Artist description Having four songwriters with varied musical influences, all of whom share lead vocal duties, empowers Man From Fiery Hill to reach beyond musical boundaries and interweave genres. This is a band that long ago gave up simply imitating their musical idols and discovered their own sound. That sound has been evolving ever since and varies somewhat from tune to tune and from album to album, but it’s deeply rooted in experimental songwriting, innovative instrumentation and passionate vocal harmonies..s

Music Style edgy, earthy, harmony-laced alternative rock

Musical Influences Gracias Pete

Similar Artists Gracias Pete

Artist History Brendan Kruse and Ben Walen met in college and almost immediately began writing and playing music together as a duo before being joined by Tim Walen and Jared King. Magazine Theft Yeah is Man From Fiery Hill’s third CD, following the mostly acoustic album Snow (2000) and the live full-band disc Live Turf (2001). Man From Fiery Hill’s music has received national college radio play, and aggressive tours bring their intense live shows to audiences everywhere..t

Group Members Jared King (drums, vocals), Brendan Kruse (guitar, vocals), Ben Walen (guitar, vocals), Tim Walen (bass, vocals)

Instruments vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums, accordion

Albums Magazine Theft Yeah, Snow, Live Turf

Press Reviews This review of Man From Fiery Hill's CD "Snow" originally appeared with the September 2000 reviews on Demorama.com. Reprinted by permission. By The Dread Reverend -- These guys are sweet. There's no other way to preface this review, so I'll come right out and express my admiration for two clever post-indie earthy college-rock boys (a third occasionally sitting in on drums). I mean, cases in point: how can two guitars and a drum set sound so different from song to song? Why doesn't it sound like this CD's repeating itself? The answers are as simple as they are wordy, if my bottle of writin' -- Jagermeister's got anything to say about it. For one, these guys have skill with their instruments and it shows in the exuberance of their performance. Their souls bounce on the strings between the intricate pickings, jum ping around and leading anyone listening into a little heel-thumping and head-nodding. It's possible to use the same instruments to create different moods from song to song, and many people either don't realize this little trick or they don't have it in them to express this range of diversity. Listening to Snow, you're compelled to feel everything they're singing: they sing about wanting to get the last words in a broken relationship, and you're o ut there in a soggy coat in someone else's front lawn at midnight as the oblivious rain drenches you. They sing about packing up and taking off, and it's your Bonneville station wagon with simulated wood paneling you're strapping down with overstuffed su i tcases and your roadmaps to Colorado, Arizona, and Quebec you're stuffing into the glove compartment. It's said that good poetry makes you feel like the top of your head lifts off: musicians who kick ass at their craft should at least be able to strip a way the rest of you and double-dip you in a big vat of their mood. These guys do. Maybe they've lived everything they're singing about, maybe they just have a vivid imagination, but it comes out in their exultant voices and frenetic strumming on acousti ca l guitars.Oh yeah, did I mention that? No complex electronics for these guys, just two acoustic guitars and a drum set for maybe every other or every third song. Nothing dramatic, just falling back on the basics and having their shot at it. They make a go od show of it. If I had to guess, I'd say they pull f rom the vibrant jumpiness of Barenaked Ladies and the lyrical cunning of Phish. They're not derivative, I'm just saying, they could stand in the same CD collection. One could stretch it a little furthe r and say they play with the relaxed hominess of Dave Matthews or Hootie, but one wouldn't do them that injustice because not only are they they're own sound... they're frankly better. It's a real pleasure to follow along through the liner notes and laugh, "Hey, those words don't rhyme!" You don't notice because there's a higher rhyme structure, a flow of concepts that emerge and bow out to create an atmosphere, stories told on the concrete and abstract levels; both halves of your brain should be happy wi th this CD. Likewise, they make a couple subcultural references just to remind you they're still human and probably grew up much the same way you did which, while not necessary when being inducted into someone else's landscape, is a friendly touch. Like a b ook of short stories, Snow skips from heartfelt drama and lovelorn pining to raucous adventure and wry humor. This is music to take the edge off of cabin fever or to surprise a first