After losing their lead singer, Mouse Fire never lost the momentum they carried after their very successful debut record, “Wooden Teeth.” Signed to LUJO Records, Mouse Fire is anxious to release their upcoming record, entitled, “Big Emotion,” which will officially release March 9, 2010. Mouse Fire made their debut in Macon, GA recently at The 567 when they opened for All Get Out. To be frank, I was blown away by their performance. I’m not sure I’ve seen a tighter band. And because Macon loved them so much, we are proud to announce that “TheBlueIndian.com Presents” will be bringing them back on Friday, December 11th. I recently had the chance to catch Shane from Mouse Fire for an interview. We talked about Joel Hamilton, camping, and his new crush on the city of Macon.

Blue Indian (Luke Goddard): Hello! Thanks for chatting with The Blue Indian. Who do we have here? Your role in the band?

Mouse Fire: Shane R. Schuch, sounds like “shook.” I am singer/songwriter of mouse fire.

BI: So, I recently stumbled into you guys when you made your debut in Macon, GA opening for All Get Out at The 567. I was blown away by your performance.

MF: Ah, you’re too kind amigo. My cheeks are already getting rosy. It was very nice to play to such a receptive crowd. I feel we made new friends and fans that night. That’s a terribly nice feeling.

BI: For sure, man. Yeah, immediately after your set, I wanted to get in touch with you guys for an interview. Glad we’re finally here. Tell me a bit about what’s going on in the life of Mouse Fire right now. A lot of recording, mastering, mixing, etc., right?

MF: Si. We have just finished tracking our second record, “Big Emotion.” It’s been a long time coming since our last release, “Wooden Teeth” in 2007. It is now being mixed by our good buddy Jeremy S.H. Griffith. In between every day life, we are just making all the final details (mastering, artwork, etc) for the official release, which is March 9, 2010.

BI: Awesome. How do you feel about the new record? Will it be your best effort to date?

MF: Man… I’ve always said I’ve never been good with words, so to express how I feel, h*ll, how we feel about the record is difficult. I know for each one of us, it means something different. For me, I’ve never been so personal in my music before. First off, I’ve never been a singer, so there’s that. To put my mind and thoughts in the music as a lyrical form has completely changed my view of the whole process. It cracked my brain wide open, as if it needed to be cracked open again. With that being said, we are happy with our evolution as a band.

BI: I was lucky enough to hear a full set of the new songs in Macon, and to say you guys are taking it to the next level from your previous stuff, is an understatement. The older stuff is good, but it’s always worth mentioning when a band really does something special with a new record. You have to be proud of the new stuff.

MF: H*ll yeah dude, we are so proud. I mean, we went from a 4 piece to a 3 piece in 08′, losing our original singer. We were at a crossroads. We were a band who put out a solid debut record that got good reviews and we were making waves but we could never tour due to our old singers work schedule. For him, he loved music but wasn’t willing to go broke again to keep making music. We were. Love the man, one of our best buds ever but we needed to move on. And here we are. A stronger, more focused and driven band, ready to make record after record after record.

BI: That’s good to hear, Shane. So, introduce the band to us. If you could give one statement about each member that the typical Mouse Fire fan doesn’t know about them, what would it be?

MF: So you’ve got:
Aaron Venrick: Drums, BGV’s
Justin Cason: Bass, BGV’s
Me: Guitar, Keys, Vox
Aaron is the Ted Nugent of mouse fire.
Justin is from outer space.
And, I am a loon.

BI: [laughs] Justin is the man. So, Mouse Fire has shared the stage with some pretty incredible bands over the years. Who are you most proud of?

MF: I’d say to share the stage with Travis Morrison was a highlight! He has always been one of my favorite songwriters. He is so weird. Another favorite was when we opened for Margot and The Nuclear So and So’s.
They are incredible. Just incredible. And of recent, I’d say Joel Hamilton (The Working Title). Dude makes me smile when he performs. Like, chuckling with a huge grin on my face. I’m so stupid for good music.

BI: Who are you, personally, wearing out on your iPod right now?

MF: Coconut Records, both of his albums. Travis Morrison Hellfighters too, upon my daughter’s request. I think Aaron would say Despised Icon. They are sick with it. BI: Everyone has to have their “must-have” items while on tour. What’s yours?MF: Camping gear! We camp all the time. When we drive, we search for KOA’s and other camp sites. It’s cheaper than a hotel. They have showers usually, and if they don’t, we have used rivers to bath. We cook out and laugh and enjoy nature. It’s the best. One downfall, we smell like a campfire everywhere we go. Unless, you like that sort of thing… then, it aint so bad.

BI: So, tell us a little bit about the producer of the new record. He’s worked with some pretty amazing bands/artists.

MF: Yeah, his name is Jeremy Griffith. Great dude! He isn’t just someone we work with, he is an actual friend of ours. We were introduced to him through a friend and decided to go with him to make our first record, “Wooden Teeth.” He taught me a lot about engineering and helped us all grow in the studio. He makes great records. He is one of the hardest working people in music and trust me, if you dont know his name yet, you will. Check out his band, Savio. Also, he was in a band that had a couple hits a few years ago, Moments in Grace. Fun fact.

BI: So, the crowd at the 567 in Macon LOVED you guys. Is there a chance you could make Macon a regular stop on tours? I can totally see the Mouse Fire fan-base here in Macon continue to grow.

MF: Oh dude, without a question! We plan to come through on every tour. We are some southern boys ourselves, being from Florida and we love the southeast and Macon showed us so much love on our debut there, we just fell in love. Please, Macon… fall in love with us?

BI: It’s killing me. When will you be able to put some of the new songs up on your MySpace page?

MF: Ah, I know! Once we have solid mixes we are happy with, then you my friends will have the jams! Soon my friend, soon.

BI: The bassist of Mouse Fire has to be the most entertaining performer in the history of indie-rock. Seriously, he has more energy than Pee-Wee Herman. It has to be encouraging looking over during a performance and seeing him just enjoying the crap out of himself.

MF: Hahaha, dude, I’m laughing so hard, it hurts. Yes! Yes, you know how I feel now, day in, day out. I love it, man. He has some fancy foot work. He has made me laugh more than anyone else ever and a lot of times while I’m trying to sing. I love looking at the fellas, and seeing them enjoy themselves makes me move more.

BI: So, if you haven’t been informed already, The Blue Indian is about to launch, “TheBlueIndian.com Presents.” We will be presenting 1-2 shows per month in Macon and around Middle Georgia and will focus special attention on the bands playing these shows in order to familiarize fans with the artists. “TheBlueIndian.com Presents” will serve as an outlet for local and touring bands with interviews, reviews and biographies posted on TheBlueIndian.com. And Mouse Fire is the first. You guys will be playing at the 567 on Friday, December 11th. So, this interview is to help Mouse Fire fans in Macon, Ga (really all of GA) get to know you guys. I think we’ve done a good job. Do you have anything you want to say to your GA fans, and especially those that will be coming to the show?

MF: Macon, GA… we will be there December 11th to fall in love with you all over again… Let’s rendezvous, mingle, sing, laugh and L I V E!  Words like, “excited,” “stoked,” and “rad,” do not express how much we anticipate our next arrival. Till we meet again…

BI: Man, it’s been a pleasure. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

MF: Pleasure is all mine and ours amigo.