Fire Town

Fire Town, based in Madison, Wisconsin, draws its chief legacy from ties to Garbage. Duke Erikson covered vocals and guitar, Phil Davis handled vocals and guitar, and Butch Vig supplied drums, percussion, and backing vocals. The group delivered bright, jangly pop that supplied college radio with extra helpings of chiming guitars and folk-rock harmonies through the late 1980s. Vig and Erikson had earlier played together in Spooner. Once Spooner disbanded, Davis teamed with Vig and guitarist Steve Marker to launch the short-lived First Person in 1986. The next year Davis, Vig, and Erikson reconvened as Fire Town and issued the album In the Heart of the Heart Country. Rolling Stone praised the release, yet its subdued tone kept it from gaining traction on pre-grunge alternative radio. The clip for “Carry the Torch” briefly drew MTV interest, though Fire Town disappeared amid a wave of similar acts. The band cut one more record, 1989’s Good Life, before splitting up. Vig’s production credits on albums by Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, and L7 in the early 1990s raised his standing inside the alternative rock scene. Vig later rejoined Erikson and Marker in the punk group Rectal Drip, formed chiefly to cover canceled shows. The three musicians became Garbage in 1993 and added vocalist Shirley Manson in 1994.