FIREFLY
FIREFLY, the name stands for a six-membered tribute-band,
who devoted themselves to the genius work of the rock legend URIAH HEEP.
Originated from musicians of well-known bands out of NRW, FIREFLY is
going to become one of the more popular bands in the German Tribute
scene. Carried by the voice of ex-Demon's Eye singer, Jens Kreikebaum,
Michael Boecher at organ, piano and synthesizer, Matthias Quitadamo
at the guitar, Olaf Bruch at the bass, Joerg Boecher at the drums and
Monika Dengel at vocals, each FIREFLY-show becomes an event, no one
should miss! Beside the filigree and with much devotion played instrumentation,
which matches an earthy, groovy lava sound, FIREFLY places value on
the choral vocal arrangements, which, typical for the URIAH HEEP songs,
has become a trademark of the band and is an important element of the
FIREFLY sound!! Of course, not only the hits like July Morning, Gypsy,
Easy Livin', Circle Of Hands and not least Lady In Black are played,
there are several rare "song pearls" like Echoes In The Dark
or Firefly and others included in the program. All the songs are not
covered the usual way, the individual abilities of each musician give
new life to them, without falsifying the flair of the originals!! A
professional stage show always is a guarantee to enthuse the audience.
The joy in making music and the profesionalism of the band makes each
show an event worth seeing. Virtuosity on guitar and keyboards, and
a compact rock-rhythm provide a basis to both vocalists, to present
excellent interpretations of well-known URIAH HEEP evergreens.
Jens Kreikebaum - Lead vocals
Normally biographies only exists, to praise yourself... So we think,
a few facts about us and our way "into the music" is rather
more interesting for you. I've always been inspired by big artists.
During my early years there were The Rubettes, The Sweet and The Hollies.
Later, I detected my passion for splendid singers like Ian Gillan, Glenn
Hughes or even David Byron from Uriah Heep. My own style is a melting-pot
out of all this influences and it is coming to its full validity at
Firefly. When I heard the song "July Morning" for the first
time, I was over and out. The changing from the heavy, Hammond organ-based
sound to the more quieter passages of the song, always being aware of
David Byrons & Ken Hensleys passion, really was a "key-experience"
for me. So there was no need of asking me twice, if I was interested
in lighting up the magic of Uriah Heep songs with Firefly...
Monika Dengel - Lead / Backing vocals
I started "continuous" singing late in 2001, again being part
of a semi-professional choir. Earlier I made my first steps in a children-
and school-choir and I tried to play an instrument but never became
as good as it should be. After taking singing lessons for about 1 1/2
years my passion for professional singing finally was awoken in 2003.
I never was aware of Uriah Heep except for a few popular songs; in fact
the big years of the band were "before I grew up"... until
I was asked, if I was interested, being a part of Firefly as a background-singer.
So I started listening to the music of Heep and the variety of the songs
got me really fascinated. So there was only one logical answer for me...
Matthias Quitadamo - Guitar
From the age of 10, I'm playing the guitar. Among other things, the
music of Uriah Heep had a significant influence on me. Especially the
abilities of Mick Box were an on-going encouragement for me to be faithful
to the guitar as "my" instrument. Although I have played in
different bands with different styles, finally, I returned to the classic
rock music. Temporarily my job made it necessary to pause the band work,
but I never stopped playing guitar. So I realized how much I have missed
this special band-feeling. Therefore I have forced my activities and
accepted the challenge with pleasure, to play in a band like Firefly.
Jörg Böcher - Drums / Vocals
Drumming fascinates me since 1983 - I never wanted to play another instrument...
Particularly prog-bands like Yes or Genesis always sounded great to
me. But I love Uriah Heep in a very special way since my youth. In my
archive there are still a lot of old Heep-discs (LPs!!). Therefore my
way to Firefly was "a writing on the wall". With our actual
line-up many old classics can be brought back to life. Songs, which
even Heep doesn't play in their normal standard-program. The mixture
of hard rock, bombastic keyboards and brilliant backing-vocals can't
be heard often in our days. Especially the demands of the songs is making
the teamwork of Firefly unique and it's becoming a great adventure and
challenge to me. Some things in life have to be special...
Olaf Bruch - Bass
Since I was 10 years old, I'm playing music. When I was a little boy
I got my first Uriah Heep-LP - "Return To Fantasy" - as a
reward. Since then the band caught me in a trap. Of course I wanted
to do it just as well, so we founded our first band very quickly. Until
today music locks me in a spell. Although I've changed from a musician
to a producer in my own studio, the music of Uriah Heep took me back
on stage. One of the really fascinating aspects of Uriah Heep is the
variety of over 30 years of music - and band history. This makes it
tempting to play in a band like Firefly. Especially the songs of the
early seventies with Gary Thain on bass guitar are coming back to new
life...
Michael Böcher - Organ / Piano / Synths
/ Vocal
The most important influences for me were "Rick Emerson",
Jon Lord from Deep Purple and even Ken Hensley. For many years I have
played in a Purple Tribute Band, yet finally my way led me to Firefly.
I remember very well, Uriah Heep always took a pole-position in my private
list of favorite bands. This band was and ever will be a synonym for
creativity and power! In particular, Hensley's variety of sounds, the
open space for improvisation and the earthy heavy sound, infiltrating
my ears like a tank, were the reasons for me, to get on board and join
Firefly...
Contacts:
web: www.firefly-band.com
e-mail: info@firefly-band.com
