Super Killer Fire
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Super Killer Fire

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"Rock band has busy summer"

Super Killer Fire to begin work on next CD
BY DAVE HARRIS

DANVILLE — The history of the local rock band Super Killer Fire reaches back to 2005, but since January 2008 things have progressed rapidly.

The core of the band — Rich Roth on guitar, Jacob Serd on bass and Jeremy “Jerm” McCorkle — had already been hard at work on original music. Unfortunately, they did not have a permanent singer.

“We were writing music and we tried a couple different singers,” Serd said. “But they didn’t seem to be the right fit. It felt like we were jamming forever.”

When Brandon Taylor accepted an invitation to jam with the band in January 2008, all the pieces fell in place. The chemistry among the band members clicked, and Taylor had soon written lyrics to the band’s existing songs. The creative energy continued and the band soon had enough songs to fill an entire album.

The music is rock, but it also adds elements from different styles as well.

“Everyone has their own influences,” Serd said. “But they blend together. We just jam and whatever comes out, comes out.”

“I call it a smorgasbord of rock.” Taylor added. “It’s got a little bit of everything.”

Mixing some cover songs with their originals, the band quickly burst onto the music scene in April 2008. It received a great response as the members played all over the area. They often teamed up with other local bands and performed at several benefit concerts.

Recently, the band performed at a benefit for Amanda Gibson who was killed by a drunken driver on Thanksgiving and another one for the Wynne family in Oakwood, who lost everything they owned in a house fire.

The concept of bands working together to help others was inspiring. Super Killer Fire has played with several other local bands and believes there is a high level of teamwork.

“Whenever those bands have something come up, they let us know,” Serd said. “And we do the same for them.”

With this combined teamwork, the members of Super Killer Fire would like to see the music scene in Vermilion County continue to grow. They have even begun development of a Web site called “Centrill 74 Music” that will help promote and build the scene in the Vermilion County and surrounding areas. They hope to have the site finished soon.

Super Killer Fire began recording original material from March to July 1008 in between shows, at Eclipse Studios in Bloomington with producer Erik Nelson. Nelson, who has produced albums for national acts such as Boyz 2 Men, Mudvayne and JoJo, produced Super Killer Fire’s first CD, “The Test.”

“Eric was great to work with,” Taylor said. “The recording process was very easy and very smooth.”

The band took a few months off while Taylor was in Louisiana fulfilling military obligations with the National Guard. The band, meanwhile, continued rehearsing and working on new material.

Now, with Taylor back, Super Killer Fire is ready to return to the stage and has plans to spend most of the summer playing local shows.

“We also want to branch out and play some new locations like St. Louis and Indianapolis,” Taylor said.

Toward the end of the summer, they plan to head back into the studio with Erik Nelson and begin work on a follow-up to “The Test.”

FYI

The band’s CD is available at concerts, Chart Records in downtown Danville as well as itunes, amazon, and shockhound. For more information, check the band’s site at: http://www.myspace.com/superkillerfiredanville. - Dave Harris/Commercial News


"Have you heard Super Killer Fire"

Boasting a concrete modern rock sound influenced by such bands as Korn, Pantera and Killswitch Engage, as well as a new album, "The Test", produced by Erik Nelson at Eclipse Studios (Mudvayne, V Shaped Mind), the Danville, Illinois group Super Killer Fire are creating a buzz all their own, and seem to be gaining fans by the day.

Sure, they might refer to their hometown as a 'hole,' but it is where they got together as a band.

"It all started out when Jeremy (drums) and Rich (guitar) worked at the same place," said singer Brandon Taylor. "Once they realized they were both musicians they did what most musicians would do and jammed a bit. Jeremy's best friend, Jake got back from the Air Force and filled the vacant bass position, then after working with a few frontmen Jake got a hold of me by talking to a good buddy of ours. So we jammed, it felt good from every angle and that's how and why everything fell into place."

Super Killer Fire possesses solid songs, and has a good knack for unadulterated rock songs, full of quality, singable hooks, the use of hot and cold vocals and guitars that can both lull and rip. Think rock along the same lines as Lifer or Flaw.

Perhaps Taylor can put it better. "I always like to say our music sounds like 'a smorgasboard of rock n roll influence,' but that's just my way of putting it."

Listen, it's easy. If you like pretty good rock music, you'll like Super Killer Fire. Yeah, the band's name might leave a little something left to be desired, but their music makes up for it. 'Mistakes' and 'Tank Engine' solidify that sentiment. They know how to write good sounding riffs, even though they might go about it a little differently than you might think.