date by, and please be sure to keep it playing for the inexplic able hidd en track which will really creep the hell out of you if you're not paying attention and listening to it all by yourself. ...So I hear, I mean. ---------- This review of Man From Fiery Hill's CD "Snow" originally appeared on the September 2000 ed ition of I ndie-Music.com. Reprinted by permission. By Heidi Drockelman -- Well, first I spent about half an hour trying to figure out what the band name meant. Then, I found myself reading through the liner notes about three or four times, sometimes confused, oft en fascinated by the writing. And then, I realized that the album had been on repeat another time while I delved into the world of Brendan Kruse and Ben Walen. This is either a classic example of two guys with way too much time on their hands, or two guys who just can?t fit all their ideas onto a twelve-track disc. After perusing their website and reading some of the ?daily reviews? posted by fans, foes, and bored stoners checking in at 3am I was confronted with one gleaming conclusion. Most p eople don?t get them. I saw a lot of ?I?m confused by the lyrics? in most of those comments, but there was additionally an overwhelming sense that it didn?t matter. I have to admit, growing up on David Bowie, The Who, and many other bands who challenged m y Midw est sensibility and forever changed my perception, I?m quite used to the fact that not everything is as straightforward as it appears. Snow... perhaps a reference to living in Minnesota. They see a lot of it. Perhaps a reference to a ?snowjob? ? confusing your opponent or the public in general to seem artistic. Whatever the motive, it works. It takes a certain attitude and dare I say talent to pull this kind of campy confusion off and make it work for you. I try not to get bogged down in the ?what does th is all mean?? mentality that a lot of critics fall into and listen to music from different perspectives... like how might the normal buying public approach material like this. Beneath the strangeness that this disc occasionally gives off, there are elemen ts tha t make this band appeal to a wider audience. First of all, there are the vocals. The harmonies will reel in a number of followers. Believe me, while some may tell you that this is easy, I can cite dozens upon dozens upon hundreds of bands who can?t execut e a single harmonic chord vocally. There is a darkness, a natural tendency toward climactic sonic moments that make this sound a unique one. Some of the highlights on this disc include the first track ? ?Stuck Outside?, the lulling and la zy ?Dref?, the so ng that seems to have the most potential for a big ?live? performance ? ?Two Suns Forgotten?, and ?The Triangle?. The only song that remains a distinct departure from the rest is ?Silver Lady? and while I applaud originality, it sounds like a Jef f Buckley knock-off and really distracts from the rest of the disc. Save it for the B-sides album. ---------- This review of Man From Fiery Hill's CD "Snow" originally appeared in the May 10, 2000 issue of Pulse of the Twin Cities. Reprinted by permission of Debra Stolberg, music editor, Pulse of the Twin Cities. By T. Alexander. -- Man From Fiery Hill are Brendan Kruse and Ben Walen. Forming in college in ?92, the pair have been dabbling and dallying with music off and on since. Snow comes off like a cr oss betwe en Ben Folds Five and an acoustic Pearl Jam. Kruse and Walen write tunes that are both catchy and profound.Upon opening the package to Snow, you are confronted with a strange image of some guy dressed for the prom with an electric gui tar. Next t o him is a casually dressed killer clown (presumably our duo). Snow indeed!The sound on the record is almost unclassifiable. To say there are elements of Simon and Garfunkel wouldn?t be far off, but not exacting. There also echoes of other thi ngs, like th e social a spects of Radiohead. The things that make them like these two bands are ideas rather than actual musical impressions. First off the primary instrumentation is acoustic guitar, so the sound is more folk flavored than rock styling. I t seems as th ough the fe llas are trying to steer away from a total rock sound.The first cut on the record is called ?Stuck Outside?. It is a verbose little number about troubled love and stalking. ?The Sasquatch? would not be out of place as a short sto ry from that l eft-handed r edheaded Gemini, Tom Robbins.Man From Fiery Hill has a number of shows this month, but the one to see should be the show on Saturday.Snow is an interesting record. It has all the elements of a good folk record but it also rocks, mostly due to drummer, Charles Hasson, who plays on several tracks. See?m if you can, or check out the record. --›

Location Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - USA

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