Next Thursday, join us for another night of music and art at Luce Unplugged with Humble Fire on April 28th at 5:30 p.m. in the Luce Foundation Center. Humble Fire's jangly and dreamy tunes have made the four-piece art rock group one of the most sought-out bands in the D.C. area, and we can't wait to hear them perform side-by-side with the 3,000 plus artworks in Luce. As always, the show, presented with our friends D.C. Music Download, will be free. Visitors 21 and older will be able to purchase drinks from a cash bar. Come at 5:30 to hear Humble Fire talk about an artwork they selected from SAAM's collection; or show up at 6 to catch their set. In anticipation of the show, we talked to Humble Fire about their recording process and the evolution of their sound.
Eye Level: How does where you're recording affect the feel of the music?
Dave Epley (guitar): Over the past year we've been recording with Chris Freeland (who recorded legends such as Wye Oak and Lower Dens, as well as D.C. locals ROM and Fellow Creatures) at his studio outside Baltimore. It's been a great experience for us. Chris is a great engineer and having him behind the controls and wearing the producer hat at times has helped us craft a record we're really proud of.
Xaq Rothman (bass): We might even release it some time.
EL: What do you do with the music you don't release?
DE: It lives in a Dropbox folder called "Unfinished Bizness" where we can enjoy it for eternity.
EL: Is songwriting for you a collaborative process or something you do on your own?
XR: Humble Fire was founded on the principle that a band is greater than the sum of its members, and we live that out through an intensely collaborative process. Darlings are slain in numbers that would give Obi-Wan Kenobi a migraine.
EL: I love your new band photo. Who took it and what's the story behind it?
DE: This was a DIY job with the help of (our drummer) Jason's awesome partner Celeste. At the time we didn't yet have a good photo of the band that included Jason, who joined last summer.
XR: What you don't see in that photo is the couch in Jason and Celeste's apartment that we nearly broke by standing on. Also it was really hard not to squint with that projector pointing at us.
EL: How has your sound evolved?
XR: Our most recent songwriting has been really focused on creating a sense of development while remaining within a fairly basic pop form. We're working on creating a seamless whole from the interaction between our voices as opposed to their aggregation. Also, just less Big Muff.
DE: In the last year or so we've really found our sound. I think we found it through a combination of being in the studio, working with great producers like Louis Weeks and Chris Freeland, and continuing to learn how to work together better.
Don't miss Humble Fire take the "stage" of the Luce Foundation Center next Thursday. View more info on our calendar and RSVP on Facebook.
