Ascot Fire

12/07/04

This 3 peice band is hot, in the coolest, understated way. As soon as they hit the stage you could feel the beat well inside you as one by one each member took command of their instrument of choice.

Ascot fire is the latest band to break out of the Chicago area. We saw them play live at the Gojangle "Break Out Chicago" event at the Abbey Pub and it blew us away, the energy, the sound, and the look. They have a growing following that brought around 125 people to the Abbey on the 1st of December. They continue to lead the Gojangle website in download traffic with their first "home recorded" three song demo. We expect to see Ascot Fire to be making relations in the music industry in the near future.

Steven Sampila is a born singer/songwriter and it comes out in his lyrics, commanding guitar, and ingaging vocals, linked together by Jonathan Oseda's demanding bass lines and Justin Kings relentless, yet at times, minimalistic drum beats.


Ascot Fire is a band that will leave you open mouthed, wondering what just hit you. You can listen to their first demo at www.gojangle.com or you can check out what's new at www.ascotfire.com. We recommend that you see Ascot Fire live as soon as you can! - Brian @ www.Gojangle.com

Shameless Hours Fest

Friday September 2 and Saturday September 3, 2005 @ The Barn in Willowbrook, IL

The first annual Shameless Hours Festival kicked off on Friday night, and despite a few rookie mistakes the show was good. The intent of the show was to showcase the best of the budding "punk" scene in Chicago. I like that idea a lot, but perhaps not the best idea for drawing a crowd. We got there right around 6 or so and by that point the show had been going on for 3 hours. Yes a long day to say the least. We caught the last portion of the set from Ascot Fire. They are a great band that emailed us a few days before the show and asked us to check them out. Formed in 2003 with influences running the board from Alkaline Trio to Alice in Chains to New Found Glory, Ascot Fire was sure to have a bit of something I would like and they did. Their live sound reminded me a lot of a poppier, Chicago version of Jimmy Eat World. They were really good and have a lot of promise to be one of the next bands noticed out of the Chicago area.

Check them out at www.ascotfire.com - Allageszine.com

Ascot Fire - Ever heard of a little band called Fall Out Boy? Ascot Fire offers a brand of edgy-but-tuneful modern rock similar to the group that put Chicago on the pop-punk map. Currently "promoting their butts off" to land a guest spot on Warped Tour, Ascot Fire's got gigs at Double Door, Elbo Room and Gunther Murphy's. And don't confuse the group, whose members range in age from 21 to 25, with Arcade Fire, either; singer Steven Sampila says they get asked about those Canadians all the time: "I like them, but there's no comparison [in style] at all." - Metromix.com (by Matt Pais)

"Adventures in Low-Budget Dreams" (03/03/05)
by Erin Blasco (Herald-Argus newspaper)

"Ascot Fire crafts its sound using everything...including the bathroom sink"

According to Steven Simpila, lead singer and guitarist for the Chicago-based trio, Ascot Fire, the band's name is laden with symbolism. "It's almost like a metaphor to tell pompous (people) to go to hell. The ascot is representing rich people."

That's a fitting moniker for a band that personifies the do-it-yourself attitude.

The band's latest two-song demo, appropriately title "Adventures in Low Budget Recording," was recorded in Sampila's bedroom. The band members including bassist Jonathan Oseda and drummer Justin King, completely cleared out Sampila's room for the precess, creating a makeshift studio by tearing apart the bed and using the mattresses for the soundproofing.

"We got everything out of my room," says Sampila. "We had no furniture in my room. There was equipment everywhere - guitar amps, drums, and everything.

"We blocked off this corner area with mattresses to record the drums," he explains. "I have a bunch of recording equipment that I'd bring into antoher room like the bathroom, where I'd mix it all. "It was mixed in the bathroom, which was pretty funny"

Thus far the band, which formed in the fall of 2003, has been giving its demos away at shows (about 2000 to 3000 total, Sampila estimates), and streaming them for free on their Web site (www.ascotfire.com), and on the undergound and independent music sites purevolume and Gojangle.

Currently the band is number 1 on Gojangle's top ten. "We're on all those web sites," says Sampila. The music is pretty much being given away right now until we get something really good done - and it's getting really good feedback."

The band's recording and distribution processes may be a bit unorthodox, but you wouldn't know by the results. The band combines early '90s grunge with modern pop, rock, and emo to produce guitar driven tunes with killer hoodks and clever lyrics, anchored by Sampila's unwavering vocals.

While the do-it-yourself approach has worked well so far, Sampila says the band hopes to get into a realy studio soon to put out a proper album. THe trio will compete on May 4th at the Abbey Pub in Chicago as part of Gojangle's "War of Independents," a "battle of the bands" between Chicago's top unsigned bands that are also featured on the web site. The winner will recieve equipment and free studio time.

In the meantime, Sampila will continue to work his day job, and Oseda and King will continue to attend community college in Chicago. At least until the summer, when the trio plans to embark on a full-blown tour - something Sampila plans to tell his employer about soon.

"I'm going to quit," says Sampila over the phone from his office. "I haven't told them yet. Actually, I should be quiet; all my coworkers are right here."
- Herald-Argus Newspaper