* En anglais uniquement
Madison, WI's
Fire Town is mainly remembered because of the band's relation to
Garbage. Comprised of
Duke Erikson (vocals, guitar),
Phil Davis (vocals, guitar), and
Butch Vig (drums, percussion, backing vocals),
Fire Town's light, jangly pop fed college radio with another dose of ringing guitars and folk-rock harmonies in the late '80s.
Vig and
Erikson were previously in the group Spooner. After Spooner broke up,
Davis,
Vig, and
Steve Marker (guitars) formed the short-lived First Person in 1986. A year later,
Davis,
Vig, and
Erikson collaborated again as
Fire Town, releasing the LP
In the Heart of the Heart Country. The album received praise from Rolling Stone magazine; however, it was too tame even for pre-grunge alternative radio. The video for "Carry the Torch" briefly snared MTV's attention, but
Fire Town was lost in a downpour of similar-sounding artists.
Fire Town recorded another album, 1989's
Good Life, before calling it quits. In the early '90s,
Vig's production work on albums from
Nirvana,
the Smashing Pumpkins, and
L7 heightened his status within the alternative rock community.
Vig reunited with
Erikson and
Marker in the punk band Rectal Drip, basically a fill-in group for canceled gigs. The trio became
Garbage in 1993, adding vocalist
Shirley Manson in 1994. ~ Michael Sutton