Brightest Young Things

We first heard of New Rock Church of Fire sometime in early 2007, as they were about to open for Willowz. Then we met Mitchell as he was winning the first ever Styleistics beer bong contest (him and his personally brewed Mitch Ale went on to sponsor the second championship) and when we heard they were about to play their first ever Black Cat mainstage show AND release a CD, we felt it was somewhat necessary we celebrate the band who desribe themselves as "A modern day Spinal Tap, but we're not joking"
As the ideas for this lumberjack themed shoot were brewing (other options included a "karate themed" shot and "us looking like stupid tourists around the monuments) the CD ended up getting delayed a smidge but hey, the show is still This Friday, it is still their childhood dream come true, their music is still as big as a mountain and we still have a hilarious interview/listening party/chainsaw powered shoot with them to share.

Ladies and the occasional gentlemen, we present to you.... New Rock Church of Fire, a band you WILL want to drink with after their show.

BYT:So, gentlemen of New Rock Church of Fire... For the uninitiated out there
a, introduce yourselves in under 3 sentences each
Trae: I'm 6'4", strikingly handsome and made of thunder and bullets. I have a tattoo of a Nike Swoosh. I came in 2nd on Wheel of Fortune, losing to a fat housewife from Ohio.
Floyd: I only need three things to get by. My Tomos LX moped, my wizard bong and pizza.
Mitchell: I enjoy beer, rock and action movies. I never smile. I am strong.

....describe your music to our readers that have (gasp!) never heard New
Rock Church of Fire?
NRCoF Collectively: A modern day Spinal Tap, but we're not joking. Also, we've been told we sound like a mix between Fugazi and a fart joke.

...tell us what you're wearing right now?
Trae: T-shirt, blue jeans and hi-tops.
Mitchell: T-shirt, blue jeans and hi-tops.
Floyd: T-shirt, blue jeans, hi-tops and a third-degree black belt.

BYT: Who would you say is your target audience?
NRCoF:Anyone who likes to have fun and enjoys solid gold earsex

And in the quest for reaching that audience... your toughest DC music scene competition is (and why)?
NRCoF: Ourselves. We can't do anything right. Also, Kings Dominion season pass holders have really been chapping our asses lately.

BYT: Also, who's no competition at all?
NRCoF:This is a trap, isn't it?

And WHYYYYY ARE YOU NOT FALLING INTO IT???? Who is the God that New Rock Church of Fire Prays to?
NRCoF:Whoever is bartending at the time.

BYT: Solid answer. Both diplomatic and across the board brownnosey Who are some of your inspirations, lumberjacks not included?
NRCoF: Mitchell's grandfather, New Rock Church of Fire West, the Agrocrag, John Powers, Axl Rose 1993-Present and lumberjacks.

BYT: Aside from playing the Cat this upcoming weekend, what are your wildest hopes and dreams?
NRCoF:We would like to kill a tiger/bear/shark/wolf with our bare hands.

Well, considering the level of sheer manpower you all exhibited during the BYT shoot, I can see that hapening... how do you plan to make these dreams come true?
NRCoF:Find a sleeping or wounded tiger/bear/shark/wolf.

BYT: So, we heard that the show was supposed to be a CD release but now its a ....t-shirt release? What happened to the cd? did the t-shirts eat it?
NRCoF:The T-shirts were easy, we bought them off of another band also named New Rock Church of Fire. The recording proved to be a bit tougher. We have to find a way to contain our songs onto physical matter, not as easy as it sounds. After 3 or 4 tries at recording ourselves, we've realized that we need to enlist the help of people have experience in the recording process before we officially press anything. That said, we self recorded an EP, did the artwork ourselves and are going to be giving it away at the show.

Sweet deal, lets listen to some songs now, while you tell us all about them, deal?
NRCoF:Deal.

Fig Tree - This is a simple song that is a little different than anything else we've done. Floyd wrote and recorded the song
acoustically a few years ago, and he wanted to add a bass line to it. We liked the way it turned out so much that we incorporated it as a full band piece and have been playing it ever since.

The Sword - This is one of our more intense songs, it's the first song we wrote as a three piece. We literally pulled it out of the dark. We were getting ready for practice and one of us started playing the riff and we all joined in. By the end of practice we had the song. It took us until we sat down to record it to settle on vocals, but other than that, the song hasn't changed since the first time we played it.

BYT: But seriously....When can we expect this cd release?
NRCoF:We're putitng the finishing touches on a few more songs, all of which will rival Rush's 2112, and we'll start recording in January. Our full-lenght LP should be finished, pressed and ready to go by the spring......of 2112.

BYT:...and what can we expect from said CD?
NRCoF:10 ballbusting tunes. Think Use Your Illusion III.

BYT: We're doing all these year-end wrap ups so we figured we'd ask you some of the questions to fill in the blanks, much like we're making our contributors do so. We'll do a "most and least sucky" series, cool?
NRC0F:No.

BYT: Well touch luck....But first....resolutions?
1. Stop renting "Houseguest."
2. Buy "Houseguest."
3. Cry less.
4. Bathe more often/efficiently.
5. Buy shampoo.
6. Sit before you poop.

Now for that thing you don't want to do....but I am still making you
Most sucky song of 07?
"Escape from Alcatraz" - We wrote it, played it once.

Least sucky?
Any song off of "The Art of Partying" by Municipal Waste.

Most sucky movie of 07?
Didn't make it to the cinema this year...

Least sucky?
...how about Rambo: First Blood Part II?

Most sucky live show of 07?
Any other show on Friday night.

Least sucky?
Us at the Black Cat on Friday night.

Most sucky DC moment of 07?
Sean Taylor.

Least Sucky?
Julyoween costume party.

Most sucky NRCoF moment of 07?
Not having a CD Release show at Black Cat.

Least sucky?
Having a T-shirt Release party at Black Cat.

thaaaaaaaaaaaank you
Thank you.

all photos:
Shervin Lainez http://www.shervinfoto.com/
styling:
Morgan Hungerford

want more:
befriend them on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/nrcof
and check NRCoF at their first Black Cat Mainstage show this Friday