FIRE DOG: Home
ST. LOUIS' POP ROCK HARMONY EXPLOSION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FIRE DOG spreads positive vibrations through songs of truth and intrigue, creating a sound full of energy and optimism for the 21st century, to make the people DANCE
Thanks for playing hellbenders - Keep an eye out for the "Hellbender" video coming this summer !! ~ go go global girls
next up Cinco de Mayo Cherokee ~ it's LOVE-O-RAMA Stage presented by Gardunos
FIRE DOG on National Public Radio
"Endangered hellbender salamander inspires song" by NPR's Veronique LaCapra
"Big-time Green and poetic props to FIRE DOG for working not only "cryptobronchus" but "sub-species" into the same verse of an indie rock song!!" - Jean Ponzi of KDHX's Earthworms
"Hellbender" was produced by moviemaker Mikal Shapiro for her project "Go Go Global Girls" - Here's the trailer !!
April 20, 2012 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Earth Day (Sunday, April 22), local pop-rockers FIRE DOG will release a single as a shout-out to conservationists’ work to revive an endangered species – Missouri’s ancient river-keeper… the Hellbender.
FIRE DOG’s “Hellbender” is an informational pop tune about the Hellbender salamander, the largest salamander in North America and a native amphibian to Missouri.
After visiting the breeding center at The St. Louis Zoo in January 2011, songwriter Mark Pagano of FIRE DOG wrote the song to support the effort. Since the 1980s, the Hellbender population has been devastated due to rising temperatures, water pollution, and the mysterious chytrid fungus. After a decade of failed attempts to breed the salamanders, the zoo announced that they had hatched 165 baby Hellbenders in November 2011. The Missouri Department of Conservation is a partner in the mission as well.
In October – just as news was surfacing that the first eggs were being fertilized in captivity, FIRE DOG recorded “Hellbender” at Sawhorse Studios with Jason McEntire.
Pagano was turned on to the Hellbender situation from Chicago Art Institute moviemaker Mikal Shapiro who also helped fund the project. Shapiro was researching the fight to save the Hellbender as part of a Web-film series she will launch this September called Go Go Global Girls. The song will air on a Go Go Global Girls webisode this fall.
The track features a voice over by renowned Canadian folk icon and activist Bruce Cockburn. For Earth Day only, FIRE DOG will release a rough track of the song on its website. This November, the track will be featured on FIRE DOG’s full-length album, “May These Changes Make Us Light” to be released on Love-O-Rama Records. The CD-release show with concept video-installation will be held Election Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.
The track will also be included on Pancake Productions’ Spring Sampler.
FIRE DOG is seeking video footage of Hellbenders to help create a video for the tune, in an effort to raise awareness of the river keepers' revival. Contact us for submissions here.
For more information about the Hellbender :
Jeff Briggler - MO Department of Conservation - Hellbender Specialist
St. Louis Zoo - Hellbender Breeding Center
Zoo Crafts Love Nest To Save Ozark's SalamanderNPR piece by Veronique LaCapra