interview with Born Of Fire

What´s the name of your band? Born Of Fire

How was the band formed? 1998 former BOF guitarist Micha Kite was invited to do a few tracks for the “Maiden America” Irom Maiden tribute record. He then put together a power metal outfit comprised of former members of Psychic Pawn, added a vocalist and called it Born Of Fire.

Can you tell about your band? After the Maiden America tribute release BOF moved on to a more serious level and went on to record the “Transformation” record,  3 song EP and the track “Heaven & Hell” for the “Black Sabbath” tribute record…”Hail to The Stonehenge Gods”. Then BOF took a long 10-11 year break before coming back to the scene and releasing our “Anthology” record in 2012 with No Remorse Records and help support that release with our very fist music video “In The End”. The summer of 2013 we started to write and record for our comeback album and ended up signing a deal with Pure Steel, completed the record and released “Dead Winter Sun” in Nov 2014. We also filmed two music videos to support this release….the title track “Dead Winter Sun” & “Tears”. All these videos are now on Youtube & our website for the fans to check out. We also have a limited edition vinyl LP released and a full line of killer merchandise including our very own branded Born Of Fire “Heavy Metal” Hot Sauce. Fans can go to our website to check all this out plus ordering links to our new album “Dead Winter Sun” available on CD & Vinyl www.bornoffireusa.com

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? The core group lives in Phoenix, AZ and Gordon our vocalist lives on the East coast but living apart does not pose any issues other than playing live locally regularly. But when we have a job to do we will get together prep and practice and hit it. No matter if its to record, film, play live or do live appearances.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Chasing that record deal! We all had a deal before in Pawn but now that BOF was started into a power metal direction and our roots being in that genre it was very important to write great songs, get in the studio and get that record deal.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you?  Sure, we are a  mix between modern power metal but with some old-school traditional metal alements.

Where was your first gig? For BOF i think it was either the world famous Mason Jar or Joe’s Grotto… really can’t remember.

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? The music is split between Victor Morell and Bobby Chavez

Who has the best since of humor in the band? I would say Michael Wolff. 

What genre do you feel you are?  US Power metal with traditional roots.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about?  Our songs are generally about the state of the world in this day/age.  We write mainly about the tension that is growing in the USA every day, and that if we don’t reclaim our country from our own government, then there is not going to be much USA left in the near future.  We feel our cover art accurately displays our message/ feelings.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers?  We write 100% of our material.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes all of our music videos are on Youtube. “In The End”, “Dead Winter Sun”, “Tears” as they are also available on our website www.bornoffireusa.com

How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am 45 yrs young and got more drive and energy that i did as an 18 yr old! I was influenced by music and live performances at a young age due to my cousins were in a touring band and my mom & dad would take me to see them when they came to town. That always amazed me and i said thats what i wanted to do…that only planted to seed... then at age 13-14 I was getting shut down by my parents when i wanted to go to Van Halen, Ozzy and a few others but then I finally broke loose and my very first concert was RUSH! That did it right there, then followed up with going to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, WASP, Metallica. I defiantly had it all figured out in my young mind what i wanted to do.

At what age did you start playing? Seriously learning and playing on a drum kit since 15 yrs old but previous to that I played drum core in the school’s marching band.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? I was 17 in my first live show for my band RIPSAW

What year was the band started? 1998

What places will you be playing in in the immediate future? Right now, we’re in the process of lining up some festival gigs.  Ideally, we would have a tour with another band or more.  Time will tell.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Start working demo ideas for a new BOF record and possible work on a re-make cover single to be released maybe towards the end of this year.

What would be your dreams for the band?  That our new albums takes off and everyone really enjoys it…Play the festival circuit for the thousands of metal fans out there, make another record and travel the world doing what we love to do.

Have you been in any other bands? Yes Psychic Pawn “Decadent Delirium” 1994, RIPSAW “An Evening In Chaos” 2013, Images Of Eden “Soul Rise” 2015 (This is our vocalist Gordon’s project... release date tbd)

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I am an actor, director and film maker. I also own a communications company and do video surveillance systems and data networks.

What would you do if there was no music? Thats something i dont want to think about. Music is a huge part of everyones life…if you think about it …its really strange how the human mind works and how reliant it is on hearing music to sooth the need of what you are feeling at the time…..sadness, happiness, motivating, nostalgic, triumphant what ever the case we all need music in out lives everyday! For a musician its a real joy to move someone with your music, lyrics or story. We want people to be able to relate. That describes our new album….its full of FEEL, every song for every mode.

How important are your fans? VERY! we write and record music to our pleasing yes but the bottom line is we really want to please the fans and hopefully they feel what we are feeling and the mesg we are trying to get across. Fans drive this industry!

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? This chick in Canada sent me a bunch of nudes pics of herself. Thats i must say was the most memorable!

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? In A Cold World & Tears

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? The love of music. We love to play, write and record. We are artist and thats what we do. In this industry today your not going to break the bank playing music. If you in this business for the money your in the wrong business. We had some unfinished business to handle from long ago and that coupled with the fact fate brought us all back together and now that we are older and wiser we take advantage of these once in a lifetime opportunities and are able to recognize them when they are presented. Just doing what we love and living life to the fullest everyday.

Do you have any webpages? Yes www.bornoffireusa.com it has all the info and pics of the band, our web store with all kinds of killer merchandise, music videos and ordering links to our new CD & LP vinyl

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Don’t ever give up.  Most bands fail due to throwing in the towel too early. Persistence is the key in this biz.

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