An Interview with Dance, You’re On Fire.

Photo credit: Alain van Heerden & Jacques Kleynhans

Dance, You’re On Fire is one of the newest up and coming bands in the indie progressive rock scene and have been compared to bands such as those of Brand New, Cartel and Taking Back Sunday.

The name, “Dance, You’re On Fire” “was originally conceived by Nic years ago when him and I [James] were in another band. When Dance, You’re On Fire was in its formative stages the name came up for consideration. It was chosen not for any special signification other than the fact that we like the sound of it and it effectively communicates the sense of fun we wish to embody.”

The band met as “we were all familiar with one another from the previous bands we had been playing in. Tom sang for Dead Cities Centres, Adrian played guitar for Rife, and Nic, Andre (our original bassist) and I played for Cellar Door Diaries. The three respective bands often used to play shows together, and most of us were friendly with each other. So when they all fell apart Nic and Tom got together and decided to start a musical endeavour with entirely self-centered ambitions. They got the rest of us involved in the project. Paul (Andre van der Walt and The Watermark High) then joined us when Andre emigrated at the beginning of this year.”

They went from 5 piece band to a 4 piece one and it influenced their sound as “the loss of Nic has had a substantial effect on the dynamics of the band, especially in terms of musicality. For one thing we no longer have the dual-vocal effect that strongly characterised our debut EP, neither do we have as easy access to the synth/electro vibe that Nic’s keyboard helped generate. So in a way, Nic’s departure has necessitated a stripping down or simplifying at the song writing stage of things. This being said we are not at all unhappy with this development; we have been meaning to take a simpler approach to the same field of musical concerns…”

Their influences range from “Circa Survive, Closure in Moscow, Brand New, As Cities Burn, Foals, Bloc Party etc.” James hastily adds “but this is by no means a comprehensive list; these are simply the most obvious of our influences…”

Although there may only be four in the band, James believes “each has own incredibly diverse personal and musical history…and we all just love music. Our aim is to write rock songs with hooks, but that are still “musically interesting.”

Recording the EP “involved a lot of studio hours for Tom and Adrian, and was rather exhausting, mentally and physically, for all of us. We tracked, mixed, mastered and produced the whole thing ourselves. We loved it.”

Their latest single is called Wolves and has had a very positive response from fans and critics alike. “It will also hopefully be on the radio soon…”

James would put his money on It’s Like Asking A Bear If It Has Fur. Face, that said, each band member “probably has a different choice [as to their favourite track off the EP]…” he adds “Tom and Adrian have a so called ‘secret’ track on the EP, which should be looked out for.”

They are busy writing and pre-producing a full-length album that they “plan to track soon.” And will “hopefully release the album early next year [although]  a specific date has not yet been decided upon.

They will “definitely be doing a video as soon as the album’s been recorded, and the singles have been selected, but nothing is final at this stage…” They’re “still busy establishing the ‘new’ sound of Dance, You’re On Fire.”  The early part of 2010 will most likely see them “promoting that sound as widely as possibly.” James adds “creatively we have only short-term plans at the moment; I think we’re all still reeling from the frantic scramble to write a new set after Nic left…”

The band are hoping to play bigger shows and festivals next year, and feel it “would be nice to share the stage with the popular bands.” At some point they would like to achieve “World Domination.” James laughingly adds “we would also like to collectively own and run a small bakery on the island of Crete that is world renowned for its strudels and fantastically improvisational blue grass performances” They yearn for the simple life you see…

Within the band, Adrian or Paul take the longest to get ready before a gig as “it involves irons”…Adrian and Paul also happen to have a side project; a post-rock meets electronica type band called The Watermark High. Tom has recently joined an electro-pop band called The Jumper. Paul (as “he is Dutch”) talks the most rubbish and the band “can barely understand him most of the time”. A “bizarre moment at one of their shows, happened at The Bohemian” James says “We were on last. The other two bands we were playing with had great sets. We were excited to play, but as soon as we started, there was a power cut. We ended up not playing. That sucked.”

Dance, You’re On Fire have all the that is needed to succeed, with a catchy band name and an even catchier sound, they are certainly a band to keep an eye on.

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