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Burning Up
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By now, Zack Arnett is a familiar face around Monterey: The Fire in the Hamptons frontman has perfor...By now, Zack Arnett is a familiar face around Monterey: The Fire in the Hamptons frontman has performed several sellout shows in the area throughout the years – usually on the same bill with local faves Forrest Day – with the now-disbanded hip-hop outfit Ostrich Head.?
While churning out hip-hop anthems, the former emcee spent a lot of his downtime experimenting with other genres and expanding his musical knowledge. After Ostrich Head called it quits a couple years back, Arnett already had an arsenal of ideas, and an affinity for MGMT, leading to what became Fire in the Hamptons. (He explains the meaning behind the name as “the beauty in destroying beauty.”)?
“A lot of things colliding at once resulted in the group,” Arnett says. “My music has evolved as my life has evolved.”?
Arnett’s still telling stories, only now he’s doing it with a backdrop that he feels ignites more ingenuity in him. The end product is a trifecta of New Order synth gloom, brightly crafted hooks and his contagious rendering of late-night party sounds with a moral edge.?
“Humanimal” conveys its theme – losing one’s self through a redundant lifestyle in a constant state of party – through synths running parallel to Arnett’s engaging falsetto vocals.?
“The song is an exploration of this specific mind-set some people have in Los Angeles,” Arnett explains. “Sometimes there’s a constant state of excess going on around you.”?
The ominous pounding drum and hi-hat combo that kicks off “Stargazer” teases Tears for Fears’ “Shout” before laser beams blast it into a ballroom blitz of polyrhythmic layers. Though there’s a cacophony of elements at play – piano, bass, percussion, and synth effects – the composition is simple and accessible.?
“Humanimal” and “Stargazer” make up two of 13 dance-centric tracks on FITH’s recently released debut F.I.T.H., which Arnett co-produced with Bert Selen. Since the album dropped, the pair had a falling out and Selen is no longer in the picture. But Arnett hasn’t been fazed; he’s just had to adapt and become more self-reliant. He translated the mostly-electronic music into something a band could perform live and found a good bunch of musicians. After Arnett enlisted drummer Aaron Bilyeu, guitarist Ian Dowd and synth/pianist Emvy Venti – who will all be on hand Saturday night at Planet Gemini – he says everything else seemed to fall into place.?
“I’m happy with the way [the live show] came out but it was a fucking hard process to get it right,” he says. “I guess the universe collided on that front too.”?
Arnett, who works in music licensing, has been able to use his day job to benefit FITH: The tune “Blackout” appeared on a recent episode of Jersey Shore and next month, “Humanimal” is set to be featured on Gossip Girl. As universes are colliding, stars are also aligning. ?
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An Interview With Fire in the Hamptons
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Who’s Fire in the Hamptons? How you guys met and got started?
Fire in the Hamptons is many things. ...Who’s Fire in the Hamptons? How you guys met and got started?
Fire in the Hamptons is many things. It all started in 2009 when I was approached by Bert Selen and Daniel Leeb to make a full length album. My former hip hop group Ostrich Head had recently disbanded and I was venturing into a more melodic musical form of expression. The band is another beast all together. A mixture of old friends that just so happen to be extremely talented musicians bring the record to life on stage.
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Aaron Bilyeu (drummer) before he was in the band heard some of the tracks I was working on and asked me what I was going to call the band, ” What, something stupid like… The Hamptons?” I laughed then paused and said, ya, that sounds cool. The Hamptons unfortunately was taken by some flaming dj’s in Mami so I had to change it up. After a six hour car ride with a former band mate Jaime Jorn, we conceived the name Fire in the Hamptons, with the meaning “Dude, it’s perfect, it’s like watching something beautiful burn, there’s something beautiful about that.”
What’s your method at the time of writing a song?
It’s a combination of many things. I find the melody first then write to it. Most of all to let the music inspire the words and open up the flood gates of subconscious thought to create a feeling, then a cohesive story.
What are your music influences?
I grew up on classic rock, then grunge, mixed with some Reggae and Rage against the machine, which turned to hip hop, never turning my back on a genre for the love of another. Very eclectic taste. If there’s true passion and soul behind the music then I will most likely be into it.
So you guys are releasing a new song? How was the recording process and can you talk to us more about it?
I worked with a very talented producer by the name of Bert Selen to create this record. The process was great, we both found our roles and tried not to step on each others toes. The lab can get mucky, highly talented people come with strong opinions and once we learned to trust each other it was like lightning in a bottle. For ten years I was writer, producer, performer, engineer, which taught me a lot but held me back in ways. This record allowed me to focus more on writing and because of that I was able to create a better representation for what I was feeling.
What has been the funniest moment you have been or took part while touring?
The funniest part of touring with this band is that we haven’t been on one yet. We’ve only but begun with four shows under our belt one of them being in the middle of Joshua Tree for the rocks. I can assure you with the company I keep there will be plenty of funny and death defying tails to come.
Are there any plans for the near future?
We plan on a subtle yet swift take over of the world.
Do you guys feel you are moving on the right direction?
