much as I miss the studio environment, I love tracking all my guitars by myself. I can play them until they are perfect and I can write and add layers on the fly. It is actually very freeing doing it this way. It does take longer, but the final product is worth it.
We’ve all got a few, but what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
So far the only thing I regret since Fire Sale formed was turning down a European tour supporting Satanic Surfers. It was very early in the bands life…and honestly there was no way we could have done it…we only had like 4 songs at that time. Haha. But the shows were sold out and it would have been rad. If the promoter reads this…we are ready now! Hit me up. Haha.
The term supergroup gets thrown about quite a bit, and Fire Sale is certainly a band whose pedigree has earned the title, but how, if at all, does the pressure of the moniker play into the songwriting? How do you cope with the high bar you’ve set for yourselves in the eyes of the audience?
We don’t feel the pressure of our old bands success’s. We have all had highs and lows in the music industry. Fire Sale is a brand new band…even though stylistically you can hear echoes of our previous bands. That’s just in us. We can’t help it. We do however embrace the term super group. We wouldn’t say that ourselves, but when people started saying it, we didn’t mind. When you are trying to get your band in front of as many listeners as possible…take every advantage! We lean into it…that’s why we worked with Mark DeSalvo on art and worked with Bill and Jason at The Blasting Room. The people that are most likely going to dig Fire Sale are going to connect with all of it. Our previous bands, who does the art, who mixes it, everything.
Once again…we don’t feel the pressure. The only people we worry about pleasing is ourselves. We are very much perfectionists, so if it passes our test, most likely other people will dig it. We have been working on a new song recently that has gone through about 8 different arrangements. We work very hard and by the time you hear it, it is the best that we can produce.
What affect, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music?
It has had very little affect honestly. We are not a political band. Some of my favorite bands have political leanings…but we tend to stay away from that stuff. However, we do have an unreleased song that deals with school shooting issue in our country. But even that song’s lyrics could be taken many other ways. The only literal song we have is “Mercy Brown” which is about a vampire. Haha.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they
should know about?
The are some amazing bands on our label, Negative Progression Records. Gone Stereo, Greyed Out, The Last Second Save, etc. There is also a great band out of Illinois that I dig called Blackcat Manor. Also Paper Arms from Australia. They aren’t active currently, but I absolutely love them. Their singer Josh was actually going to sing in the very early stages of Fire Sale…but it didn’t work out. Pedro’s other band Shotclock is pretty rad also!
Another band I really love that just signed to NPR is called Time Spent Driving.
Now that the world has its hands on “A Fool’s Errand”, what’s next for Fire Sale?
We have two new singles out right now “A Fool’s Errand” and “We Dance For Sorrow”.
We just filmed a video for “A Fool’s Errand” and it should be out in June.
We are currently finishing up tracking and editing on two brand new songs that will be out later this year on Negative Progression Records. We are once again working with Jason and Bill at The Blasting Room for mixing and mastering…and Mark DeSalvo will be doing the art. We are very excited to share these two new songs with everyone.
We are planning more shows/short tours and I will be guest DJing the beginning of June over at Faction Punk on SiriusXM satellite radio. SiriusXM has been a real champion for Fire Sale and we appreciate their support immensely.
And we are always writing…you can never have too many songs!
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
It would be rad if you checked out our two new songs “A Fool’s Errand” and “We Dance For Sorrow”. We worked really hard on these songs and are super proud of them. They are available everywhere you can stream music. Also if you like vinyl…you can get it on wax! Order the 7″ here.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
