The Music of FIREHOUSE

Firehouse is an American hard rock band formed in Charlotte, NC in 1989 and named after Kiss's song of the same name. The band reached stardom during the early 90s with hit singles like "Don't Treat Me Bad" and "All She Wrote", but mainly due to their signature ballads "I Live My Life For You", "Love Of A Lifetime" and "When I Look Into Your Eyes". At the 1991 American Music Awards, Firehouse won the award for Best New Hard Rock/Metal Band, chosen over Nirvana and Alice in Chains.

Despite diminishing success in the United States as the decade progressed, the band has remained very popular in Asia, mainly in Japan. However, even though they don't have the popularity they had before, the band still tours frequently and have participated twice in the annual Rock Never Stops Tour with other bands of the 80s.

History
FireHouse was formed in the late 80s when singer C.J. Snare moved to North Carolina and met bassist Perry Richardson. After playing together as Maxx Warrior, they met drummer Michael Foster and guitarist Bill Leverty and formed "White Heat". Later after shopping for a record deal the band found out the name was under copyright and changed their name to FireHouse.

The band was signed to Epic Records and released their eponymous debut album which catapulted them to stardom. The album produced four hit singles and was certified double platinum in the USA, while reaching gold in three other countries. They followed it with Hold Your Fire in 1992 that, although not as successful as its predecessor, produced three more hit singles and was certified gold twice.

However, the shifts in the genre forced to band to adapt, which they showed in their subsequent albums. Their third album, aptly titled 3, featured a significantly softer sound, while its follow-up, Good Acoustics, was a collection of acoustic arrangements of their best songs.

During this time, the band was released from their label. However, they made a significant and important change, when they signed with Pony Canyon Records, from Japan. With the decline of popularity among rock acts of the 80s in the States, and their steady fame in Asia, they agreed and released Category 5 with their new label. They toured heavily throughout Asia, achieving great success with their album. However, this was not the case in the States. In 1999, they recorded one of their live shows in Osaka, Japan and released it a year later with the title Bring 'Em Out Live.

After this, the band parted ways with founding bassist, Perry Richardson, and hired Bruce Waibel. With him, they recorded their next album, O2. Also, at this point, the band became a frequent performer at the Rock Never Stops Tour. This tour featured rock bands from the 80s like Slaughter, Quiet Riot, and the likes.

Waibel also parted ways with the band due to personal reasons. Unfortunately, in 2003, he was found dead. He has been replaced by Allen McKenzie. Recently, the band released their latest album, Prime Time.

Band members
Current *
C.J. Snare - vocals, keyboards
Bill Leverty - guitars * Michael Foster - drums
Allen McKenzie - bass guitar

Former *
Perry Richardson - bass guitar (1989 - 1999)
Bruce Waibel - bass guitar (2000 - 2003)
Dario Seixas - bass guitar (2003) * Cosby Ellis

Listen to their songs.