Jonathan Fire*Eater (formed in 1994) were a quintet from Washington DC, United States (comprised of keyboardist Walter Martin, vocalist Stewart Lupton, guitarist Paul Maroon, drummer Matt Barrick, and bassist Tom Frank. They relocated to New York in 1995 and soon emerged out of the same rhythm’n’blues scene (Rolling Stones + Stooges + Birthday Party) inhabited by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Chrome Cranks.
The album Jonathan Fire Eater (Third World Underground, 1995) and especially the EP Jonathan Fire Eater (PCP, 1995), with The Cakewalk Of Crime and The Public Hanging Of A Movie Star, established their reputation. The five-song mini-album Tremble Under Boomlights (Medicine, 1996) added at least The Search For Cherry Red and Give Me Daughters to their canon. Unfortunately, the album Wolf Songs for Lambs (Dreamworks, 1997) would be their last. Emphatic vocalist Lupton broke with the rest of the band and after years of silence only recently formed another band, The Childballads.
Jonathan Fire Eater eventually dissolved in 1997 but three members (Keyboardist Walter Martin, drummer Matt Barrick, guitarist Paul Maroon) joined forces with singer Hamilton Leithauser to form The Walkmen. |
