Fire Torpedoes! is an alternative pop-rock band that was formed late in the summer of 2008. Since then they have played with a number of local bands from the Eugene area at various venues such as The District and The WOW Hall. All of the band songs were recorded at Daddy Kupka Records, but the band takes more pride in live performances. Their first song “My Own Escape” was originally recored in November 2008 and since then 7 songs have been tenderly written. With a loyal fan base and riveting live performances, Fire Torpedoes! is a fun loving band that loves long walks on the beach and mango ice cream.
So, for the record state your band’s name, your names, and your hometown
We are Fire Torpedoes!, from Eugene, Oregon. Our members are Matthew
Kupka on Guitar and Vocals, Connor Sheehan on Guitar and Vocals, Tyler
Giard on Bass, And Patrick Glang on Drums
I know you guys haven’t been around for too long but what do you hope
to do in the next 6 months to year?
Matt: Probably just playing a bunch more shows, and writing and
releasing some more music
Connor: I would like to do Taylor Swift, but if that doesn’t happen,
what Matt said
What’s your favorite song to play live? And do you play any cover songs?
Matt and Tyler: Untitled, hands down
Connor: Yeah I really like Untitled, and C U Next Tuesday is really
fun too. As for covers… our first 2 shows we only had 3 songs written,
so we covered Creep by Radiohead, Teenagers by My Chemical Romance,
and Dammit by blink-182. After we wrote more music we kept covering
Dammit, but then switched to Not Good Enough For The Truth in Cliché,
by Escape The fate. But now we are staying away from covers because we
have more originals that can be fit into our set
What’s the story behind the most meaningful song you’ve made?
Matt: probably untitled, it’s hard to explain, which is why its
untitled because putting what I was feeling into words was really
really hard, but the instrumentals portray it so well, like the minor
to the major section
Tyler: our new song about Zelda, because she is my first true love and
i would fight any foe for her
Connor: I would have to say With This Last Breathe just because of how
much emotion I put into the lyrics and how long it took to make the
song into what it is. My Own Escape is pretty meaningful too because
it’s our first ever song.
How did you end up with the two singer combination? Any Taking Back
Sunday influence?
Connor: When we started out we were gonna get a lead singer, but
before we did we just both sang and realized that worked really well
for us and we both liked singing a lot.
Matt: But we are also really influenced by Taking Back Sunday, so much
to a point that we sat in Connor’s room listening to Cute Without The
E and trying to figure out a way to completely copy the ending dual
vocals
What are your top 3 favorite albums of all time?
Tyler: umm… Tell All Your Friends, any Daphne Loves Derby album, my
favorite song by them is Middle Middle, so Strength of all the
Convicted, and American Art by Weatherbox
Matt: probably any one of the My Chemical Romance albums… probably an
album by Taking Back Sunday, probably the first one… and then the
first Escape The Fate album… fuck what’s it called
Connor: Dying is your latest fashion
Matt: yes. That one. How did I not know that?
Connor: I would have to say Whatever and After, Amen by Ben Folds, So
Long, Astoria by The Ataris, and probably… an album by The Cure…
Disintegration is amazing, but Boys Don’t Cry is my favorite song by them…
Jules or Abigail?
Matt: Juliet hands down, she is more attractive
Connor: Tyler is that true? Cause I would say Abigail is more attractive
Tyler: Juliet is perfect.
Matt: Yeah Tyler and I can look more than skin deep
Connor: well I also pick Jules, but im just saying, Abigail, if you
want to give me a call im single.
Who are your biggest musical influences and what do they mean to you?
Tyler: Daphne Loves Derby, because they have always been my favorite
band, they just speak to me. Same with Weatherbox.
Matt: I like Taking Back Sunday cause of the whole dual vocals thing
and I like how they rely more on the singing, even though Adam kinda
suck live. And Escape the Fate because they were like the first
post-hardcore band I ever liked and even now I don’t like any more
hardcore band, and sometimes ETF pushes it, but I kinda like that. And
Money’s guitar playing is amazing. And Foxy Shazam because they are
just so far out there
Connor: Yellowcard and blink-182 were the first bands that really got
me into music, but then lyrically I really like Brand New and Meg &
Dia. Im also the one in the band who is known for like “Disney channel
music” like Hey Monday and Stereo Skyline!
To break it up a little, I know you guys had to watch the VMAs..what’d
you think of the ‘New Moon’ trailer?
Matt: Well New Moon… I actually watched that online because I couldn’t
watch the VMA’s and I was pretty impressed, you know Jacob looked
pretty hot without his shirt on
Connor: Yeah his shirt was off a lot
M: But the only thing I didn’t understand is when Bella was in her bed
going “OOOOHHHH NOOOOO”. That part made no sense, but it made me
excited and I really want to go see it at Midnight
Connor: I basically agree with everything Matt said, and I also want
to add that Bella and Alice looked really attractive. Oh and so did
Jacob.
How did you guys get together, any interesting story behind that?
Matt: We got together when Connor and I were playing joke music, and
like messing around
Connor: My Chemical Romance
Matt: Haha we would play like My Chem songs every day, and then we
tried to write our own music and decided to start a band, and during
soccer I met Patrick and he wanted to play drums. Oh and the first
song we ever played was All The Small Things, but it was a lot slower
than it was supposed to be because he didn’t know the drum part
because he was too lazy to learn it. And then he quit like a month
ago, but then he came back so other than that it’s been good
Connor: We were also originally called The Retreat, and had this kid
Reyn on bass, but then he quit and we got Tyler. So once Pat fake quit
we kinda realized we wouldn’t be the same band we were before which is
when we changed the name to Fire Torpedoes! after around a month of
having no luck coming up with one. Matt just shouted it out one time
while we were searching through books for a name.
Tyler: I basically played bass and set them up with shows, so I said I
would fill in for a while, and played my first show without ever
practicing, but then I just kept playing and I didn’t actually join
until like when Patrick quit
On stage what are the most embarrassing things that have happened to you guys?
Matt: um… I broke a string one time in a super vital part and we
basically fell apart and had the stop and start again, and then I had
to use Connor’s guitar on the next song, it sucked. And then… our
whole first show, just in general was an embarrassment
Connor: well once during Dammit I was playing and 3 guys came up on
stage and started grinding on me, it was awesome at the time, but
looking back I realized “oh fuck parents and future girlfriend were
there watching this all happen.”
Matt: there was this really awkward time where I was talking and
Connor cut me off and then we were just kinda silent for a bit
Connor: I don’t remember this at…
Matt: NEXT QUESTION
Tyler: When I first played with them, the Fire Torpedoes!, and I
hadn’t practiced with them and I only knew a couple of the songs…
Connor: By a couple you mean Dammit
Tyler: …Yeah I only knew Dammit. And so for most of the set I played
the root note of whatever key we were in and just danced
Connor: but then you also had all the tabs written out so paper was
all over your part of the stage. But after the show everyone came up
to me and was like “dude that new kid Tyler is badass, I loved his
dancing” so it all worked out. Also one time I got asked to sign
someone’s nipples (a guy), it wasn’t embarrassing for me, but both of
our girlfriends were embarrassed
How many shows have you played and do you have more lined up for the future?
Currently we have played 4 shows, and this one acoustic show, but that
doesn’t really count because half the band wasn’t there. We are also
in the process of booking a bunch more shows at this very moment, so
if your in the Northwest keep an eye out because we might be headed
your way!
