Biography
Conceived in
Cincinnati in the late 90's by James A. Rota II and Emily Burton, the band moved to
New York City before settling in
Los Angeles. After several years appearing with various big name bands in the genre (
Danzig,
Anthrax,
Motörhead,
Slayer) but without a breakthrough in sales they have found their own sound and are fast gaining a wider following. The track "King" was selected by
Bam Margera and appeared on his
Viva La Bands compilation. The band teamed up with Bam's brother
Jess Margera when they toured Europe with
CKY in 2004.
[1] In addition, the track "The Broken" was included in the
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) video game
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006
for the
Sony PlayStation 2, further expanding the band's audience.
The band went through four different bass players, starting with Helen Storer, who played on the
Ou Est La Rock?
CD and was replaced by
Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis on
FMEP
, who was himself replaced by former
L7 bass player Janis Tanaka on
The Second Great Awakening
. Former
Systematic 4-stringer Johny Chow then took the place of Tanaka for the
Their Rock Is Not Our Rock
album, which was recorded at
Dave Grohl's 606 West studio and like their previous works was produced by genre legend Nick Raskulinecz. In another Margera hook-up they supported
CKY on their 2005
Adio Footwear-sponsored tour, having already opened for them on their UK Tour in 2004. Original drummer John Oreshnick took a leave of absence due to family issues in the Fall of 2006 to be replaced by Yael during their recent tour. Yael and Johny Chow were former bandmates in My Ruin. Yael subsequently left the band in Winter 2006, and Oreshnick rejoined.
Rota considered becoming an ordained minister, but was persuaded not to on account of possible legal and taxation issues. However, he did eventually become ordained and performed wedding ceremonies for
Matt Deis of
CKY and Erica Beckmann in November 2005, and
Bam Margera and Melissa Rothstein in February 2007.
In an interview for blabbermouth.net in May 2007, James Rota stated that "we (Fireball Ministry) are in the stages of writing a new album". In the same Interview, Rota also referred to what would later become
The Company Band EP,
Sign Here, Here and Here
. On the 14th of June 2008, Rota stated that 3 tracks have been recorded for the as yet unnamed fifth Fireball Ministry album, and is also working on a full length Company Band Album and a third, unspecified project to be announced by the end of 2008. However, the present status of these is somewhat uncertain, as Johny Chow is presently on tour playing
bass guitar with
Cavalera Conspiracy.
Inspiration
The band's imagery draws heavily from
Christianity, with "ministry" in their name, the albums
The Second Great Awakening (album)|The Second Great Awakening
, and
Their Rock Is Not Our Rock
, a reference to
Deuteronomy 32:31.
MTV.com described the band's music as having "a musical chemistry between the members... that makes their songs buzz with warmth".
[2]
Current members
James A. Rota II - Guitar/Vocals
Emily Burton - Guitar
John Oreshnick - Drums
Johny Chow - Bass
Former members
Helen Storer - Bass, founding member (1999-2001)
Brad Davis - Bass (2001-2002)
Janis Tanaka - Bass (2002-2004)
Yael - Drums (2006)
Discography
Studio albums
- Ou Est La Rock?
(August 16, 1999)
- FMEP
(May 15, 2001)
- The Second Great Awakening
(October 7, 2003)
- Their Rock Is Not Our Rock
(October 18, 2005)
Compilations
- Right In The Nuts: A Tribute to Aerosmith
(July 10, 2000) Small Stone Records
- Bam Margera presents: Viva La Bands
(June 21, 2005) 456 Entertainment
Notes
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