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FireHouse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FireHouse
FireHouse members from left to right: Michael Foster, Nate Peck, Allen McKenzie, and Bill Leverty in 2024
FireHouse members from left to right: Michael Foster, Nate Peck, Allen McKenzie, and Bill Leverty in 2024
Background information
OriginRichmond, Virginia, U.S.
Genres
Years active1984–present
Labels
Members
Past members

FireHouse (also Firehouse) is an American hard rock band that formed in 1984 in Richmond, Virginia. They then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they signed with Epic Records in 1989.[5] The band reached stardom during the early 1990s with charting singles like "Don't Treat Me Bad," "All She Wrote," and "Reach for the Sky," as well as their signature power ballads "Love of a Lifetime," "When I Look into Your Eyes," and "I Live My Life for You." At the 1992 American Music Awards, FireHouse won the award for "Favorite New Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist."[6]

As the 1990s progressed, the band remained very popular in Asia, mainly in Japan and Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. They also maintained popularity in South America and Europe.[5] FireHouse continued to release new material throughout the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, most of which successfully charted in Japan. The band has also continued to tour internationally, having participated twice in the annual Rock Never Stops Tour with other bands from the same genre. FireHouse is estimated to have sold over 7 million albums worldwide since their debut.[7]

Originally composed of vocalist/keyboardist C. J. Snare, guitarist Bill Leverty, drummer Michael Foster and bassist Perry Richardson, the band maintained its core lineup for nearly four decades with the exception of Richardson, who departed in 2000. Richardson was replaced briefly two times before current bassist, Allen McKenzie, was given the position in 2004.[8] Snare remained as the lead singer of FireHouse until late 2023, when he stepped aside citing health issues. Former American Idol Season 21 contestant Nate Peck substituted as lead singer in Snare's place. Following Snare's death in 2024, Peck became the official vocalist of FireHouse.[9]

History

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Early beginnings

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Band font logo

FireHouse can be traced back to 1984, when a drummer was required for Bill Leverty's band concept, White Heat. After over 20 auditions, co-founder Michael Foster answered the ad and was hired by Leverty due to his musical recollective abilities. When the band wasn't on tour, Leverty and Foster would visit rock clubs, and it was at one of these clubs where they saw fellow hard rock band Maxx Warrior perform.[5] Singing for the band was C. J. Snare, and Perry Richardson was the bassist. Upon witnessing their performance, Leverty and Foster became determined to merge their talents as one act.[5] Maxx Warrior soon broke up, and Leverty sent Snare some of his songs, asking Snare to sing on White Heat's demo tape. Again impressed, Leverty and Foster brought Snare in to be the band's lead singer for a show in Virginia several weeks later.[5]

FireHouse bassist Allen McKenzie in North Dakota in 2007

Now composed of CJ Snare, Bill Leverty, Cosby Ellis (guitar, soon to depart), and Michael Foster, White Heat took their tape to Perry Richardson following the departure of bassist Richard Smith. Richardson was impressed and eager, but had made a six-month commitment to the band that he then was a member of. Later in 1988, Richardson joined White Heat. The band moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and began recording demos in Leverty's bedroom, doing so during the day and playing hotel shows at night to earn income. Since their established name, White Heat, was trademarked, the band chose FireHouse instead.

In December 1989, Michael Caplan of Epic Records flew to Charlotte, NC to see a FireHouse show, and told the band immediately following the performance that they were ready for a record deal. The band went into the studio with David Prater as producer.[5] Prater, who later produced bands such as Dream Theater and having drummed with Santana, produced the band's first two albums.

