* En anglais uniquement
New York-based band
Firewater incorporated a global range of musical influences into their highly dynamic sound. A loosely knit ensemble centered around the lead vocals of ex-
Cop Shoot Cop bass player
Tod A. (born: Tod Ashley),
Firewater tied together such influences as Klezmer, Indian wedding music, art-punk, and
Tom Waits-style cabaret poetry to create their heady, often quite danceable sound. Coupled with
Tod A.'s acerbic, post-apocalyptic, and death-obsessed lyrics,
Firewater was a band to be reckoned with almost from the beginning.
Shortly after forming in 1995,
Firewater released its debut, Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire. Both it and 1998's
The Ponzi Scheme featured guitarist
Duane Denison of
Jesus Lizard, drummer
Yuval Gabay of
Soul Coughing, and saxophone and accordion player Kurt Hofmann of the
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The sultry vocals of
Elysian Fields'
Jennifer Charles also drifted through both albums.
Charles returned for 2001's more pop-oriented
Psychopharmacology; other contributions came from saxophonist
Ori Kaplan and sitar player
Oren Bloedow. In 2003,
Tod A. and his "wedding band gone wrong" returned with a stripped-down, razor-wire-wrapped effort for Jet Set entitled
The Man on the Burning Tightrope. The covers album
Songs We Should Have Written appeared early the following year.
Tod A. then went on an extended trek through Thailand, India, Pakistan, Turkey ,and Indonesia, which he chronicled on his blog Postcards from the Other Side of the World.
A. also recorded music on his travels, collaborating with producer
Tamir Muskat and local musicians along the way. The results were
The Golden Hour, which Bloodshot Records released in spring 2008. After touring in support of that album, A. settled in Istanbul, and recorded there and in Tel Aviv during 2011's Arab Spring, reuniting with Muskat as a collaborator. International Orange arrived in September 2012. ~ Johnny Loftus