WE LIVE ON DREAMS...
PEPSI INTERVIEWS GUNFIRE DANCE GUITARIST JEFF "TWIGGY" WARD
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"I'm gonna make you cry...."

In the eighties, KERRANG! magazine used to run a little demos column, I think it was called Shrapnel... Anyways, that's where I first read about Gunfire Dance, and wrote away, asking them to send me their demo-tape for review in "Anorexic Teenage Sexgods" magazine. Later on, Ray Zell, wrote a fantastic page-long article about 'em, and me and all my friends were hooked. GUNFIRE DANCE were one of my biggest musical influences, and favorite rock groups, in that they affirmed what I was already trying to do, at the time, but they also had an emotional resonance I connected with, way more so, than say, Kill City Dragons, or the Throbs. I always believed in their singer, and respected what they were accomplishing, musically. Everybody who knows me, knows how much I love GUNFIRE DANCE. Distinguished pillars of our Flash-Metal subculture, I've ranted about those rakish dandies in all my tawdry fanzines, for twenty-some years, relentlessly, singing their praises to anyone who'd listen, ---all too often, just the wino in the park. They were a bluesy, intelligent glam band from Birmingham, 'way tighter than most garage bands you'd hear on an old Lenny Kaye compilation, and mercifully, less "metal" than all those phony eighties bands; who I rank alongside Hanoi, the Lords, Thee Hypnotics, Dogs D'Amour, Jacobites, Soho Roses, and Quireboys as the pulsing neon embodiment of the kinda soulful, punk trash we celebrate here at Sleaze-Central. The thing that made the Gunfires so special, I think, was their obvious camaraderie. Ant, Twiggy, Birchy, and Ozzie had that Our Gang kinda chemistry you can't affect with a buncha hired-gun, mercenary studio hacks. They also had a timeless stylishness, and a unique approach to songwriting---all their gutter rock was just so infused with sixties R & B, and garage rock influences, that they seemed almost sophisticated--particularly when all those poxy, wank-metal bands were trying to copy our Hanoi Rocks. They possessed alot more nuance, and subtlety.  They understood tension and release, dynamics, and atmosphere. They utilized 50's style, call-and-response, back-up vocals to great effect. Like Lords of The New Church, or Generation X, Ant's melodies seemed to ride Ray Birch's killer bass-lines, freeing guitarist, Jeff Ward, to add profane swatches of color, slashin' and burnin' like the illegitimate son of Segovia--or at least, Genzale. His stock-in-trade was catchy, spooky riffs kinda like their producer, Brian James, and flamenco flash, like Keef and Andy. All four members of GUNFIRE DANCE were indispensable champions. Birch was an absolute motherfucker on bass, he really attacked the instrument with alot of jazzbo aggression, and precision. Think Dave Tregunna on poet warp speed. Ozzie was the drummer you always wanted, but could never find, for your own band, proving it didn't die with Razzle. That's really what made them stand-out: they could really, really fooking play. They all emanated danger, like four kohl-eyed Nick Kents...crows on a wire. They reeked of decadence, you know--the whole perennial, Peter Perrett/Lord Byron wasted regal vibe, but on-stage, they swaggered, snarled, and swetted--like the Standells, or Lollipop Shoppe. Visually, they were garbed as good as Motorcycle Boy. Sonically, they vibed as heavy and fluid as Thee Hypnotics. They covered the Kinks and Eddie Cochran. The Gunfires just, "Got It": the whole essence of real rock'n'roll, with catchy songs, oozing humour, soul, anguish, and compassion. We saw them as spiritual kin.

ANT was one of those brave souls who wore all his angst, and desperation, and burnin' ambition, right there on his sleeve. All his raw emotions, and melancholy, were so brazenly exposed onstage, and in his music, ala Patti Smith, or Iggy Pop, that you couldn't help but see a bit of yourself in him. He had so much talent, panache, lyrical ability, stage presence, and soul power. One of those luminous fuckers willing to flaunt real emotions, always venturing beyond mere performance. Some people fake it, while some people feel it. As I've said elsewhere, it's a damned shame we could never convince a broader audience of their importance, while he was still young enough to crave love and glory. Ant was fortunate, too, to have such a savvy, empathetic, musical band behind him. The rhythm section were impeccable, and Jeff Ward was irreplaceable --a white-hot, sparking, fountain of talent, in his own right: a spectacular stylist with his own signature sound--as inimitable, and creative, as say, Dave Parsons, or Cheetah Chrome, or Andy McCoy.

-Pepsi "Fanclub Only" Sheen

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PEPSI SHEEN: What do you remember about playing C.B.G.B.'s? Do you remember Pillbox?

