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Firehouse releases it's latest cd, o2, on Spitfire records. And as the title indicates, it's something everyone needs. With This latest effort, the band returns to the melodic hard rock sound of their earlier releases. This new release also features lead vocals by guitarist Bill Leverty on the song "I'm In Love This Time", which he also wrote and played keyboards on. The other tracks include a song called "Jumpin" which is reminiscent of seventies rock, and I've been told, reminds some people of early Cheap Trick. "Take It Off" has a hard rockin' bluesy sound to it. "The Dark" features vocalist C. J. Snare's rap debut. The song isn't all rap but it does add a cool touch to it. The next track, "Don't Fade On Me", isn't quite a ballad, but it's close enough. Nevertheless,
it's an awesome song. "I'd Rather Be Makin' Love" and
"Unbelievable" are two upbeat songs that have a similar

style to past songs such as "Acid Rain" and "You Are My Religion." The song "What You Can Do" has some fairly heavy guitar riffs and a catchy chorus to it. And of course, it wouldn't be a Firehouse CD without at least one ballad! The song "Loving You Is Paradise" is a romantic ballad that, like other Firehouse ballads, will surely stand the test of time. The CD finishes with the rockin', guitar driven song "Call Of The Night." If you are already a Firehouse fan I know you will like this CD. If your not, then check it out, you just might be surprised! It's definitely worth adding to your CD collection.

In April, 2001 music cable channel VH-1 aired the special "Top 40 Hair Bands Of All Time." Firehouse was ranked in the middle at number 24, sandwiched in between the bands Danger Danger and Vixen, numbers 25 and 23 respectively. The band just making the cutoff at number 40 was Hanoi Rocks, and the top honnors went to Poison as the top hair band of all time. Most of the bands listed were 80's bands, but Firehouse did not release their first record until 1990. They were still considered a hair band as evidenced by Bill Leverty's comment "I'll never forget the first time we walked in to our record company when we first got signed. They hooked us up with a marketing guy and he said 'The most important thing is your hair' and we said 'huh?'" Vocalist C. J. Snare adds that big hair was the style at that time. While they may have had big hair, Firehouse was never one to follow trends with their music. They are still making the same melodic hard rock that they did in the beginning.

Firehouse has recently signed on as part of a major summer tour. The band will now be part of the Metal Edge Rockfest 2002 Summer Tour, which also includes Dokken, Ratt, Warrant and L. A. Guns. The tour begins on June 21st, but it is not known in what city it will kickoff as dates have yet to be confirmed.
It would seem that Ratt, selling the most records out of the five bands, will likely be the headliner, but no line up order is available at this time. Other package tours include Poison, Winger,
Cinderella and Faster Pussycat together, along with another version of the Rock Never Stops tour, possibly including Slaughter, Jackyl and Tesla.

The popularity of the bands from the eighties and early nineties seems to be rising as more bands tour again and reunite for the first time in years.
Along with Joining the Metal Edge Rockfest, Firehouse also plans a new record, available either by late 2002 or early 2003. "We've each been coming up with song ideas for the new record" says bassist Bruce Waibel. Bruce says that after the Rockfest tour is over, the band will most likely get together with all of their ideas and begin working on the new record. There's no word yet on an American record label for the band, but It's been almost a year and a half since the release of o2, and I think it's pretty safe to say that the fans are ready for a new Firehouse record. The band makes a point to let the fans know that they have always stayed true to their sound, and I think it's even safer to say that they have no plans to stray from the melodic, hard rock sound that they are known and loved for. Along with a new band record, vocalist C. J. Snare and guitarist Bill Leverty plan to release solo albums. C. J. Snare had this to say to a fan during a U.S.A. Today chat. "I am going to do one and we both are helping each other with each other's solo projects. I can't label it yet, but it's a snapshot of where I am now. If people expect it to be a snapshot of our first album they'll be disappointed. It's what's been happening in my heart recently. But as always, there'll be an emphasis on hooks and melodies." It's not known at this point if any work has begun on the solo projects, or when they might be completed.