Blondfire

Infobox musical artist
Name = Blondfire

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Img_capt = Photo by Chris Eichenseer.
Origin = New York, NY Belém, Brazil Grand Rapids, MI
Instrument = Multi-instrumentalists
Genre = Pop, Electronica, Alternative rock, Dance
Occupation = Band, Music Producers, Songwriters
Years_active = 2004–Present

Blondfire is an indie pop band from New York City composed of the brother-and-sister duo Bruce and Erica Driscoll. The band was formed in October 2002 as "Astaire" but renamed themselves to Blondfire in July of 2005 after legal threats from the estate of Fred Astaire.

Childhood

The Driscolls were born in Grand Rapids, Michigan to an American father and a Brazilian mother. They spent many summers in northern Brazil, and are citizens of both countries. Both Erica and Bruce cite Antonio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, and Astrud Gilberto as musicians that they listened to often while growing up. In high school, Erica, Bruce, and their older sister Monica formed the band Nectar, and forwent classes to tour nationally. The siblings disbanded after the publishing company EMI, with whom they had a development deal, pressured them to record more mainstream songs. In 2002 they won Runner Up in the Pop category for the UK Songwriting Contest with the song Life Out Loud.

Astaire

In October 2004, Erica and Bruce formed Astaire. Over the next eighteen months, they toured locally and recorded songs in the basement of their parents' home. During this time, the siblings were featured in many music and fashion publications, such as z!nk, America, YRB, College Music Journal, and Entertainment Weekly. Two of their songs, "Maximum Speed" and "Today", were also chosen to be on the DVDs of the fifth and sixth seasons of the television show "Dawson's Creek". The Driscolls relocated to a New York City apartment in April 2004 to record "Weightless" with Ivy's Andy Chase. In October, they released their first EP "Don't Whisper Lies" under their own record label Wax Divine. The collection received moderate critical acclaim, making XM Satellite Radio's Top 43 Albums of 2004 [http://www.xmradio.com/programming/xm_feature.jsp?ch=43&id=753] , charting to #70 on CMJ's Top Radio 200 [http://waxdivine.com/presskit/top200_894.html] , and being the seventh most searched-for album on Allmusic [http://www.waxdivine.com/presskit/billboardtop25_0111.jpg] .

In early 2005, Astaire announced that the EP's single, "L-L-Love", would be featured in two upcoming films, "Monster-in-Law" and "Mozart and the Whale". In April of that year, they embarked on a national tour with Ivy, Robbers on High Street, and Stars. The duo traveled to 14 cities, including Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto.

Blondfire

In the middle of their national tour, the Driscolls were contacted by the representatives of the estate of Fred Astaire, asking the band to stop using the name immediately. Facing a plethora of legal fees, the siblings relented and changed the band name to Blondfire. They announced this decision to coincide with the release of a new acoustic live EP that would be solely available on the iTunes Music Store. It featured one song, "L-L-Love", that had been on "Don't Whisper Lies", and three new songs, "Paper Doll", "Running Back", and "Fade to Pale". The new EP was more successful than the first, eventually becoming the #1 pop album on iTunes [http://www.waxdivine.com/presskit/iTunes_toppop2.jpg] and #9 on the album charts. The duo were the first unsigned band to do an iTunes exclusive EP as well as have the Free Single of the Week on the iTunes Store. The L-L-Love Free Single saw nearly 300,000 downloads. [Source: http://burnthebowery.blogspot.com/2008/03/blondfire-interview.html]

On December 4, 2005, Blondfire released another EP, featuring three holiday-themed songs ("It's Been Christmas Here", "Where's the Cheer", and "Underneath the Mistletoe") and "Baby Blue", one of their vintage demos.

In October 2006, Blondfire signed a record deal with EMI Records UK. In a recent interview however, Bruce Driscoll stated that the band had left the label [http://burnthebowery.blogspot.com/2008/03/blondfire-interview.html] . Nonetheless, a full-length self-produced album has been released on April 2008.

Discography

* "Don't Whisper Lies (EP)"
* "Live Session -- iTunes Exclusive (EP)"
* "iTunes Exclusive Holiday EP"
* My Someday LP

External links

* [http://www.blondfire.com Official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/Blondfire Myspace site]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8840146/ MSNBC's "Independent Study" profile]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:xcem97wdkrgt Allmusic.com entry]
* [http://www.avoidperil.com/astint.html Interview by Avoid Peril]
* [http://www.freep.com/entertainment/music/band10e_20050610.htm Interview by Detroit Free Press]
* [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/249194p-213407c.html Interview by NY Daily News]
* [http://www.astairemusic.com/photos/cmj848.jpgArticle in CMJ]
* [http://www.myspace.com/thekingofnowhere Bruce Driscoll Myspace site]