Fuel Ignites on Major Label Debut

From Rolling Stone Online - May 26, 1998

By Steve Frisbie

Ask any member of Fuel what success requires, and the answer will be the same - hard work. According to guitarist and songwriter Carl Bell, "With a record label, they want to see what you do before they buy into you."

It's easy to see how these four young men caught the attention of the labels. In the years preceding their Sony 550 debut Sunburn Bell, singer Brett Scallions, bass player Jeff Abercrombie and drummer Kevin Miller released three independent recordings. Garnering some crucial radio support and touring regularly in the eastern United States, Fuel managed to sell approximately 10,000 records.

"We've pretty much been a do-it-yourself organization from the beginning," says Bell. "Brett would work the radio, Jeff would work the merchandise, I would work at the recording, and the drummer was taking it to retail." No slacker-esque boasting of sleeping late, getting stoned and watching Jerry Springer for these guys. Says Miller "You've got to eat it, drink it, sleep it... you've got to want it and work it, just like success in anything else."

Eat it, drink it, and in Fuel's case, move it -- as in move themselves from rural Tennessee to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Not exactly Music City, U.S.A., but as Scallions explains, "It was a really good move for us. We were on the road already, playing the East Coast. But you'd go into a town and play, and three weeks later people had totally forgotten who you were. So we said, 'Let's settle down somewhere, and keep bashing out these same clubs, over and over again.' Harrisburg seemed like a great place, since D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other major cities are right there within a two hour radius." And, as band mate Abercrombie is quick to point out, "There was very supportive radio there, which was key for us."

Supportive radio seems to be a constant for Fuel. Their debut single, "Shimmer," is living up to its name, spinning heavily on major radio stations like KROQ in Los Angeles and Q101 in Chicago. For many bands, it would be time to go down to the lobby and wait for the limo. Not so for Fuel.

"We're very appreciative of how things are going right now," says Scallions. "But for the most part, we try to take every day with a grain of salt. You can't see things gel in a positive way and say 'We're going somewhere, we're big.' You've got to say 'This is good', and keep movin' on."

Yet it is true that "Shimmer" is drinking martinis in the V.I.P. room of Club Radio, while a long line of debut singles stands outside, pleading with the bouncer to get in.

Sad but true, acknowledges Bell. "The way the market is now, if you don't have radio play, you're in a world of hurt." But the men of Fuel know that success is a process, and like the song says, "All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade."

When Bell characterizes Fuel's experiences to date as "a good first lap," Abercrombie is quick to add, "A good first lap with about fifty more to go."