Artwork: Fish Carpenter

We're excited to announce the first ever Holiday Jamboree on December 16th, 2006 at the historic Castle Theater in Bloomington, IL. Backyard Tire Fire along with numurous other Bloomington-Normal musicians will take the stage this holiday season to benefit The Salvation Army’s Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter. We will start the night with a set of Tire Fire favorites then bring out our friends to play some of our favorite rock & roll songs. Joining in on the fun are:

Tommy O'Donnell (Ike Reilly/Something Brother/Spelunker), Cody Diekhoff (Chicago Farmer), Joe Kennedy (Brother Jed & Full Size Jimmy), Tony SanFilippo (Wiplot/Oxide Lounge Recording), Eric Lott (harmonica/steel player), Fish Carpenter (Wiplot), Ed Pierce (Something Brother/Shiny on Top), Scott Tipping (Bad Cat/Mick Ducker), Nate Taylor (Full Size Jimmy), Cory Star (Full Size Jimmy, Public Display of Funk), Ken Richardson (Dirty Hands Band, Full Size Jimmy), with more musicians still to be announced

Buy Tickets (all profits will be donated to the Salvation Army)

Show Details:
Sat. Dec 16th, 2006
Castle Theater
209 E. Washington Street
Bloomington, IL
Doors: 8:30pm, Showtime: 9:30pm
Ages: 21+
Cost: $15 donation

10/24/06 - BTF on tour with Will Hoge and North Mississippi Allstars in October/November

We're excited to be out with two amazing roots-rock&rollers in various markets in late October & November. We'll be with Will Hoge in NC, IA, WI, MN, PA, NJ, CT & MA over a 3 week span in October and mid-November, and with North Mississippi Allstars for a long weekend in IN & OH in early November. We hope we'll see you all out and make sure to tell your friends...check the tourdates page for more info.

Artwork: Anna Kipervaser

10/17/06- Skin and Bones is available:

Stream the Skin and Bones eCard here

Order Skin and Bones:

Stream it on Rhapsody: Skin and Bones

10/11/06 - BTF on Bloomington's WGLT today

Listen in at 4:30PM on WGLT - you can stream it right here from your computer, Ed is compared to Kris Kristofferson & Jackson Browne, not too shabby...

9/4/06 - New Message Board

As some of you have already noticed, gone is the old guest book and in it's place is a new message board. Register and start chatting it up. Also check out the new wallpapers and email signatures, thanks to Edit One and Kick Nurri Productions for donating their time to make this stuff happen.

Wallpaper #1 - Live at Schubas - 1024x768
Wallpaper #1 - Live at Schubas - 800x600
Wallpaper #2 - Walking to Schubas - 1024x768
Wallpaper #2 - Walking to Schubas - 800x600
Wallpaper #3 - Skin and Bones Cover- 1024x768
Wallpaper #4 - Skin and Bones Alt.- 1024x768
Email Signature #1 - Skin and Bones 1
Email Signature #2 - Skin and Bones 2

8/21/06 -Skin and Bones and Vagabonds and Hooligans release dates

Artwork: Anna Kipervaser

October 17th - Skin and Bones (EP):
Skin and Bones is a 6 song EP that we're releasing at shows and digitally through iTunes, Rhapsody & eMusic. It is going to incorporate two studio tracks exclusive to this EP, two live tracks from our April 1st show at Schubas in Chicago, and two new studio tracks that will also be included on the upcoming Vagabonds and Hooligans. Special thanks to Metro Mobile for recording the live tracks and Edit One for making it all possible.

Track listing:
Skin and Bones
Tired of Being Tired
Don't Know What to Do
Downtime
Crack Alley (Live)
Blood on the Strings (Live)

January 30th, 2007 - Vagabonds and Hooligans (LP):

Artwork: Anna Kipervaser

Vagabonds and Hooligans will be the third full length studio record. We're really proud of the songs and playing on Vagabonds and think it shows our musical range better than any of the previous albums.