Success in the 1990s

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The band's self-titled debut in 1990, FireHouse, was met with much critical acclaim. The band won the American Music Award for Best New Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Band of 1992 (which the band also presented the same category to grunge band and Epic Records labelmate Pearl Jam in 1993), Metal Edge Magazine's Best New Band of 1991, Young Guitar Magazine's Best Newcomer of 1991, and Music Life Magazine's reader's pop poll Best Newcomer of the Year 1992.[5] The band's first album sold over two million copies in the United States, and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. The band's third and most successful single, "Love of a Lifetime", reached No. 3 selling over 500,000 copies. Other singles also charted including the harder-rocking "Don't Treat Me Bad" at No. 14. The first single from the album, "Shake & Tumble" enjoyed success on the radio and brought attention to the band, but it failed to chart on the Pop charts, although it did at Metal radio.[10] The album went on to become certified gold in Canada, Singapore, and Japan.

The band followed their impressively received debut with Hold Your Fire in 1992. Although not as successful as its predecessor due to the recent explosion of grunge and alternative rock, Hold Your Fire produced three more charting singles and was certified gold in the US. To date, Hold Your Fire has soundscanned over 873,000 copies in the United States alone. Singles from the album included "Sleeping with You", "Reach for the Sky", and the power ballad "When I Look into Your Eyes". The latter single became a top 10 hit in the United States.[10]

For the band's third album, aptly titled 3, they changed producers. Ron Nevison, who had served as producer for Ozzy Osbourne, UFO, Europe, Heart, and many other groups, produced this album.[5] While the band's success had waned in the United States by 3's release in 1995, the album brought them more success overseas than ever before. Despite the album not selling well in the United States compared to previous albums, it was certified gold in several Asian countries, giving the band an opportunity to tour in countries like India and Thailand. The lead single from the album, "I Live My Life for You", was the band's third Top 40 ballad in the United States.[10] Snare remarked that despite drastic changes in the industry, FireHouse was the only band of its genre that managed to have a Top 40 hit as late as 1995, without having to make drastic changes to their sound.[11] 3's follow-up, Good Acoustics, was a collection of acoustic arrangements of several of their hits, as well as four new songs. The album, produced by the band's guitarist Bill Leverty, went gold in six countries including Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.[10] Tracks "In Your Perfect World", "You Are My Religion", and "Love Don't Care" became hits in many Asian countries. After the album's release, the band launched their second tour of Asia which ended in late 1996. It was followed by another tour of Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan in February 1997, including several sold-out shows. The band returned to Southeast Asia in July and played an unprecedented 25 city sold-out tour of Indonesia.[10]

After this time, the band asked to be released from their contract due to their label's lack of promotion in the United States, after eight years of being signed to Epic Records in 1989. They made a significant change when they signed with Pony Canyon from Japan. With the decline in popularity among rock acts of the 1980s in the US, and their steady fame in Asia and elsewhere abroad, they agreed to release Category 5 with their new label. They toured heavily throughout Asia during 1998 and 1999, achieving great success with their album. They continued to tour heavily in the United States as well, performing on the first ever "Rock Never Stops Tour" all over America in 1998. This tour featured fellow 1980s rock bands including Slaughter and Quiet Riot. On April 22, 1999, FireHouse recorded a live show in Osaka, Japan, and released it with the title Bring 'Em Out Live later that year.

2000 and beyond

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FireHouse, 2008. Vocalist and songwriter CJ Snare with guitarist and songwriter Bill Leverty

Sometime in 2000, the band parted ways with bassist Perry Richardson due to personal conflict and hired Bruce Waibel, who had played bass in the Gregg Allman Band for 10 years. Leverty met Waibel in Sarasota, Florida, and was impressed by his musicianship.[12] When the band had an opening for a bassist due to Richardson's departure, Leverty contacted Waibel and asked him to join the band. With Waibel, they recorded O2 (2000), and toured on the Metal Edge 2002 tour with Dokken, Ratt, Warrant, and L.A. Guns. After the twelve-week tour, Waibel parted ways with the band to spend more time with his family.[12] In 2003, Waibel committed suicide, aged 45. Guitarist Bill Leverty expressed the band's sadness over his death in a statement shortly after the news broke.[12] Initially, Waibel was replaced by Brazilian bassist Dario Seixas, who played on the band's 2003 album Prime Time, but Seixas left the band shortly after. Following an announcement that the band were in need of a bass player, Allen McKenzie, then-bassist for Jani Lane's solo project, sent in his audition tape, and was subsequently hired.[11]

In December 2004, FireHouse became the first major international rock band to play concert dates in northeast India.[13] The band's first Indian concert date was in Shillong, followed by two more dates in Dimapur, and Aizawl.[13] The band's first Indian date, in Shillong when the Maharaja of Tripura Kirit Pradyot Deb Burman invited them, took place in front of a sold out stadium crowd of over 40,000, setting a record for that city.[11] The band continued to tour extensively in the United States throughout the 2000s, especially in the midwest, and played festivals including Rocklahoma.[14] In a March 2007 interview, when asked about a prospective next album, guitarist Bill Leverty said "we plan on going into the studio this coming winter. Hopefully, we'll be able to get all the songs together and record them for a spring/summer release."[7] It is unknown if any finished recordings materialized from these sessions.

In 2011 the band released their eighth studio album titled Full Circle, which featured re-recorded versions of some of their older tracks. The 2010s saw FireHouse continuing their established consistent touring schedule.

Longtime FireHouse singer C. J. Snare died on April 5, 2024.[15] At the time of his death, Snare had taken a hiatus from the band due to health concerns and was replaced by American Idol season 21 contestant Nate Peck, who had filled in for him during their 2023 live performances.[15][16] A month after Snare's death, FireHouse announced that Peck would officially be taking over as the band's new frontman.

On June 25, 2025, the band released their first single with Peck on vocals titled "Mighty Fine Lady", which is also the band’s first new material in over twenty years.[9] In March 2026, another new single with Nate Peck, "Midnight Gasoline", was released.[17]

Band members

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Current members
Former members
  • Chip Tunstall – lead vocals (1984–1988)
  • Samuel Cherry – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1986)
  • Richard Smith (a.k.a Rich Bitchin) – bass, backing vocals (1984–1988)
  • Cosby Ellis – guitar, backing vocals (1986–1989)
  • C. J. Snare – lead vocals, occasional keyboards (1988–2024; his death)
  • Perry Richardson – bass, backing vocals (1988–2000)
  • Bruce Waibel – bass, backing vocals (2000–2003)
  • Dario Seixas – bass, backing vocals (2003–2004)
Touring substitutes

Timeline

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Discography

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Studio albums

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Talevski, Nick (2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 683. ISBN 978-0-85712-117-2.
  2. ↑ McPadden September 23, 2015, Mike. "The Hair Metal 100: Ranking the '80s Greatest Glam Bands, Part 3". VH1 News. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "The Top 10 Biggest Hair Bands ... Literally | Guitar World". November 15, 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-8230-7690-1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Bill Leverty Biography". 2007 Bill Leverty. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  6. ↑ "19th American Music Awards". 1992 19th American Music Awards. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Bill Leverty Interview". 2007 Saviours of Rock. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
  8. ↑ "FireHouse Biography at FireHouseMusic". 2007 FireHouse. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  9. 1 2 Blabbermouth (May 17, 2024). "FIREHOUSE Announces New Singer NATE PECK". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "CD Baby FireHouse Biography". 2007 CD Baby. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 "C.J. Snare Interview with RockEyez". 2005 Rock Eyez. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  12. 1 2 3 "Blabbermouth Story on Waibel's Death". 2003 Blabbermouth. Archived from the original on February 4, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  13. 1 2 "Indian News Story on FireHouse tour". 2004 BollywoodSARGAM. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  14. ↑ Elliot, Matt (July 8, 2007). "C'mon sell the noize: Rocklahoma's hair-metal lineup outselling Country Fever". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 16, 2006.
  15. 1 2 Larry Petro (April 7, 2024). "FIREHOUSE Vocalist CJ SNARE Passes Away At 64". KNAC.com. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  16. ↑ Larry Petro (March 19, 2024). "A Conversation With FireHouse Vocalist Nate Peck". misplacedstraws.com. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  17. ↑ https://www.melodic.net/news/new-music-from-firehouse-midnight-gasoline-now-available-exclusively-on-their-website
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