FireHouse returns as part of Rock to Rescue tour, with venues in Manipur and Nagaland By Alipta Jena
Calcutta, Mar 28 : In 2004, an American band set the house on fire in Shillong. Eight years later, FireHouse is returning to rock the region on April 7 and 10 with timeless numbers like Hold your Fire and When I look into your eyes, during the Rock to Rescue tour of Nagaland and Manipur.
This time, their drums and guitars will play for a cause at DDSC stadium in Kohima and Khuman Lampak stadium in Imphal.
Organised by 7 Sisters Entertainment, a
Sky Group venture, the proceeds of the tour will be spent in aid of old
age homes and special children in association with Queensberry
Foundation in Nagaland.
It will also raise funds to help create
awareness on HIV/AIDS in Manipur in association with the Manipur State
Aids Control Society.
The hard rock band, which was formed at
Charlotte in North Carolina in 1989, reached stardom in the early 1990s.
At present, it comprises lead vocalist and founding member C.J. Snare,
guitarist Bill Leverty, drummer Michael Foster and bass guitarist Allen
McKenzie.
Snare promises that “everyone will leave
the show with a smile on their face and a memory of FireHouse to last a
lifetime”. He adds, “We truly love performing in India. The people are
so friendly. They always welcome us with open arms and show a genuine
appreciation for our music.”
In December 2004, FireHouse had played in
Shillong, followed by Dimapur and Aizawl. Kirit Pradyot Deb Burman, also
known as Pradyot Bikram Kishore Deb Burman, a scion of the Tripura
royal family, had also invited them to perform in Agartala. The show set
a record for the city with 40,000 tickets being sold.
A decade later, the band still manages to
inspire music lovers all across the world. “FireHouse has a huge
following in the Northeast. We are putting up shows in places where they
have not performed and where there is a huge fan base,” Sunny Shimrah
of 7 Sisters Entertainment says.
This time, the band has plenty of
surprises up its sleeve. “We have added a lot to the show since our last
performances in India. We will be performing all the hits. But the
beauty of a live concert is that you never know what might happen,” says
Snare.
In the meantime, he says, “FireHouse has
tried many different approaches to a lot of the music that falls within
the parameters of our genre.”
“We also recently released a new CD called Full Circle,
which allowed us to get back in the studio in 2011 and re-record some
of the band’s and the fan’s favourites over the last 21 years,” Snare
added.
He also speaks of their future ventures.
“Some of us have ventured outside the band with side projects. Bill has
released solo instrumental CDs, His vocals have a more southern, blues
rock feel. I have released Christmas singles as well as a modern hard
rock project called Rubicon Cross. I will also release a solo CD, From Asia With Love, in 2013. The concert declaration has received a huge response, with many fans clamouring for tickets.
Probin Sharma, an entrepreneur from
Guwahati, is excited about the event. “I don’t mind shelling out the
money for the event. I have always loved their numbers. Watching the
band performing live is another experience altogether. It’s just not the
same on video sites,” he says.
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