Back in Australia – arrived yesterday on a flight to Sydney from LA. Slept for most of it – woke up & saw we had about 2 hours left (14 hour flight). Takes a while to get used to turbulence on long flights & we had plenty on this one. Always gets bumpy flying across the Pacific…

Took this shot (below) this morning. We’re way out in the country side near Tamworth, New South Wales, staying in a house on the side of a long valley. It’s a freekin awesome place to beat the jet-lag & kick back with a beer or two.

The first of our east coast Aussie tour dates begin next week, Friday 15th at The Great Northern – Byron Bay and Saturday 16th at Equinox Rocks festival in QLD.

Video coming from the last weekend (4 dates) of the tour including The Saint in Asbury Park & Castaways – Ithaca, New York. The Saint was amazing. We’ll have the footage up here shortly.

Checkya tomorrow,
Fires out.

The last couple of US tour dates went by in a blur, the last show at The Saint, Asbury Park in New Jersey – which was also our very first US tour venue way back in February. And what a great way to finish off. Crowd was great – and the line-up was one of the best for the entire tour. We had a killer time.

Got off stage & went straight to the bar where we were told all alcohol is now free for the rest of the night. You can imagine the state we were in when we left the venue. Yes… Max was driving…


(shots above: top – Asbury Park crew, bottom – Megan & Scott.)

So we’re now in LA, staying with friends (we got in at midnight last night), awaiting the flight out at midnight tonight back to Australia. (below: shot of Max taken a few moments ago)

The first of our Aussie tour dates is Friday week at the Great Northern in Byron Bay, followed by the Equinox Rocks festival just outside of Brisbane. Check the shows page for details.

Video from the weekend just gone coming soon.

Checkya tomorrow, when we’re back down under.
Fires out.

Show at Castaways in Ithaca went well on Thursday night – good crowd fo a rainy eve. Things were a little quiet in Allentown last night (Friday). Lucky for Connecticut band, Ready Set Riot, who brought a small but faithful crowd.

We’re having fun all-the-same. Two dates to go – tonight in Cambridge Massachusetts at All Asia, and tomorrow night in Asbury Park, New Jersey at The Saint.

Check the Shows page for more details.

In Aussie News: Collingwood wins AFL Grand Final – no more need be said really.

Checkya later,
Fires out.

We’re about to head out the door & hit the road to Ithaca, upstate New York for a show there at ‘Castaways’ tonight.

Check the Shows page for more details.
Seeya there,
Fires out.

New Hampshire demon possession shot below. Here at The Fire Dept. we are not ones to scare the kids. But perhaps this shot, taken at our show in Dover NH (The Brick House), depicts something sinister in the eyes of bassist Nick and guitarist Marty (me). Or it could just be that red-eye thing which happens when the flash goes off.

We’ll know for sure when our next run of shows is picketed by well-meaning bible weilders…

Speaking of which, our next show is at Castaways in Ithaca (upstate New York) on Thursday night. We’ve been looking forward to this one for quite some time. Check the Shows page for details.

Checkya tomorrow,
Fires out.

Been working down at the Tiny Cup cafe today. They’ve got WiFi happening, so it makes for a break from our room here in Brooklyn. Way too much coffee consumption. Just a little wired now…

We spent the day booking more shows on the September east coast tour & doing general on-line band stuff (a never-ending story).

Checkya later,
Fires out.

Went down to the local mini-supermarket this morning. We’d run out of coffee here. Had a minor altercation with a black guy who didn’t like the way I walked past him with a shopping basket. He followed me round to the next isle “Hey white man, you don’t go over the top of me. You say excuse me – and then I let you pass”. I figured he must have taken exception to me lifting the basket while passing him. I don’t know for sure. Anyhoo, he was a big, mean lookin’ guy so, with the strongest Aussie accent I could muster, I said, “Jeeeeze, sorry mate. Didn’t mean to upset ya!” – to which he seemed momentarily stuck for words. I took the opportunity to walk away.

It’s the first uncomfortable incident I’ve had since being here. We’re staying in a very working-class, black neighbourhood notoriously known as ‘Bed Sty’ in Brooklyn. When you’re out on the street, the ratio of black people to white people is about 100 to 1. While it often looks rough & lawless, people stop and say hello. They talk with their neighbours, stoop to stoop, and sometimes with us when we’re passing by (the stoop is the set of front steps to an apartment). It’s a world apart from Manhattan island, a 20 minute train-ride away, which feels like the complete opposite; wealthier people, designer stores, slick and enourmous high rise buildings, gigantic bill-boards, fountains, Central Park and limousines.

I guess that small episode in the store this morning was a reminder that, when you scratch the surface, not everything’s OK here. Probably a good thing to stay on your toes. I was starting to get pretty relaxed.

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Checkya tomorrow,

Fires out.

PS: Shot above taken last month by Ania Korcz at Seven Festival, Poland.