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Check out more at: www.fireinthehamptons.com
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You Should Know: Fire In The Hamptons
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Four flat tires in five hours en route to a show in San Francisco. Every door on the tour van breaki...Four flat tires in five hours en route to a show in San Francisco. Every door on the tour van breaking at the same time. A 300-pound buck (dubbed "Bambo") leaping out of a perfectly still night in Malibu Canyon in front of said tour van, crushing its radiator and taking out a second car before disappearing back into the darkness. Not exactly events indie-electro-rock group Fire In The Hamptons expected when they set out for those gigs, but as the band always says in the face of adversity, "That ain't nothing for dragons."
Representing that dragon side with matching gold talons around their necks, the Los Angeles-based foursome is rapidly proving unstoppable, be it on the road or on stage. Since their formation at the start of 2012, the group has headlined The Viper Room, The House of Blues ("the fifth F.I.T.H. show," keyboardist Emvy Venti points out), and The Malibu Inn, and kicked off a month-long state-wide tour at August's Echo Park Rising Festival. But for drummer Aaron Bilyeu, the band's most memorable show didn't require a venue whose name evokes memories of music legends past, nor did it need the packed house of adoring fans that's becoming as guaranteed for this group as a sound check.
"We played outside a house in Joshua Tree -- just as the sun set -- for us, a few of our close friends, and the whole of the desert," Aaron says of his favorite performance. "It was an amazing view. I'm sure we sounded like shit, but it was beautiful, and one of those moments you can hold on to."
Forging unforgettable moments isn't difficult for this group. They pride themselves on the showmanship of their live shows, where lead singer Zack Arnett insists on an ocean of lasers and incites dance-offs in the crowd. Zack's vocals transition seamlessly from breathy cooing to an amplified, full-bodied howl that plays across octaves with a soulful yet playful tone that is both unforgettable and incomparable. Coupled with Aaron's powerful drumming (which was evocative of Young The Giant to me, but is in fact inspired by, according to Aaron, a combination Carter Beauford, Dave Grohl, and Miley Cyrus' new haircut), Emvy's masterful weaving of classic piano tones and innovative electronic overlays, and guitarist Ian "Values" Dowd's diverse, poppy sound that loans the group a touch of Two Door Cinema Club's upbeat attitude, F.I.T.H.'s catchy lyrics and widely varied tunes will remain comfortably buried in your brain weeks.
"Stargazer" quickly became one of the hits F.I.T.H. fans couldn't get enough of, and whenever it's performed live the energy of the show instantly bubbles over from a fun dance party to an unhinged rock show -- the adoring crowd pumps their fists with each "Up!" and all four band members feed off of the energy, dancing on stage and losing themselves in their musicality.
Monterey natives Zack, Aaron, and Ian knew each other long before Zack (who spent years in the funky hip-hop crew Ostrich Head) came up with the idea for F.I.T.H. Lifelong Los Angeleno Emvy was added to the ensemble after the multifaceted musician (in addition to piano, guitar, and electronic instruments, he's also a percussionist and will wildly drum on anything from a steering wheel to water glasses to the nearest person if the spirit moves him) played at the Troubadour in January with another group he's in called Siren's Eye. A couple months after their first rehearsal, Fire In The Hamptons officially debuted at The Viper Room, an epic beginning that -- with rumors of Coachella now flying around -- apparently foreshadowed the band's skyward trajectory.
"Luckily, I have been grinding my face into the sandpaper stone of the music industry for over a decade...along the way I was able to sweep a couple gens into my pocket that would later help out if this situation were to arise," Zack says of forming and launching the year-old band.
But the thing that makes F.I.T.H. such a joy to watch live and listen to endlessly in the car, on your computer or on repeat in your head is the obvious joy the members take in creating their wholly new sound together. They've been frequently compared to Passion Pit, but that comparison is always followed by a statement about how, in reality, they sound like everyone and no one all at once. Theirs is a sound that simply moves you and fits as a perfect soundtrack to every scenario life could offer, a sound these men create with ease and alacrity simply by relaxing, sharing a laugh, hopping on stage and starting a party.
"It's hard to explain," Aaron says of the nascent group's cohesion, "but one day you're not learning the songs, you're just playing them. Ya dig?"
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Did Someone Say Fire?
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The combination of dreamy synthesizers and the sweet-lovin lyrics that inspire gives you Stargazer b...The combination of dreamy synthesizers and the sweet-lovin lyrics that inspire gives you Stargazer by Fire in the Hamptons. One of those tracks that leaves you hooked on the first listen, you are bound to love the energy and that somewhat romantic setting the song gives.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Fire in the Hamptons would be one of those bands that I would love to see perform in a music festival. I bet it would sound pretty awesome when you’re stoned. Not saying you should do it, or that it does not sound good as it, but I love the flow of this song and I can imagine how you would be compelled to move and shout “LIGHTS OUT! STARGAZEEERRR!!!”….I know I would.
But seriously, you would be missing out if you don’t get a piece of this track like right now. If you enjoy a little MGMT, you may love Fire in the Hamptons.
PS. I am devilishly in love with the name of the band.
supersonic