Track listing:
Vagabonds and Hooligans
Undecided
Green Eyed Soul
Apparitions
Corinne
A Long Time
Tom Petty
The Wrong Hand
Don't Know What To Do
Get Wise
Downtime
It's a Good Night

Both albums, which will be released on OIE Records, will feature the artwork of the very talented Anna Kipervaser of Manual Productions and were recorded and co-produced by Tony Sanfillipo at Oxide Lounge Recording. We want to thank everyone who has been involved in the entire process thus far and to all of you for being patient.

Get a sneak peak of the EP tracks on Myspace. We'll be rotating them in and out for the next couple months to give you a taste of the new release, so check out our Myspace page often to get a sniff.

Oh yeah, and we've got two EP Release shows planned, check out the dates page for more info:

10/13/06 @ Castle Theater - Bloomington, IL
10/14/06 @ Double Door - Chicago, IL

We're excited to announce that we'll be spending most of our September and early October on a cross country tour with Washington D.C. rockers Virginia Coalition. VACO plays a catchy brand of rock & roll that we think you'll dig. You can stream tracks from their upcoming live album on their website or at this eCard. Check our tourdates page to see a list of markets that our tour will hit.

7/18/06 - Blogs we like

We've been getting some nice coverage from a bunch of bloggers from around the country. Definitely check out these blogs if you're into that sort of thing, they're all covering good music and we dig them:
Rhapsody Radish
Burning Oak
Live Music Blog
Muzzle of Bees
Macktronic

7/17/06 - Hedgpeth Festival

In light of the last minute cancellation of our show in Joliet next weekend, the nice folks at the Hedgpeth Festival in southern Wisconsin have asked us to play on Friday, July 28th. We're still waiting on our final show details so keep posted on our tourdates page. It's got an awesome line-up with the Flaming Lips, They Might Be Giants, The Go! Team, Bottle of Justus, Trampled By Turtles, Freshwater Collins and many more!

Also, don't forget that we'll be at 10,000 Lakes Festival this Thursday, July 20th, the Euphio Campout on Saturday August 5th and Log Jam in Geneva, MN on Saturday, August 19th. Rock and Roll.

7/13/06 - From the Road

We've been making an effort to update the From the Road section for the past 6 weeks to document our first national tour. Check out the section if you'd like an update on what we've been up to for the past month and a half. We've added photos to the section too! Keep your eyes out for a new message board and photos page in the coming weeks as well.

7/13/06 - Joliet show cancelled

Yes folks, the rumors are true, the show at Silver Cross Field with Merle Haggard and Marty Stuart has been cancelled. The shadeball promoters @ Group 7 Marketing who were putting on the show have seemingly disappeared. This is rock & roll, and unfortunately this is part of the game. We hope we will be back to Joliet sometime soon and are sorry if any inconveniences have been caused by this.

6/28/06 - Online Tickets for the Castle Theater Available

Backyard Tire Fire now has it's very own ticketing site! We're happy to be selling tickets through our new site for the Castle Theater show in Bloomington on July 15th. Tickets are also available at the box office, but if you'd prefer to save your time and energy, you can purchase the tickets here.

5/13/2006 - Summer Tour Is Announced

We're pleased to announce our first national tour!!! The festivities will kick off on 5/19 in Chicago where we're opening for the amazing Alejandro Escovedo. We're exited and honored to also be sharing the stage with a bunch of amazing artists (and some real legends) this summer like Merle Haggard, Marty Stuart, Son Volt, The Mother Hips, the Radiators, Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons, Railroad Earth, and Apollo Sunshine. The tour will start in the Southeast, come back through the Midwest, across through Colorado, south to Southern California, up through the Bay Area, and then to the Northwest, coming back across the country with stops in NE, MN, IA and MO...2 months, 42 shows, 15 states and 10,000 miles, not too shabby, now if we could just get the gas prices below $3, Mr. President. Check out the dates page for further info.

5/12/2006 - Show with Alejandro Escovedo is sold out

Hey Folks, hopefully all of you who wanted tickets got them, as the show on Friday 5/19 is now sold out. If you're looking for something to do in Chicago on Thursday, we'd highly recommend that you go see Alejandro Escovedo, as you will not be disappointed.

