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Striking: Garret James, Shane Schlick, Sebastian Nau, Taylor James, and Travis O'Donnell. Photo by Rob Wedge |
CommentsBurn Baby Burn
Hillside Fire heats up local venues in March
By Jackie VarrianoPublished: February 11, 2010
If you’ve got the fever for the flavor of rock and roll, Courtesy Call (see p. 56) isn’t your only choice for a fix. San Francisco five-some Hillside Fire is coming your way, playing at the Auld Dubliner in Squaw Valley on March 5, and at Fat Cat Café in Tahoe City on March 6.
Sebastian Nau, Travis James, Taylor James, Garret James — the “James Brothers” — and Shane Schlick attribute their style to the influences of the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and Jimmy Hendrix, but to me they sound like Kings of Leon — raw, rough, and uncut.
According to Hillside Fire’s website, the Sonoma County–based musicians started writing songs under the band name the Inner Course. “It got us popular around the bar scene,” Nau says. “People were yelling, ‘I love Inner Course!’ We changed the name because we’re coming from the hills trying to bring fire into people’s lives.” Since becoming Hillside Fire, the group has opened for bluesman Johnny Winter, Tommy Castro, ALO, Pato Banton, and Blue Oyster Cult. All I have to say is more cowbell please.
Hillside Fire released their first full-length album “Avoid the Rush” in August 2009; the 13-song compilation covers quite a few bases: rock, blues, funk, and even a little happy mandolin. Get an earful of that sweet mandolin on “Up from the Ground,” a track not to be missed. The track “Take You Home” plays like a classic power ballad for a 2010 audience, and rock fans will be devil-horn fist pumping along to “Black Heart Stone.”
Check out hillsidefire.com for more information, and catch the fire two nights in March. Friday, March 5, Auld Dubliner, 9 p.m., Squaw Valley, (530) 584-6041; Saturday, March 6, Fat Cat Café, 9 p.m., 599 North Lake Boulevard, Tahoe City, (530) 583-3355.
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