Backyard Tire Fire

Operating out of Bloomington, Illinois, the alt-country trio Backyard Tire Fire revolves around Ed Anderson, a singer, songwriter, slide guitarist, and one-time Brother Jed participant. His brother Matt Anderson covers bass duties while Tim Kramp supplies the drumming, and the group’s material blends folk, country, and blues influences. The band first released its self-titled effort, Backyard Tire Fire, in 2003, then joined forces with O.I.E. Records to issue the energetic concert recording Live at the Georgia Theatre, taken from an October 23, 2002 performance. Bar Room Semantics arrived in 2005, the Skin and Bones EP followed in 2006, and Vagabonds and Hooligans appeared in 2007. The last of these discs earned the musicians an unprecedented volume of press, resulting in opening engagements for Jason Isbell and Lynyrd Skynyrd while they logged upwards of 200 shows annually. Backyard Tire Fire resurfaced in 2008 with the analog album The Places We Lived, which combined guitar-driven rock songs with plaintive piano ballads.