Nashville-based rock band DAY OF FIRE will release their third CD LOSING ALL–a powerful hard-rock record that explores the meaning of rebirth–January 26 via Razor And Tie. After four special CD release shows in the Southeast, DAY OF FIRE will join Cold and Nonpoint on the road February 16 for a run of U.S. shows.
LOSING ALL’s first single “Lately” is currently at #35 and climbing on R&R’s Active Rock Monitor chart. Drummer Zach Simms, who wrote the chorus during a time of turmoil surrounding the band, reveals that the song is about “letting go of the things that have been clouding your mind.” He continues, “hopefully it will give people a reason to chase their dream that may have been shattered by someone telling them that they could never achieve it.”
DAY OF FIRE features Josh Brown (vocals), brothers Joe Pangallo (guitar) and Chris Pangallo (bass), and Zach Simms (drums). Brown grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, where he picked up songwriting and a serious drug habit at age 15. Two years later he became the frontman for Full Devil Jacket, and at 22, scored a major record deal. The band toured with Creed and Nickelback and made a splash at Woodstock ’99, but on his way to success, Brown had a major crash: a heroin overdose in an Orlando bathroom which put his career on hold while he rehabbed and rethought his life.
In a recent feature in Billboard, Brown elaborates: “I was already a drug addict when I got my first record deal, and when someone gave me a pile of money I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to do more drugs than I’ve ever done.’ I did, and that lifestyle was killing me. I just came to the realization after OD’ing a couple of times I needed to change. (January 16, 2010)”
After several years out of the spotlight, Brown had a burst of inspiration, re-emerged with a new slate of songs and assembled Day of Fire. The group’s first two albums–Day Of Fire (2004) and Cut & Move (2006)–sold more than 150,000 copies combined. LOSING ALL was recorded in 2009 near the band’s Nashville home base with producer Rogers Masson (Marilyn Manson, Song Of America, The Early Hours).
For Day of Fire, LOSING ALL isn’t about despair and endings, but hope and fresh starts. During the two years the band was working on the album, they experienced various personal and professional changes. Brown explains in Billboard: “We changed management. We changed booking agencies. We changed labels. At the time, I was going through a divorce. Me and my wife are back together now, but my life was just turned upside down completely. So that’s what the record is about–pretty much having the rug pulled out from under you. (January 16, 2010)”
But even when Day of Fire was at a low point, somebody cut them a break: Chris Daughtry, who had opened for DAY OF FIRE a year before his career-changing stint on American Idol. Daughtry invited Day of Fire on tour and co-wrote three tracks on LOSING ALL, including the chugging, melodic “Hello Heartache,” “When I See You” and “Airplane.”
The band held nothing back on LOSING ALL, and everyone drew on intense, raw personal experiences for nearly every track. Super-charged slow roller “Airplane” describes Brown meeting his wife for the first time at a Type O Negative concert and the swirling grind of “Cold Addiction” examines the horrors of being trapped inside cocaine dependency.
Ultimately, Day of Fire’s true strength is their sincerity, honesty and ability to connect with audiences on a personal level. “We all go through dark times, but we can go through them together–that’s what rock & roll is about to us,” Brown says.
The group has received early praise from the media for LOSING ALL, as evidenced below:
“Laying it all out on the line and re-energizing their passion for music, Day Of Fire has resurfaced as a band in complete focus, evident on this record…The genuinely honest songwriting on Losing All is definitely Day Of Fire’s most endearing and compelling body of work to date. Needless to say, this is hard rock at its best, unfiltered, unabashed and powerful.”
–Gian Erguiza, FrantikMagazine.com, January 14, 2010 (4 out of 5 star review)
“…perfect examples of rock done right in modern times as they combine emotional depth with riffs, pounding drums, wailing vocals, and thick, dirty bass lines.”
–James, UnderTheGunReview.net, January 7, 2010
The current tour itinerary for DAY OF FIRE is as follows:
Date City Venue
January
27 Jacksonville , NC Hooligans
28 Johnson City , TN Capone’s
29 Nashville, TN Exit/In
31 Jackson, TN Main Street Live
February
16 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater*
18 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom*
19 Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock**
20 Lancaster, PA Chameleon**
21 Pittsburgh, PA Altar*
23 Syracuse, NY Wescott Theater*
25 Louisville, KY Phoenix Hill Tavern**
26 Flint, MI Machine Shop**
27 Grand Rapids , MI Orbit Room**
28 Traverse City, MI Ground Zero**
March
2 Dekalb, IL Otto’s*
3 Dayton, OH House of Rock*
5 Maplewood, MN Rock*
6 Libertyville, IL Austin’s Fuel Room*
7 Appleton, WI Revolution**
9 Columbia, MO Blue Note**
10 Fort Wayne, IN Pierre’s Entertainment Center**
12 Hartford, CT Webster Theater**
13 Fitchburg, MA Expo Center at Marriott Hotel**
14 Clifton Park , NY Northern Lights*
16 Johnson City , TN Vision Night Club*
17 Little Rock, AR Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom**
19 Houston, TX Scout Bar**
20 Dallas, TX Trees*
21 San Antonio, TX Scout Bar*
26 Boise, ID Knitting Factory**
27 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory*
28 Reno, NV Knitting Factory**
April
1 Santa Rosa, CA Saloon**
3 West Hollywood, CA The Roxy Theatre**
7 Lubbock, TX Jake’s*
9 Abilene, TX Midnite Rodeo 3***
10 Odessa, TX Dos Amigos**
11 Corpus Christi, TX Brewster Street Ice House*
13 Jacksonville Beach, FL Freebird Live**
14 Ft. Walton Beach, FL The Swamp*
16 Melbourne, FL County Line Saloon**
* with Cold
** with Cold & Nonpoint
*** with Nonpoint
About the Author
