Fireking intially started out as a whim, an answer to the question: "What would happen if two old bandmates got together and started churning out tunes?" I was in Figures on a Beach for twelve productive years, but by 1993 when we breathed our last as a band I felt tired and definitely in need of a musical recharge. So I bought my first guitar, a Gibson ES-135, and from there, I tried to learn how to play it, under the notion that as long as it was something that Dave Davies or Pete Townshend would have played in, say, 1967, it was jake with me.

Pretty soon songs started happening, as they inevitably do. It became obvious that I needed a drummer, preferably one with a big beat, to make the tunes I was writing come to life, and the obvious drummer was Michael "Smitty" Smith, also formerly of Figures on a Beach, and someone who is possessed with a singular telepathy as far as knowing when to take it to the bridge. We started rehearsing as a two-piece band, and after awhile it was apparent that we had come up with songs and a sound that we really liked. It was time to enter the studio.

We spent much of 1999 and 2000 at New Alliance recording the tracks that would become "Live A Little, Love A Little," and in 2000 we started playing our first live shows as Fireking. The second forth-coming CD, which Fireking is busily trying to finish, was recorded at New Alliance, LoHo Studios in NYC and at Ducky Carlisle's recording studio.

We're at the very beginning of Fireking's history, but it feels like we're going to be around for awhile. After a few years of being away from music, it's an incredible feeling to be able to record and play live again. I think that "Live A Little, Love A Little" reflects that sense of release and freedom, and I hope it rocks you, hard.

Click on our names, ANTHONY KACZYNSKI, Michael "SMITTY" Smith and ANDREW MORRISON for more facts and info about us. We'll tell you our favorite flavor of ice cream if you let us.

ANTHONY KACZYNSKI

Place of Birthing:
Detroit, Michigan, USA

Zodiac Sign:
Pisces

Previous bands:
Fieldstone - 1973 - Imagine a stone, sitting in a field.... everyone has to start somewhere; I started here in Sterling Heights, MI.

Sirocco - 1974-1975 - Covers galore; real lame version of "Rock 'n Roll Hootchie Koo" seems to stick in my mind; met some interesting musicians here though, notably guitarist Matt Decker, and were told to turn down by Doc Severinsen at the Michigan State Fair.

Spike - 1975-1976 - I become a lead singer; video footage exists of me singing "Rock The Nation" by Montrose in a silver-spangled shirt and obscenely tight jeans showcasing my 135-pound frame at my high school in front of a previously unsuspecting audience; bass player Rick Gilliam (a good bloke, BTW) flings my copy of "Raw Power" across room after my suggestion of perhaps "Search and Destroy" as a cover; drummer Mike Donnelly refers to New York Dolls as "bunch of brainless idiots"). First original Kaczynski tune here, called "Nightfall." I kind of remember it; you don't want to hear it.

Middle Earth - 1976-1977 - Real cool high school garage band; Kaczynski original tunes "Long Hard Road" and "Pure Love" make their debut here; lots of Bowie/Mott/Roxy; band becomes more musically proficient when Decker and Donnelly [see Sirocco] join; band also features Kevin Evans on vocals, Cindy Solnikowski, who will later play with The Roomates, and Paul Lark (Ivories/The Shy).

Gypsy - 1977-1978 - Middle Earth implodes and I take job playing Fender Rhodes for three sets a night doin' the hits o' the day in bars all over the greater Sterling Heights/Mt. Clemens entertainment axis. Get lead vocal assignment on "Lowdown" by Boz Scaggs. I am not happy, but I'm gettin' paid.

The Shake - 1979 - After a year and a half "getting it together" in Ann Arbor, I see Rik Rolski playing guitar with this Dolls-styled band at Bookies' Club 870 and think, hmm... he plays better than Thunders and no heroin habit. High school friend Janice Woods sets me up with audition; I arrive, overcaffeinated and smoking three Newports at once with my $50 Farfisa organ, get the job, play a couple of gigs, and steal Rolski to form R22. I also oversleep for a gig at the New Miami, waking up to realize that The Shake is shaking without me. Am told that my original composition, "Silent Scream," is too electronic.

Razor 1922 - 1979-1980 - Rolski and I decide we're kindred spirits; he introduces me to Paul Schwochow, who I find compellingly artistic. I have not met many people like this in Sterling Heights. We start to rehearse at insanely quiet volume in the Rolski basement. We add Mick Flores on drums, and begin to play live. I take the upper flat at Chez Rolski and begin living in Detroit, discover John Cage and foggy Delray at 3:00 a.m., play countless gigs. R22 is my first real band. We are young and determined to change the world, or at least Nunzio's. There is no rulebook with Razor, just boundless experimentation. Sadly, this band never properly recorded, but for a quick glimpse of the live Razor 1922 experience download this MP3 of "White Shirt" from a gig at The Bowery in beautiful Hamtramck, MI, October 1980. Personnel is: Paul Schwochow, vocals; Rik Rolski, guitar; Mick Flores, drums, and yours truly on Farfisa organ/bass, also throwing in some background yelps near the end of the track.

Figures on a Beach - 1981-1993 - Here's where I spent twelve years of my life. Razor 1922 decided it didn't want to be Razor 1922 at the height of our local notoriety in Detroit in December 1980, so we became FOAB. The first version was essentially Razor 1922 with the addition of my high school chum Steve Schroat on a then unheard of third keyboard. This lineup was highly conceptual, and contentious. A faultline ensued in the band which split us into two camps. Rolski and I decided to soldier on as FOAB, and enlisted Michael Smith (from L7, Zero Ambience and The Blind) on drums, and synthetic wizard and friend of Razor Chris Ewen on keyboards. In 1984 we add Perry Tell on bass, guitar and keyboards. Due to a variety of reasons, we decamp for Boston in 1985.Someday I'll write my own much longer and detailed account of the Figures years, but suffice to say, they were eventful. We did three indie EPs and two LPs for Sire, saw much of the country, met a lot of amazing people, played with many amazing bands, and learned much about life. After Figures breaks up, I will not pursue a musical project for four years, until I get my guitar chops together and the idea for Fireking is hatched.