JEFF WARD: It was definitely a thrill to play CBGB's with Johnny's Thunders Heartbreaker sidekick, Walter Lure. He played all the classics before we went on, Chinese Rocks, Born to Loose, Too Much Junkie Business, all of them. We had just flown into New York for the first time and were still kindof wasted from the trip, when we got onstage. It was a great night. D-Generation were the headliners. They were cool, but we felt we had an edge on them, we were more of a developed unit, like brothers, instead of a bunch of guys who had just formed in the city with their eyes fixed on a deal. Having said that, I respected very much what they had done to create the 'Green Door scene' into which we had stepped (no pun intended). Right away I felt we, The Gunfires, should stay longer in New York, we could have seized the moment. But it wasn't to be... we went home, then returned a year later, and split. I never saw Pillbox, but liked their music. And I'm very grateful to Ratboy, who met with the rest of the band, and put us in  touch with Jeff Dahl.

PEPSI SHEEN: Jeff Dahl's gotta be one of your most ardent supporters. Have you ever met him, and do you like his stuff, too?

JEFF WARD: We have email contact from time to time, he's still very supportive with my ElectraJet stuff, also.

I recently got a copy of his latest, semi-acoustic, cd and it’s really great! It has a kind of quirkiness to it that I can relate to more than the straight ahead rock n roll stuff he's more well-known for. I don't like to use comparisons, but its has a Transformer/ Ian Hunter/ Let It Bleed- quality. Good for him, man...Yes, I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff Dahl, about 10 years ago at CBGB'S. I was living in NY by that time. However, its not the happiest tale, and I have since apologized to him for how it went. Although he very graciously said, in no way, was an apology ever necessary. He was doing a gig there, and I went to the soundcheck, primarily to thank him in person for putting out our Gunfire single on his label. While we were talking, a voice yells out, 'is Jeff Dahl in the building!' it was Cheetah Chrome no less, how cool! Brian James had said to us (when the band was together) 'if you ever run into Cheetah say hello for me'. I never thought this might really happen, of course, but Brian was warm and inclusive like that, even though we were just kids, in a way. I was a total wreck during that period in time, and that day, particularly, so I totally mumbled and fumbled the message from Brian and (so I thought) embarrassed Jeff Dahl. Worse still, I never made it back for his show, because I had a very important meeting with a crystal meth dealer, soon afterwards. Very sad, really...

PEPSI SHEEN: Why did the band break-up? How did you feel about Steppin' Razors?

JEFF WARD: Why did we split? In the end, we had just stopped moving forward. The tale of the Gunfires is a fairly common one I guess, of naiveté and rough luck, and eventual disillusionment. We had quite quickly gone from being an unknown band from a small town, to one who had name-recognition in the national rock magazines, with very well attended shows in London, where it's understood, it matters most. We then signed a production deal with Island music thinking we were "on our way!"--Not so...From this point, we effectively stagnated...The first problem was, not releasing a record immediately. We had no management of our own, and our Island guy left ('for bigger things') so we were no longer someone’s 'pet project', so no record. Evidently, we were too easily categorized. To most label people, we appeared to be no more than Guns and Roses wannabes, a band that was already quickly becoming a joke in England. This was also before Manic Street Preachers came along, a band that, when I saw saw them, covered "It's So Easy", but had the ability to explain themselves more broadly, and on their own terms, with their huge P.R. team that put them on every cover, (not just the rock mags). Something that would have helped us,greatly. So, over the next couple of years, we were constantly repeating ourselves, playing songs which were still well-liked, but should really have been on our first record, while we were bringing audiences along with us, with new songs for our next release,--that's the way it's supposed to go.... But didn't.  By the time we self-released our "Killing Time" ep on Stay Sick Records, we had already missed the boat. Still, we very committed, because we believed in ourselves deeply, despite the lack of breaks, and made plans to go over to New York. As I described earlier, our first NY experience was great, it was just a shame we couldn't have stayed there for a prolonged period, because I think we were refreshed again. There was another year in disillusioning England, before our second NY trip. Those are the basic factors why we split, but there were obviously, personal reasons, too. For me, it was kind of heartbreaking, really, the whole thing left me wanting to be out of music, altogether. I didn't know how to go about leaving the band, though, because it was pretty much the only thing in my life, and in my confusion, I just fucked up in the usual rock n roll cliché type of way, and let the others down to the point where they wished it would end, also ,and so it did. I had decided I would try to become a writer, something I had dreamed of doing when I was very young, and being in New York, opened my mind to the possibility of going for it, and starting life afresh. You ask somewhere here about Steppin' Razors, which was what became of Gunfire Dance after I left. They were great, and if I had been in England, I would no doubt have been a part of it. Prior to our split, we had contemplated asking Mark Filipino to join The Gunfires on guitar, so that I could bring in some keyboards, as well as dual guitars, but things didn't pan out, which is a shame.

PEPSI SHEEN: Didn't Ozzie go on to join Brian James' revised post-Bator line-up, of the Lords? What did you make of 'em?

JEFF WARD: Ozzie and the original Lords of The New Church all understood that Stiv Bators was totally unique and irreplaceable so there was no unrealistic illusions, it was treated a great gig, a full-on rock n roll experience. Jez Miller, who sang, is an old old friend of ours, Ozzie and Ray have known him forever, since their teens at punk gigs. He has been pals with Dave Tregunna and Brian James for as long as us, possibly longer, so he was the obvious choice, I guess. A huge Stiv fan. I never saw them as 'The Lords' so I can't really comment, but when I saw them as The Brian James Gang at the 100 Club in London. They were amazing , definitely the right people for the job.

