Happy Friday music fans,
Today we have a special interview with Tongues of Fire, a too-many-influences-used-to-categorize-in-a-genre-but-also-has-great-music band based in Asheville, North Carolina. They’re comprised of Lowell Hobbs at vocals and guitar, Eli Raymer at drums, Ben Asbury at guitar and synth, and Maddie Kendrick at bass.
Our big surprise is also here: Tongues of Fire made a beautiful livestream and we’re one of the first to premiere it. Check it out today!
The Riff: How did Tongues of Fire get started? Can you explain to us the journey?
Lowell: This is the first project [I’ve] ever played in or started. It's something I'd always strive to do but never had the means. I grew up in a small town where nobody really played the music I was into so I really had no idea what I was doing. As soon as I could get out I did and just jumped into the scene playing shows and learned as I went. I was booking tours pretty much immediately, even before we had a solid lineup (not recommended) but I've always had the mindset of just making it work. I still remember the feeling of going to a ton of shows, having this music I wanted to play and things I wanted to do but nobody would take it seriously or help me out. Playing music around the country is an incredible privilege and something that's taken me places I never thought I'd go.
Eli: Being first after original members, my introduction to the band was Lowell coming to a house show that I was hosting in an old transmission shop. He saw the two other bands I was in at the time and later asked if I'd play a quick song with him... He gave me a sticker for TOF [Tongues of Fire] and told me to hit him up if I was interested in going on the road the next month .
The Riff: Lowell, what music did you want to play—that where you grew up [Old Fort, North Carolina] didn't have?
Lowell: It was pretty much just classic rock and bluegrass. There was not really any original music being made or any kind of a scene.
The Riff: Were there other members before Ben, Eli, and Maddie joined the band? If so, when did everyone else join?
Lowell: I believe Maddie is the eighth bassist we've had. I had some friends from high school play on our first EP in 2016 but they weren't very committed and not down to tour so that didn't last. [Eli and I] have been playing together for years. We stayed a three-piece for a long time till Eli suggested we bring Ben on.
The Riff: It's impressive that you've been able to keep your first ever project alive, though it sounds like you had a lot of challenges over the past four years while maintaining Tongues of Fire. In addition to changing band mates, what were some of these challenges that you had to face back then and today to maintain Tongues of Fire?
Lowell: I think an important thing to do as a band is to constantly improve and I know I've been trying [to] find my weaknesses and improve on them. I like to think the songs and the live show keeps getting better as time goes on and we've made a conscious effort to play and tour with with the best bands that we can.
Eli: I think it's safe to say we strive under pressure, Lowell and I have been through a lot on the road and it has definitely brought us together as a tight knit group. All the negative usually ends up affecting the music in a very positive way, both live and in writing.
The Riff: How long did it take you from writing your first song to performing live?
Lowell: I wrote some of the riffs in high school and spent a year or two getting the right lineup so that's kind of a weird one to answer but I released the first song for a compilation album that never happened in like December of 2016 .
The Riff: So how many times has Tongues of Fire gone on tour? Where? And what were some of the most memorable experiences from them?
Eli: We've done I think around six long-scale tours, going down through Florida, into the Midwest a bit and also up the East Coast to New York. We have gone to SXSW twice, playing with bands like Greet Death, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Pearl Earl, Pool Kids, and Thelma and The Sleaze.
There are so many memories from the road, it's hard to choose one, but if I had to pick one it would be when our former bassist Zakk broke his ankle during a set at SXSW in 2018. It was insane. I remember watching him fall and seeing his foot just twisted backwards. We pulled together like a family and took care of him, even finished out the last couple of dates on tour with him in a cast.
Lowell: Oh man, we've had a lot of wild things like the (borrowed backup) tour vehicle breaking down and buying a van off Craigslist overnight, living in an Orlando party house for a few days and developing a crippling addiction to anime, Eli skinny dipping drunk with his girlfriend in a random hotel pool and getting chased by the cops on our first tour. I enjoy the excitement but I also just enjoy meeting a lot interesting people and having friends in every part of the country I love returning the favor and hosting them when they come around. I have had dozens of different bands stay on my floor.
Eli: Those piggies took my favorite jackets.
Lowell: Your tub of barbecue, too.
Ben: My favorite road story was when Eli and I had to lay down on the floor of our broken down van while it was being towed on the way home from Chapel Hill. Was real sweet of the tow driver to risk his job. We had fun, so many things fell on Eli.
Eli: So many things.
Ben: So many screams.
Maddie: Hmm...I think for road stories, the most memorable for me would have to be Birmingham, Alabama. Managed to drop my license on a bar floor and got into some weird shenanigans, Eli and Lowell know where I’m coming from. That tour we did in March 2019 was also my first tour ever and I REALLY learned a lot, I’m super lucky my first tour was with people who were so experienced on the road.
Eli: We just a crazy bunch.
Ben: Honey Bunches of Oats.
This interview was edited for clarity and concision. First and sixth photos taken by Audrey Walsh. Second, third, fourth, and seventh photos taken by Geddi Monroe. Fifth photo taken by David Creech. All photos courtesy of Tongues of Fire.
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