"I think I've got a bit of an odd imagination, so that comes into play a lot," adds Taylor. "I also do a lot of writing about everyday life, personal experience, and fantasizing about your mother. No but really, I just like to connect with and motivate people as much as I can, that's the fun in being a frontman, the connection with the people. We all throw our own personal touch on the song and there is no pecking order in our band. We all take constructive criticism very well."

With new material on the horizon, look for more of Super Killer Fire in the near future. In the meantime, feel free to join the ranks of their street team.

- Brian Campbell


"Metal and melody"

When Super Killer fire plays heavy metal, it defies stereotypes. None of the band members sport long hair, and there's no black leather in sight. Though lead singer Brandon Taylor can hit a high-pitched scream of fury with the best of them, he also invokes a melodic sweetness into some of the band's songs.Though Super Killer Fire could have been a cover band -- members certainly have a strong admiration for bands like Pantera -- they're blazing their own path. "We felt it was more rewarding to write our own music," guitarist Rich Roth said. ""The message of the music is to convey the experiences of our lives."

Outside of music, each has a full life of experiences with families, children, and jobs. Bassist and backup vocalist Jake Serd is in social work at the VA in Danville. Drummer Jeremy McCorkle works at Con-Agra. Roth is a union sheetmetal worker, and Taylor is a union bricklayer as well as a member of the U.S. National Guard. "Not all metal bands are devil worshippers," Roth joked

An Early March rehearsal was Taylor's last practice for awhile, as he traveled to Georgia that week to learn Air Assault. But in May, Super Killer Fire will be ready for a string of gigs around East Central Illinois.

To watch the band is to see four friends who like to laugh and joke with each other nearly as much as they like to play music. Typically, Serd, Roth, and McCorkle collaborate on the instrumentation, then pass the song to Taylor for lyrics. "We try to be buddies, be respectful," Serd said. "Everybody works together."

In Rehersal, they play more to each other than any imaginary audience, nodding as they exchange who leads the sound, as songs rise from melodies into slashing drumbeats and high-pitched guitar riffs and back again. Taylor's voice parallels the instruments, and he physically throws himself into the music, with one foot(or sometimes both) often on McCorkle's drum set.

"He's actually got a really good voice and he can hit the screams," Serd said of Taylor. He just comes over the top with a unique melody. Overall, McCorkle said, "I would say it's just a real unique sound." Said Taylor: "We've all got different influences. Everything from old stuff like Boston and (Lynyrd) Skynyrd to Pantera and Run DMC."

One of the songs getting the most plays on the band's MySpace site -- which boasts more than 1,370 friends -- is called "The Test," that Taylor says is about "taking care of your responsibilities, living up to what you're supposed to be doing in life." It's also the title of their 2008 release, a work produced by Erik Nelson of Normal who's also worked with acts from Mudvayne to Boys II Men.

Around the Wall of their practice space -- a mostly soundproofed room in Serd's garage -- frames filled with tickets to concerts from years gone by hang, along with pictures with famous musicians and pictures of their own band in one of its two years or so of performances. In one photo, Roth and his son hold a single guitar, each playing it with one hand.

"I've just always been metal -- I think all of us have," McCorkle said. They're also hometown boys, with hometown ambitions, and say they're building a diverse fanbase, from 17-year olds to older folks. "We're trying to pretty much build a scene around here," Serd said of Danville. He said the band is also working to set up a web site that can be a hub to promote Danville music.

"We're not really in it to get rich," Roth said. I don't have any aspirations of being a rock star anytime soon." They've also been trying to help out local causes, including playing a recent benefit for the family who were victims of a housefire in Oakwood. "We're doing this for fun," Serd said. "What's more fun than doing something for a good cause?"

- Amy F. Reiter


Discography

LP entitled "The Test" available for purchase at cdbaby.com/superkillerfire, on itunes, napster, and amazon as well as regional independent record stores

Photos

Bio

Super Killer Fire emerge from Danville, Illinois with driving guitars, explosive percussion, and melodic songwriting that will grow on you like a 7 year itch(A seven year itch...really?). The band released their debut LP entitled "The Test" in the fall of 2008 with producer Erik Nelson(Mudvayne,V Shape Mind) at Eclipse Studios in Normal, IL. The band also provides ring entrance music for UFC fighter Ryan
"The Tank Engine" Thomas. "With a live presence that cannot be rivaled, this band continues to gain fans and new friends at every stop they make. Be on the lookout for the next SKF show near you!" A. Reiter -- The Buzz