THE SAFETY FIRE
PHOTO BY: Tom Barnes  l  WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/thesafetyfire

YOUR LATEST EP TITLED “SECTIONS” WILL BE RELEASED IN ABOUT TWO MONTH’S TIME. HOW MANY TRACKS WILL BE ON THE EP AND HOW DID YOU GUYS DECIDE ON A TITLE?

There are 5 tracks on the EP running in at about 27 minutes. The title “Sections” came from the opening track. We felt the name conveyed the right vibe for the EP. It took a while for us to develop our sound. For the last 3 years we have all been at different universities dotted around the country, so writing, practicing and any kind of band discussions were difficult, to say the least. The EP represents our development as a band and we felt that it was a coming together of “Sections”, hence the name.

WOULD YOU SAY YOU REALLY PUSHED YOURSELVES TO THE LIMIT OF YOUR TECHNICAL ABILITIES ON YOUR INSTRUMENTS FOR THESE SONGS?

Not really, and it’s probably something we have never specifically aimed to do. We never write in the mindset of technical for technical’s sake. The writing is an organic process and we feel that each part is there to serve a purpose for the song. I think we have been associated with the tech scene, when we see ourselves more as a progressive band. The emphasis of the music is not making sure it is as technical as possible, and that is why we don’t think the tech label fits us.

SOMETIMES WHEN I LISTEN TO TECHNICAL METAL BANDS LIKE YOURS I CAN’T HELP TO FEEL SORRY FOR THE VOCALIST WHO HAS TO COME UP WITH VOCALS THAT FIT WITH THE SONG. DO YOU GUYS KEEP VOCALS IN MIND WHEN WRITING AND WORKING OUT THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR SONGS?

We are always thinking about the vocals, and how they will fit with the music. We feel the vocals are just as important as any of the instruments. We appreciate it might be difficult sometimes to put vocals on to certain parts we write, but we never force vocals into any parts, in the same way we wouldn’t force a solo into a song if wasn’t needed.

The vocals hopefully compliment the music, in the same way; the music compliments the vocals so if there aren’t vocals on a part it doesn’t feel like something is missing. Our songs don’t follow a typical structure and the vocals are extremely important in tying parts together, and at times adding another timbre or rhythmic element to the music.

I SEE THE GUITAR TABS FOR THE SONGS “DMB” AND “SECTIONS” ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR MYSPACE. HOW WELL WOULD YOU SAY YOU KNOW YOUR MUSIC THEORY AND DOES IT HELP YOU GUYS TO COME UP WITH MORE “INTERESTING” COMPOSITIONS THAN USUAL?

I know music theory but I would say it has little or no bearing on my writing. When I have tried using music theory while writing I have found it to be a hindrance. I found myself constantly over analysing and over thinking, rather than letting the song writing be a natural process. However what we have found useful is transcribing our parts as a hard copy of the music. This allows us to play with structure in a more free form manner and as a reference if any parts are ever forgotten! I would probably forget half the ideas if I didn’t put them down immediately!

I MUST ASK; WHAT GEAR AND GUITAR TUNINGS DO YOU GUYS USE?

Oh the fun stuff. I play Blackmachine guitars and Jo plays Schecter guitars, all loaded with Bareknuckle Pickups going through Zilla cabs (awesome sounding cabs, and awesome custom options!). Lori plays Schecter Basses and Ashdown amps. Calvin plays a Yamaha Stage Custom and Sabian cymbals. But the star of the show has to be “The Rig of Doom” which comprises of two Fractal Axe-FX’s, VHT poweramp and a Digi 002.

We play to a click track as it creates so many opportunities such as having backing layers, interludes and guitar patch changes done for us. Since moving to this rig it has allowed us to focus more on the show and not the possibility of falling over while changing to a clean patch.

On the EP we use DADGBE and AADGBE. We have discussed using 7 strings in the future, purely so we can buy more guitars….and not feel so guilty.

WHAT DOES “DMB” STAND FOR?

We would prefer not to say - it’s a bit of a band in-joke, but what we can tell you is the B stands for Badger.

PIN FROM THE BAND SIKTH AND MARTIN GOULDING FROM LINEAR SPHERE DOES A GUITAR SOLO ON THE TITLE TRACK “SECTIONS”. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?

I had the privilege of getting guitar lessons from both Pin and Martin when I was younger, and kept them both up to date with the bands progress. When writing that part of the song, it screamed out for a ridiculous solo…or three. I mentioned it to both of them and they both loved the idea of guesting on the track. It was an honour to have them involved, with everyone in the band being big fans of both their bands.

WHY IS THE “SECTIONS” EP GOING TO BE A DIGITAL-ONLY RELEASE?

We decided to release the EP ourselves, and as funds were limited, it seemed like the best option. There may be some scope in the future to release a limited run but that won’t be for a while.

ARE THERE PLANS FOR “WARM UP” SHOWS BEFORE THE EP IS RELEASED TO BUILD A BIT OF HYPE?

We have a few shows in February which can be found on our Myspace. There will be a few more added shortly.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS SO FOR LIVE SHOWS THIS YEAR AND IF ALL GOES WELL WITH THE RELEASE OF THE EP DO YOU SEE THE BAND STARTING WORK ON A FULL ALBUM SOON?

We are actually finishing off preproduction for the album at the moment, and is the reason for the current lack of shows. We will be going into “BlackBear Studios” to record the album during March with plans to tour intensively during spring/summer. We will be having a few one off shows before this time, and possibly during the recording. It will be nice to see some sunlight in March.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ANYTHING ELSE FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?

We will releasing new merchandise in the coming weeks, and will be keeping everyone updated with video blogs. Thanks for talking to us!

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL