R.I.P. Firehouse's CJ Snare

[Captain Howdy]

 

[Captain Howdy]

There was actually a band he was in before Firehouse as well, but it was far removed from their sound. Maxx Warrior was old school heavy metal, and CJ went by the name Carl Snare back then. He is a transcript of a write up Dave Reynolds did in 1985 in Metal Forces Magazine.

https://www.metalforcesmagazine.com/site/feature-maxx-warrior-mf15/

[Metal T]

They have been pretty active doing shows/tours all these years but their last release of original material dates back to 2003?...that is just ridiculous considering their continued popularity for a band of their ilk.

[tts42572]

19 minutes ago, Metal T said:

They have been pretty active doing shows/tours all these years but their last release of original material dates back to 2003?...that is just ridiculous considering their continued popularity for a band of their ilk.

Agree.

I had posed that question to CJ a few years ago on social media and he responded to me saying that he didn't think people wanted to hear new Firehouse music and that he didn't feel the time/effort/cost to do new music was worth it as a result.   

However, I feel like there was a bit of a revival of melodic rock somewhere around 2012 and forward.  Granted, nowhere near it was in it's 80's prime but I feel like it was somewhere around there it started to become a little cool again.  Maybe that's when all us 40+ year olds were hitting mid-life crises and looking to relive our youth lol.  Either way, I feel like even a band like Firehouse saw some resurgence.  I mean, I remember seeing them live back around 2012 and there couldn't have been more than about 250 people in the place.  However, the last few times I've seen them they were playing to substantially larger crowds than that....probably 10 times bigger. 

I feel like somewhere in the last 5 years was ripe for them to put out new music.  I think sometimes these artists just focus on the sales not being there like they were back in the day but I think there's a lot of other intangibles that new music provides.  It just gives people something to talk about, do interviews about, share around and just bring positive attention to a band.  CJ still sounded phenomenal....I think they could've been capable of putting out one more killer album with a bit of focus and desire.

Such is life though and no use crying over spilt milk so to speak.  Will just enjoy what they did create.    

[Captain Howdy]

Certain bands just feel it is better to live off live dates playing their hits rather than record new albums.

Poison has not recorded an original album since 2002 and a covers album in 2007.

Motley Crue has only recorded a handful of new tracks since their last studio album in 2008.

Slaughter have not recorded an album as a band since 1999

Vixens last studio album was 2006

[KarpetRydOFunk]

I never wanted another FireHouse album. The last two weren't very good. Many bands can't recapture the magic of their earlier work, or evolve into something better.

[Captain Howdy]

1 hour ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

I never wanted another FireHouse album. The last two weren't very good. Many bands can't recapture the magic of their earlier work, or evolve into something better.

While not as classic as their early stuff, I thought tracks like Jumpin, Take it off, Don't you fade on me, I'd rather be making love, Prime time & Door to door were cool songs. I will admit the sound on Prime time was a bit muffled though.

[Captain Cowardly]

On 4/7/2024 at 8:43 PM, Metal T said:

IMO, band should end.

I mean as a functioning, creative, recording band, they're done anyway and have been for 20 years.

But I was surprised to see they are still going on as early as this weekend, with the guy off of American Idol, who's been filling in for CJ since his last surgery.

I think because they are just a pretty faceless heritage act nowadays, they will continue doing the state fairs, pubs & clubs circuit they've been doing, and many people will be none the wiser...

[auslander]

51 minutes ago, Captain Cowardly said:

I mean as a functioning, creative, recording band, they're done anyway and have been for 20 years.

But I was surprised to see they are still going on as early as this weekend, with the guy off of American Idol, who's been filling in for CJ since his last surgery.

I think because they are just a pretty faceless heritage act nowadays, they will continue doing the state fairs, pubs & clubs circuit they've been doing, and many people will be none the wiser...

Seems a bit shady to play a gig like a week after CJ died... 

[tts42572]

3 hours ago, Captain Cowardly said:

I mean as a functioning, creative, recording band, they're done anyway and have been for 20 years.

But I was surprised to see they are still going on as early as this weekend, with the guy off of American Idol, who's been filling in for CJ since his last surgery.

I think because they are just a pretty faceless heritage act nowadays, they will continue doing the state fairs, pubs & clubs circuit they've been doing, and many people will be none the wiser...

Yeah....Now they're basically the same as bands like Warrant, Great White, Skid Row, Foreigner....and the list could go on.

Also kind of surprised they're back at it so soon.  I'm not sure if this was a scheduled gig already or not.  That Peck dude has been playing with them though for months so I guess he'll just continue.  To be honest though, I have very little interest in seeing them without CJ. 

They'll likely keep going though and they'll probably still draw decent enough crowds as people eat up this nostalgia stuff.  And half the time people are so clueless that they'll probably think it's the same band.  I mean, I've had 2 stories in the past couple years that illustrate the types of people that attend some of these shows.   One was a few years ago at a festival after Warrant performed.  Some dude sitting next to me looks at me and says "Man, that Jani Lane can still sing!".  I had to tell him Jani died 10 years ago....he had no idea.  Then last year I was walking out of a Skid Row show and hear a guy in front of me say "That Skid Row singer still sounds as good as he did 30 years ago!"  Yeah, those people are out there lol.

At the end of the day, I guess Firehouse and these other bands with "new" singers are just sort of paying tribute to themselves more than anything else and a lot of people are fine with that.

  

[CureTheSane]

On 4/10/2024 at 7:22 AM, Captain Howdy said:

While not as classic as their early stuff, I thought tracks like Jumpin, Take it off, Don't you fade on me, I'd rather be making love, Prime time & Door to door were cool songs. I will admit the sound on Prime time was a bit muffled though.

+1

Regarding any upcoming gig, to make it an easier transition they should dedicate it to CJ, all proceeds go to his family etc.

[Captain Cowardly]

2 hours ago, CureTheSane said:

+1

Regarding any upcoming gig, to make it an easier transition they should dedicate it to CJ, all proceeds go to his family etc.

They're classing it as a Tribute To CJ Snare, although I think it was already in the diary.

[CureTheSane]

Yeah, just need to donate proceeds now and they will look less greedy and more compassionate.