Fanning the Flames

APA talks with Love Like Fire singer/guitarist Ann Yu about the band's latest EP, Bed of Gold.
It was a brisk morning in San Francisco when I headed to the Mission district/Noe Valley border to meet up with Ann Yu to pick up Love Like Fire's latest release, the Bed of Gold EP. We chat a bit about the local San Francisco music scene, but she is preoccupied by a music competition to win the opening slot for the Live 105 winter holiday radio festival show, which would allow the band to play with current big names of alterna-rock radio such as The Killers, and Modest Mouse, among others.

The next time we meet is at their last show of the year at Spaceland in the hipster haven that is Silverlake, Los Angeles. In between these two meetings, Love Like Fire will ultimately break the top five bands in the competition, but later lose the spot to another San Francisco band that is a little more mainstream.
Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Yu first got interested in music when she played in her first punk rock band.

She enjoyed every aspect of being in a band. After she played her first concert, she immediately knew that music was something she had to pursue. Before Love Like Fire, she was in another San Francisco band called Evening Lights for several years.

Although she has many fond memories of that era, in the end she decided to move on to her own musical pursuits.
Love Like Fire came into its current lineup in January of 2006, which Yu considers the official start of the band. The band started with some songs that Yu had already written.

She already knew Dave Farrell previously, and they decided to start the project together, recruiting others to the cause. "We weren't going to settle for anyone..

.. [We wanted people] who would see the vision as we did and be able to grow and nurture our sound together," says Yu.

Soon, the rest of the band came together. Bassist Jesse Hayes was a friend that suddenly became available after he left his previous band. The last piece of the puzzle came in the form of guitarist and keyboardist Ted Parker whom they met through Craig's list.

For Love Like Fire, the songwriting process starts with the music first. After the basics of a song is written, the band forms words around the melodies during rehearsals. The process is pretty open, and anyone with an idea for a song can contribute.

Also, the songs are not set in stone after they are written; the band will fine-tune according to their liking.
Lyrics vary based on Yu's mood. "It depends on the moment in my life.

There's always something going on that inspires me to include it in lyrical content. I'm not afraid to share with everyone else what is happening with me at the moment."
Bed of Gold is the culmination of the band's first year in existence.

The six track EP is a roughly 25 minute ride with powerful vocals and cutting guitar chords and lines that work to accentuate Yu's voice.The EP is also illustrative of how each member brings their own influences to the Love Like Fire table. Yu mentions several bands as influences, including but not limited to The Beatles, Siouxsie the Banshees, Curve, Radiohead, Ride, and Blonde Redhead.

Some guitar lines are very reminiscent of the early 1990s shoegazer indie sub-movement, while others are more Britpop influenced.On "You're Never Alone," the vocal style and guitar tones help to bring about a similar sound to mid 1990s Echobelly. The opening track "Inner Space" brings to mind Lush in their last album.

As the band continues to practice and get more used to playing together,they havebeen able to createa more uniquesound for their newer songs. As Yu puts it, "We're becoming more cohesive, developing our own sound as opposed to [being] a culmination of our influences."
Love Like Fire also has a very good live show, which is very important for bands in the age of digital media.

Like the studio release, the live show is contingent on Ann Yu's vocals, and Yu's stage presence allows her to pull it off with the balance of engaging the audience without it being too much. She moves with the music in such a way that shows her passion for the music, but not to the point of arrogance found in many bands. The lead guitars are equally as powerful to the music, and the band has a good chemistry that works well for their live show.

The concert at the Spaceland was no exception.The only difference was the spot on the bill.Whereas, in past concerts, they've played smaller venues, higher on the bill, this concert was different because it was in a slightly bigger venue and they were the first band to go on.

They ran through about 45 minutes worth of material, playing mainly songs from the Bed of Gold EP, and some newer songs they have been working on --not bad for a band that has only been around officially for less than a year.
Their Spaceland show in mid December was also partially a business meeting, as the band was in talks with a manager to help them further their musical aspirations. Yu has also mentioned that their Los Angeles concerts have attracted A R representatives from even some of the major labels.

The show on Friday was taped for later broadcast for MTV Chi, the Chinese-American themed channel broadcast by MTV Networks. But they are careful not to move too fast.
Many bands with Asian American members have said that their ultimate goal is to be considered a band that happens to have Asian members, instead of an Asian or Asian American band.

Others have noted that this is a difficult balance, especially because often times, much of the early support comes from the Asian communities.Love Like Fire seems to have achieved this status, with Yu's ethnicity a footnote, instead of the main focus. For Yu, it is more about universal appeal in the songs than anything else.

"Bands become popular because people identify with their story. We hope that our songs speak for themselves, and when people see our live shows, the experience is what they walk away with and not our image."
But despite the desire for greater universality in the songs, Yu still thinks that she could be a role model for other Asian people interested in pursuing musicbecause of visibility --the fact that she is of Asian descent andin a band that is on the rise.

Of her ethnicity, Yu says, "I think [me] being Asian helps other Asian kids realize that playing music and being an artist isn't some nether world that's unachievable."
"If you dream it, you can do it. Not everyone was born to rock the 9 to 5.

" To budding indie rockers, Yu saysthat the only trickis to "play a shitload of shows, and get out there with tons of songs!