By Cynthia Gross
In anticipation of their upcoming U.S. tour dates, Elkton-Maryland-based Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses released a new music video for “Fired Up” from their latest album, Rebel Songs, produced by Brian McTernan. The high-energy, defiant track gives listeners a taste of what they can expect from the band’s colorful, dynamic shows.
Nathan Gray, who sings lead vocals and plays guitar and keys, shares “Fired Up” “is really meant to be a song to electrify us – to inspire an energy of action when we may find it hard to see a way out of a dark spot,” adding “Often when things are very bleak, the light we are looking for is inside ourselves, and we simply need to call it out into existence.”
Additional members of the ensemble include Gene Priest on drums, guitar, and keys; Jedidiah Johnson on bass, vibraslap, guitar, and backing vocals; Becky Fontaine on backing vocals; Jaelyn Robinson on guitar; and Philip “Eugenius” Smith on additional vocals.
“Fired Up” has a punk flavor with undertones of classic rock. Doo-wop-style vocals create the backdrop of an anthem. Lyrically, the song is charged, serving as a protest song meant to spark your inner fire. “Yeah, I’m feeling all fired up / What have we got to lose, it’s just us / Yeah, it’s time, we gotta rise up / And there ain’t no other way,” Gray sings in the song’s refrain.
The accompanying music video radiates the infectious energy of the track. At the start of the storyline, the band and a few stray members of the community are gathered under a tent for a “big tent revival,” visibly listless. As the night progresses, the rallying cry of the song reignites the fire in everyone’s bones, and the community joins into the rousing performance.
“The inspiration both musically and lyrically came from just seeing a lot of the darkness surrounding us, and seeing it taking over so many people during a difficult time in the world (and in this country), especially within the last four or five years,” Gray explains. “The darkness was being allowed too big a place in this world, and Rebel Songs is my rebellion to that – it’s a call for joy as an act of revolution.”
Check out the video for “Fired Up” below, and go see Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses at one of their DMV shows, including dates at The Camel in Richmond (March 15) and Metro Gallery in Baltimore (March 17). Follow our Alchemical Weekly YouTube Playlist for more great music featured on the site.
Cynthia Gross is a freelance writer and award-winning spiritual pop artist based in Maryland. With more than a decade of experience as an executive ghostwriter, she understands the power of each individual’s voice to create positive, meaningful change.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
