About Me
CITIES BIOCities on Fire's explosive and out of control 16 month existence in relative obscurity from to Jan 1 2006 to Apr 25 of 2007 proves once again that in rock n roll, greatness often goes unnoticed and is rarely meant to last. Borne out of a rash decision one drunken night by singer /guitaristTJ and bassist/producer Dom Rocket, the duo decided to build a sound based on their love of early punk bands like the Clash, prototype Detroit bands the MC5 and Stooges, and garage bands like the Sonics. The risky decision to form a new project was made only days before a high profile new years show headlining Michael T's Panty party as members of the group, Rockets and Cars! COF's final show, the only one that featured what was going to be their future direction, a combination of live playing and laptop sampling,saw them share the stage with the Noisettes at the Mercury lounge. The set ended in glorious disarray as the final jam during the shows closer, LEADERS, showed a despondent trio, whose train had clearly fallen off the tracks . Before disbanding, COF, whose members survived the highs and lows of many late nights out patrolling the Lower East side during their short span of existence, recorded over 25 songs. Their early motto "flying by the seat of our pants" aptly defines the career of a band that found implosion as the only solution to not wearing out their welcome. COF failed to survive a difficult time in NYC rock n roll history when seemingly only "style over subtance" hipster acts could be embraced .Instinctively deciding the moment was right to reinvent themselves, Rocket and TJ quickly sought out the help of experienced drummer and loose cannon Gary Calzaretta to man the kit. Rehearsing illegally in the basement of Rockets building as well as Rockets apartment to the dismay of Rockets neighbors ( including some members of !!!), the three piece rehearsed frantically in order to successfully put a 25 minute show together in five days ( Later, they used the space daily, to form a solid foundation, naming the project temporarily US AGAINST THEM ). The show and party was a debaucherous success. Partying recklessly, what was later to become a destructive theme of the band, the members celebrated their debut into the late new years day morning, with unlimited hopes for the future. In March, after a successful follow up show at the Mercury Lounge, they took their initial songs to producer and former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone, who suggested using the name CITIES ON FIRE, from a lyric in one of the songs the band was considering recording. The band agreed, and quickly recorded MILLION PLACES and ,US AGAINST THEM ( a song later used by the NBA) in March of 2006. After months of honing in on their style, the band now had enough material to record their debut LP. The group then began an April residency that started out with a lively packed audience but ended with a confrontation on stage between Rocket and the clubs bouncer Guy over beer throwing and equipment breaking. Calzaretta, leery of the groups lack of discipline and shady nightime ways that led even himself down a dark and curious path at times, threatened to leave the band. Undaunted, Rocket and TJ enlisted producer and former White Light Motorcade guitarist Mark Lewis to man the controls of the LP. Done in June of 2006 at Don Hills, a popular club on the local circuit for years, the group achieved a whole album recorded live, one song after another, to resemble the feel and energy of a live show, despite Calzarettas tenuous position. The album was a success and inspiration to the band. The results on tape reenergized the drummer who reconsidered and chose to continue on. Confidence was now growing. Opportunities appeared to exist around the corner . Of the ten songs recorded that afternoon, BEEN OUT EVERY NIGHT, a spoof on the late night characters of the Lower East Side, and LEADERS , a comment on world leadership from a distance, became the most popular at shows. BOOM caught the attention of commander Joe "" and became the marine brigade's soundtrack as they drove tanks around detonating IEDs from a distance. HE's WAITIN, on of two cover songs the band ever recorded, pays homage to the groups love of Sonics singer Gerry Roslie. The recordings then caught the attention of Mike Stuart, head of manageent.Months later, on the heels of the LP, COF began a brief involvement with " "entertainment in the fall of 2006, that rested on Stuarts confidence that his company could push the band out from the underground and into the marketplace. This marked the height of the bands promise and saw the birth of four songs most notably RATED X, a snapshot of the famed party the band initially took the stage at. CRIMINAL ACTION, inspired by the murder of a college girl on the Bowery, was used for the bands first YOU TUBE video, shot by Punk Photo's Abbey Braden in the bands Brooklyn rehearsal space. The recordings coincided with the first live show to ever be played at burgeoning downtown hot spot 205, with A.R.E Weapons. The shows were so loud and and the crowd so unruly and raucous, that explosive acts were no longer allowed to play there. Cops quickly arrived in droves to settle down the madness taking place inside. COFs reputation as a full throttle ass kicking trio was finally getting out to the people and for weeks after word on the street was that COF was a force to be reckon with.. Unfortunately, without clear direction in the months that followed , there was little done to accelerate any of the momentum gained from the 205 show.. By December of 2006, the group had stalled. Frustrated, Rocket began to find more trouble in nightspots, fighting bouncers, weekenders, poseurs and anyone else who would come before him. Rockets bad boy reputation began to circulate, scaring off club owners, who were more concerned with pleasing the new gentrified downtown than accepting the personalities that constitute a real rock n roll band.As New Years 2007 passed and little progress had been made on the business front, COF's initial dreams of rock n roll glory were starting to become a cold harsh reality. The group was broke, without funding, and had little industry support.. Shortly after, in March of 2007 drummer Gary Calzaretta left to pursue other interests, sending a shockwave that the group never fully recovered from. Rocket and TJ decided to carry on however, and temporarily enlisted the help of friend and Sugar Report drummer, Joe Zada. Zada played with the band in March 2006 at shows at debaucherous Snitch and once again at 205 with local upstarts Modrocket. With Zada, the band quickly boarded a plane the morning after the 205 show, in order to take one time Libertines and Oasis manager Alan Mgee up on a shot to play his famed Death Disco party opening in Los Angeles. The show lacked the bands natural energy due to a sound ordinance in the club that forced the group to play at an unusually low volume. Angered and disappointed COF nonetheless chose to fill the remaining three nights in Hollywood by partying and creating havoc. Things almost got out of hand one night as a scary death defying car chase ensued involving the band in a rented mustang,and a gun toting gang banger, incensed over Rockets and Zada's jaywalking and surliness after a stop at a liquor store. The chase down Hollywood boulevard ended safely, after the band raced onto a side street and out of the gang bangers sight.Upon returning to NYC in April 2007 , Rocket, inspired by his recent work making club remixes for signed bands, suggested to TJ that they attempt a new approach that would include live sampling and make the band less reliant on a drummer. With Calzaretta gone and Zada tied up in another project, the idea seemed logical as the duo compiled a new batch of songs ,recorded and mixed by Rocket. Plans to redirect the COF approach were temporarily halted however, when Rocket and Zada, were arrested at the infamous WELCOME BACK NYC illegal loft party on Grand st, where Rocket was DJing. During a brief two week period after the arrests, they wrote SHE's SO ROCK N ROLL, a story about go go dancer Anna Copacabana and LES mainstay the Motor City bar, SUNSET STRIP detailed the car chase and LA trip. Previous tracks CRIMINAL ACTION and LEADERS were among the songs remixed to fit the new style. Sadly, the band fell apart soon after and were never able to develop this new direction. COF went down in flames one week later, after their final April 23 show at the Mercury Lounge, in support of UK hotshots the Noisettes . A gutteral yet spotty performance that included Zada on drums, was the groups final show, one that included sampled beats and sounds.COF's legacy will be one that may never outgrow its cult status as a trio that wrote about their own turbulent lives, NYC, the War on terror, with every ounce of sweat and energy they had. They were a real kick ass rock n roll band.A complete 25 song retrospective CD with liner notes and pics will be available sometime in late 2007.
