FIRE & STRINGS is a collaborative project between fire artist/touring musician S. J. Tucker (aka Skinny White Chick) and fire artist/acrobat Kevin K Wiley, dazzling audiences through a fusion of fire play and improvisational music. Tucker accompanies Wileys fire play with her live music or spins fire poi along with Wiley, often with local drum circle support, or as the highly-flammable icing on the cake of rock shows with other bands. The duo also performs indoors with LED-poi, flags and other glow props when fire is not an option. Fire & Strings has delighted hundreds of crowds since its ignition, undertaking shows in Memphis, Austin, Atlanta, Jacksonville (FL), Orlando, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, and Colorado Springs, as well as many outdoor festivals across the country.
Tucker and Wiley make for a scintillating pair in any combination, but they are at their hottest spinning Poi in tandem, using their obvious chemistry and trust to create a highly entertaining and passionate dance. Fully-insured, sensible and safe pyrophiliacs, Fire & Strings serve the muses and honor with their talents the truest passions in the universe: song and flame.
K's Fire Solo
A short clip from a longer fire video to be included in an upcoming PBS program: Gypsy Circus. Fire artist Kevin K' performs to music by Kan'nal at Bishop's Castle. Expect more poi and fire video clips from our upcoming demo video. See more clips here
SPOTLIGHT: KEVIN K WILEY Professional fire artist, dancer, and magician Kevin K Wiley has been playing with fire as long as anyone has, but he took it to whole new heights two years ago while working with Lumina Fire Theatre in Denver, CO. Today, combining fire play, poi spinning, silk spinning, LED-poi light shows, and gymnastic stilt-walking with live, original music by Skinny White Chick, he has brought a new project called Fire & Strings to an explosively popular genesis. Fire & Strings has been touring the nation since its inception, as an enchanting subset of already magical Skinny White Chick performances. Inbetween performances, K offers classes by appointment in basic, intermediate, or advanced poi spinning technique, tricks, transitions, and dance, introductory fire spinning, and fire safety. K also works with the Colorado Fire Tribe, the Flash Point Fire troupe, and in the Burning Man Fire Conclave.
SPOTLIGHT: S. J. TUCKER is a unique talent whose strong guitar work and enormous voice belie her small stature. Now an insured fire performer touring with Fire & Strings as well as with her own musical projects, S. J. delights audiences in more ways than ever. Before the summer of 2004, S. J. would never have thought herself a candidate for the fire arts, since her head remains, to this day, 'a ball magnet.' Who knew that she would find a soulmate and traveling partner in Kevin K Wiley, and that all she had to do was light a couple of balls on fire and spin them over her head to break the curse! Tucker takes joy from the opportunity to express herself through fire, as well as music, whenever Fire & Strings takes the stage. Many progressive and hard-edged variations from S. J.'s impressive catalogue of songs occur at Fire & Strings performances, as Tucker manipulates acoustic guitar, electric bass, and hand percussion off-the-cuff, to honor the force of unpredictability present in music and in fire.