PEPSI SHEEN: What did you think of Hanoi, Jacobites, Crybabies, Waterboys, Ian Hunter, etc.?

JEFF WARD :Hanoi were before my time, or rather, I was unhip to them, but I like many of their songs and was influenced by them because Ray and Ozzie saw them with Johnny Thunders many times and were influenced. I really like The Jacobites, but prefer Dave Kusworth's solo stuff, and his 90's band, The Bounty Hunters. Ant and Dave were very close friends, and so in turn, The Bounty Hunters and The Gunfires were all very good friends and played lots of gigs together, sometimes Nikki Sudden would be on the bill also. It was strange in a way, because it was Gunfire Dance who was by far the main audience draw, but most of our audience often didn't get the nuances and maturity of The Bounty Hunters and Sudden, who were all older than us, and had already been through their wannabe The Dolls phase. By asking them to be on the bill with us, we thought this might help enlighten our audience, as to our influences and possible future. However, The Masses suck, even the small masses. Taking that point a little further, I never understood why Dave and The Bounty Hunters never got near to the acclaim that Dogs' Damour got. I just love Dave and nostalgic for those 'happy days'. Ian Hunter is amazing, but the others you ask about I don't know much about, and could not comment fairly.

PEPSI SHEEN: What do you do to pay rent in NYC? What are the other guys up to these days?

JEFF WARD: To make rent I do picture framing and a little art restoration stuff, its a pretty tranquil environment to work in. Sometimes I get paid to just sit at the work computer and answer questions about my past life as a rock star. I used to like the bar scene in Williamburg Brooklyn, where I lived. But like most NY things it lost its edge when the yuppie's moved in. I moved to the boogie down Bronx. My girlfriend is a wine and liquor rep, so I spend alot of time propping up her bar these days- nudge-nudge, wink-wink. Ray is a house husband.(his dream job!) Ozzie is a tour manager. Before he passed, Ant was as a Social worker.
 

PEPSI SHEEN: Have you heard Ronnie Sweetheart's new group, Strip Club Devils, yet?

JEFF WARD: From what I understand, Ronnie Sweetheart has a track on the Classic Rock compilation cd with Gunfire Dance and others but I have not heard it.
(note: said compilation is Sons of Guns II, compiled by yours cruelly – Sleaze)

PEPSI SHEEN: Were you a Lee Hazelwood fan, at all?

JEFF WARD: Yes, I'm into Lee Hazlewood, the Nancy Sinatra collaboration is way up among my faves.

PEPSI SHEEN: What current bands do you actually listen to at home?

JEFF WARD: Current bands I'm into are: The White Stripes , The Hives, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Urgencies, The Star Spangles, Jeff Dahl's current cd (I think I metioned that before), Madjuana.

PEPSI SHEEN: How many Electrajet albums are there, and where are they currently available?

JEFF WARD: There's four Electrajet Cds right now:
1.ElectraJet,
2. Happy Smack,
3. Roadtrip to ...?
4.Primal Unity Rox, and I'm in the process of putting together a fifth.Tracks from the 2005 'Primal Unity Rox' can be heard on myspace. It was recorded with other musicians, whereas the others are more experimental and self indulgent in nature, sortof lo-fi, in a Kim Fowley way. At the time I recorded them, I was on my travels, focused more upon writing novels and getting published, thinking to myself, that one day, I would get back to New York, and put an ElectraJet band together, which is exactly what happened in 2004/05. It's more of a seasonal thing, these days, though. I still devote more time to writing The book is available thru Amazon.com, the cd's from myspace.

PEPSI SHEEN: Did Ant have any kids? Was he married?

JEFF WARD: At the time Ant died, he was not in a relationship and never had children. He always attracted the most beautiful women, and was in a few long-term relationships. Sadly however, he was very, very determined to take his own life, really on a mission, you could say, and being as unselfish as he was, I don't think he wanted to leave someone to pick up the pieces, so to speak. Which I think that says alot about the kind and decent human being he was. On the Gunfire myspace, someone has posted some video clips of our last/reunion show in London. Both shows, London and Birmingham were a great success, people really got into it. But there was certainly a sadness for us in the band watching how Ant suffered from nervous anxiety, backstage. To be honest, we felt guilty, but it wasn't us, putting him through it, it was something he wanted to do for his own reasons, a last waltz maybe, we'll never fully know.

PEPSI SHEEN: What were summa the highlights from your time with GUNFIRE DANCE?

JEFF WARD: It’s hard to think of 'highlights' from 'the Gunfire Dance experience' when these days I think of it all as an amazing chapter in my life. There's no better fun than being a young guy in a rock n roll band, none, it was a long bawdy party. Receiving respect and compliments from our elders in The Lords means alot, as it does from young rock n rollers who only saw us for the first time when we did the reunion. Rock n roll is a very good thing to have in your life, it's>more compassionate than most religions.

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TO BE CONTINUED....