4/12/2006 - Backyard Tire Fire to open for Alejandro Escovedo

Hello folks. Wanted to let you all know that we've got a real special show coming up in Chicago at Martyrs' on Fri., May 19th. We've been asked to open up for the one and only Alejandro Escovedo! I first saw Alejandro about nine years ago when he opened for Los Lobos at the Riv on New Years 1997 and was instantly drawn to his songs and energy. This guy is as talented a writer as anybody out there, period. Not to mention he's a rock & roller that's been at it for years. Can't tell you how excited and honored we are to share the stage with this man...get your tickets before they sell out.
Cheers, Ed

3/27/2006 - Backyard Tire Fire to be on NPR's 848 in Chicago

NPR Chicago's Tony Sarabia featured Backyard Tire Fire on 91.5 WBEZ Chicago's 848 program. You can stream the program one of these two ways:
Stream (m3u)
Download (mp3)

3/15/2006 - The Reviews keep rolling in...

We've gotten more great reviews in cities around the country. Check out what these fine publications had to say about Backyard Tire Fire:
Dallas Observer
Nashville Scene
Iowa City Press Citizen
St. Louis Press Dispatch

2/17/2006 - DVD Shoot & Live album recording + next Bloomington show

We're playing a very special show at Schubas in Chicago on Saturday April, 1st. Our friends at Edit One will be recording a live album and DVD for release in 2007. Come out and be part of this historic occasion with us. This is a small room and will sell out before hand, so make sure you buy your tickets early.

We're also going to be making a return to the stage in Bloomington, IL. We'll be playing at the New Lafayette Club as we've out grown the capacity of the Castle Theater. The show will be all ages (21+ to drink). Again, get your tickets early as the Castle Theater show sold out before showtime. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 day of show. You can get tickets online or at the New Lafayette Club box office.

1/24/2006 - Tire Fire is headed to High Sierra!

Backyard Tire Fire is confirmed to play 2 sets at High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, CA. We couldn't be more excited. This festival is one of a kind. They always host a diverse and original lineup each year with the Sierra Mountains as your backdrop. Rock out with Tire Fire, My Morning Jacket and Son Volt!

1/21/2006 - BRS makes a German Best of 2005 poll!

Backyard Tire Fire's Bar Room Semantics made German critic Frank Ipach's Best of 2005 list (about 3/4 of the way down the page) from the website, Real Roots Cafe

1/22/2006 - Tire Fire is headed to Wakarsua!

Backyard Tire Fire is confirmed to play 2 sets at Wakarusa 2006 in Lawrence, KS. These guys mix the perfect amount of Americana and Improvisational music onto their line-up. Plus it is some of the nicest folks working and attending it on a BEAUTIFUL plot of land in Lawrence, KS. We can't say enough about this festival and are excited and honored to be playing it this year. Advance tickets went on sale today. The festival caps the attendance at 15,000 people to make it intimate for the fans. It sold out in advance last year, so get on board early and join us for an amazing weekend of music.

1/21/2006 - Tire Fire added to Americana Radio Charts!

Backyard Tire Fire is one of "Rob's Raves" on Radioio's Country station this week. You can listen to RadioCountry on Radioio.com or iTunes (search under Americana or Country). We've also been added to the Americana Music Radio Chart as well as a couple Americana (Americana = good country, blues & American roots music) internet radio shows, like Moxie Radio (which you can catch on Live365) and CosmicAmericanRadio. If you listen to an Independent station in your home town or on the internet that you think Backyard Tire Fire would fit well on, please email our manager, Geoff, at gshmanagement@gmail.com.

1/16/2006 - Tire Fire is headed to Austin!

That is right folks, Backyard Tire Fire has been chosen to perform at this years South By Southwest Festival on March 18th in Austin, TX. SXSW showcases hundreds of up-and-coming musical acts from around the globe on over fifty stages in downtown Austin. We still don't have specifics on the set time or venue, but we'll get them to you as soon as we know. Come down to Austin with us for a weekend of amazing music, BBQ and Shiner Bock. Yee-haw.