Introducing... Colour of Fire

Colour of Fire, newly signed to Riverman Records hail from York, as is clear to any one in the audience when they talk rather than sing. The band itself is a four piece, comprising of the standard drum kit, bass and two guitars and with its two singers manages to produce a sexier version of Muse bred against the Smashing Pumpkins.

Having seen them twice whilst stalking Placebo, I decided after the first night's performance it'd be worth catching up with the band to find out more. You shouldn't take this as too glowing a recommendation. On the first night of the tour in Portsmouth, Colour of Fire was less than satisfactory. Their gig seemed uneasy and whilst this probably more to do with CoF's sound check than their ability to play it did mean that their performance wasn't what they were capable of until the end of their set by which time they were knocking killer tracks it was only a shame these hadn't happened at the start allowing the crowd to be more into the music.

No such problem however two nights later as 1,500 thousand sweat machines bounced along to their songs including debut single "Decisions, Decisions" released on the 17th later this month.

Before the gig I'd gotten the chance to chat with guitarists Stuart and Owen. Both take duties with vocals, however Owen takes the majority share with a range from gentle melodies to frustrated screams in moments taking the full force of the band with him - and it's some force.

Often it's difficult to avoid clichés with these features but when Colour of Fire hit their peak they achieve the near impossible - being a band that can stand in the way of Placebo and be enjoyed by the pseudo-Goths scary-types in the crowd.

So when did Colour of Fire form?
Owen - January 2002, we were in previous bands playing together, my band was called Inertia. Rachel Stamp meets Cilla Black.
Stuart - Ours was Cognac, we were totally shit; Primal Scream meets the Stooges but we didn't really pull it off. We'd support his band and he'd support us

If you dislike your previous bands so much are you happy with your current set up?
Stuart - Definitely, previously we'd write on our own but we've sort of merged mind. Now we have these large sessions where we just sit and hold each others dicks and the songs just manifest themselves.
Owen - I'm happy too, but I don't think we'll be doing these kinds of songs forever, what comes next though I'm not sure.

What do you do out of the band?
Owen - I teach nu-metal rifts to young boys, I had 15 students. I made a lot of money out of Nickelback and Linkin Park. Just the other week I was teaching Good Charlotte - the only band I've refused to teach was New Found Glory. Before that I was at music college in Leeds but I got fed up of paying these huge fees for what was effectively a rip off whilst having to travel between there and York all the time for the band. I was a lazy bugger, I just wanted to stay at home and get stoned.

So what releases do you have planned?
We have a limited single being released on the 17th called "Decisions, Decisions" on Riverman Records our management's label. It's not our best song but it's a good introduction to the band.
We're not going to bother with an album yet unless we get signed to a major label.

If you were being featured on re:covered, what cover would you do?
Owen - We've been known to do Territorial Pissing, the words fly out the window.
Stuart - As does the tune
Owen - It's just a smashing song. I'd like to do a proper cover sometime but it's just a difficult thing to set up.

And if you could fill any venue and choose any support, who and where would you play?
Both - Rock city.
Owen - It's an amazing venue.
Stuart - What about that place at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in the temple with all those Egyptian kings and we could come out of a tomb like the organ in old cinemas rising from the ground.
Owen - We'd take Fast Domino or Elvis.
Stuart - Sex Pistols
Owen - Marlon Brando hitting his teeth with a spoon until the end of the set they'd all be knocked out and he'd just be sucking this spoon whilst the whole audience just cheers.
Stuart - I'd always thought Bruce Forsyth beating the shit out of himself would be great if we're putting on a royal variety show until the end he'd just be lying on the floor.

And have you got anything you'd want to say to the Gigwise readership?
Owen - If you were jeans with holes in for four months, you grow an exceptionally large amount of leg hair.
Stuart - I'll quote Willy Wonka, 'If God had intended man to walk he'd not have given us Roller Skates'.
Owen - Imagine them on stage, that'd be amazing, but you'd have to develop a new pedal system.
Stuart - No, you'd just use the stopper.
Owen - But what if it got caught…?

Colour of Fire is a band of exceptional imagination and great energy. Keep an eye on them; NME will be hyping them sometime soon. Their independent single "Decisions, Decisions" will be available on a limited basis, see www.colouroffire.co.uk for a full list of where it is available and www.mp3.com/colour_of_fire for some demo tracks.