Ten Favorite Albums [subject to change]:
1. Godspeed The Shazam - The Shazam
2. Country Life - Roxy Music
3. Bowie at the Beeb - David Bowie
4. Alien Lanes - Guided by Voices
5. Amazing Disgrace - The Posies
6. The Hoople - Mott The Hoople
7. The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus
8. Pleasures of The Harbor - Phil Ochs
9. No Dice - Badfinger
10. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard & Linda Thompson

Ten Favorite Movies [also subject to change]:
1. Sweet Smell of Success (none better; this will always be number one)
2. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
3. An Autumn Tale
4. Sullivan's Travels (interchangeable with number 2; actually probably better, but I don't want to use this forum to get into an argument with myself).
5. The Ice Storm
6. Citizen Ruth
7. Chinatown
8. Buffalo 66
9. Rushmore
10. The King of Comedy

Ten Favorite Songs [ask me tomorrow, I'll give you ten more]:
1. Give Me Just A Little More Time - Chairmen of the Board
2. Love and Happiness - Al Green
3. Sweet Young Thing - Chocolate Watchband
4. Whisper Softly - Myracle Brah
5. Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat - Bob Dylan
6. Isolation - Joy Division
7. Isolation - John Lennon
8. Garbageman - The Cramps
9. Shakin' Street - MC5
10. Respect Yourself - The Staples Singers

Ten Books I Have Loved (yeah, this could change tomorrow too):
1. Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem
2. Strong Motion - Jonathan Franzen
3. White Noise - Don DeLillo
4. Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
5. Open Secrets - Alice Munro
6. Portnoy's Complaint - Philip Roth
7. American Splendor (comics) - Harvey Pekar
8. London Fields - Martin Amis
9. Judge on Trial - Ivan Klima
10. Post Office - Charles Bukowski

Best Baseball Team of All Time:
1968 Detroit Tigers

Best Diner Experience:
Jigger's Diner - East Greenwich, Rhode Island

Best Basketball Gym in Continental US:
Huntington Avenue YMCA, Boston, Massachusetts

SMITTY

Place of Birth:
Detroit, Michigan, USA

Zodiac Sign:
Leo

First Band Ever:
The Shades - 1965-1967 - This was the very first band I ever played drums in. I was in the third grade and we only played for the neighborhhood kids in the basement of my friend's (Drew Brophy) house (think "The Little Rascals" in a 1960's rock band.) Of course we were horrible, we were in the third grade (though Drew did sing way better than Alfalfa.) We played covers of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Monkees and even Jimi Hendrix and Cream. I got my first real kiss from a girl out of the deal. I was hooked.

Top Ten Musical Artists/Bands: (Top 10,000 would be more accurate)
1. The Beatles
2. Cheap Trick
3. David Bowie
4. Iggy Pop
5. Nirvana
6. Mott The Hoople
7. The Kinks
8. Devo
9. MC5
10. Sparks
*Guilty pleasure (aren't they all?) - The Monkees

Ten Bands I'm Currently Listening to (not on the list above and in no particular order):
1. Gogol Bordello
2. Wide Right
3. The Dresden Dolls
4. Juliette & The Licks
5. Shipwreck Union
6. The Shazam
7. Baby Woodrose
8. The Dents
9. Tegan and Sara
10. Wolfmother

OK, Top Ten Guilty Pleasures
1. Make love in the afternoon (usually followed by a long nap.)
2. Spend the whole day playing drums instead of working (also usually followed by a long nap.)
3. Eat cold Ravioli out of the can. Mmmmmm (nappy time again.)
4. A long nap in the middle of the day for no particular reason.
5. See a matinee movie and sneak in to a second movie afterwards (I once did the trifecta.)
6. Add a ton of reverb and echo to Fireking rehearsal recordings.
7. Buying hats (fez et all) and cheap sun glasses.
8. Watching any movie starring Don Knotts.
9. 2 cowbells on my drum kit.
10. 3 martinis in my belly.
*Guiltiest of guilty pleasures - Buy a music CD of a band I've never heard of just because they're from Detroit or Boston.

Ten Favorite Movies:
1. A Clockwork Orange
2. Broken Flowers
3. Easy Rider
4. Wings of Desire
5. Vanishing Point (original)
6. This is Spinal Tap
7. Chinatown
8. Buffalo 66
9. Magnolia
10. Boogie Nights
*Guilty pleasure - Mystery Men

Ten Favorite Animated Cartoons:
1. Ren and Stimpy (really anything by John K.)
2. Bugs Bunny and gang
3. Anything by Hanna-Barbera from the 60s
4. Clutch Cargo (gotta love those lips)
5. The Rocky and Bulwinkle Show
6. The Iron Giant
7. Anything by Matt Groening
8. Anything by Tim Burton
9. Wallace and Gromit
10. Really old Popeye cartoons

Greatest drummer of all time:
Ringo Starr

Greatest drummer of all time if Ringo didn't exist:
Bunn E. Carlos

Best Pizza:
Cloverleaf square pizza at the Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant on Gratiot in Eastpointe, Michigan. I've had pizza all over the world and this is number one for me by a long shot. It's a garlic and butter thing, baby. (There isn't a single slice in all of NYC that even comes close. A bold statement indeed!)

ANDREW MORRISON

Bass player extraordinaire. More information to come.