In a world chock full of flame-outs, coulda-been contenders and great white hopes, the band Jonathan Fire*Eater are among the “almost-est.” Widely praised as the mid-Nineties next-big-thing, they are largely credited with being the earliest purveyors of the “New York City Rock and Roll Revival” circa 2001. Which would be great, if only the band hadn’t imploded by 1998.
The quintet employed a fresh, one-of-a-kind blend of sly rock and roll reference and reverence. Their press release at the time name-dropped all the correct and relevant influences...the Stooges, the Modern Lovers, Tom Waits, the Scientists, ? and the Mysterians, the Cramps, Nation of Ulysses, the Stones, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...all markers conveying the point that Fire-Eater’s dark, brooding overtones are complemented by springy Farfisa tones and impressionistic, evocative lyrics.
