Miss You This Christmas
Sunday 16 Dec 2007 (Michael Bugeja - The Sunday Times of Malta)
The new single from local hard rock band Fire is called Miss You This Christmas. It is their first release since the launch of their album Ignite just over a year ago. Their debut went down well with local rock audiences, making them one of the top Maltese bands in their genre. The band was in the UK earlier this year to perform several gigs and came back full of renewed energy at the response they received there. I checked in with Robert Longo, one of the band’s two guitarists and a veteran of the local music scene for some inside info about the band’s recent activities and plans for the New Year!
Interview with Robert Longo
Tell me about the UK gigs you played last August…
They were great fun but challenging, because we had no idea how our music would be received. Thankfully, we played to audiences into our brand of hard rock, so we had a great time and also sold some CDs. We played 2 gigs, one in Manchester and the other one in London, performing mainly our original material, which went down quite well! Performing abroad is more complicated than a local gig, of course, what with hotel bookings, transport arrangements, etc. It worked out pretty well however, and frankly, we’re dying to play more gigs abroad, thanks largely to the contacts we made while we were there. Gigging abroad is an experience we would all recommend to all Maltese bands! It’s a great learning experience and inspires you to give your best!
What brought on the idea for a Christmas single?
The Christmas single was actually Kenneth's idea. It’s an attempt to introduce our audience to a different side of the band's music. It is also a way of thanking our fans for their support by giving them a new song that they can download for free from our website. It’s also a little bit of an experiment really...even seasoned rockers have a heart!
What are the band’s plans for 2008?
For sure, more gigs abroad. We plan to perform in the UK again and also in Germany during the summer. Also on the agenda is a new album, which we have started working on already, and a video. Obviously we’ll also be performing loads of gigs here in Malta, as this is something all of us feel is where we are at our best! Merry Christmas to all!