Promise to Burn is ready to set things afire

~Local band looks to get big, sharpen its live chops

Before playing a single lick live, Promise to Burn have already worked with a well-known producer, recorded a five-song EP and have a fan base in the thousands. The next step for the band is pretty obvious, a live show at Port Cape on July 15.

The path to the stage has been a different one for Promise to Burn compared to most local bands. They spent the first year-and-a-half of their existence writing songs. These songs caught the attention of Bob Glastetter, a neighbor to band members Ben and Luke, who then showed them to Malcolm Springer.

Springer, a native Missourian, was a producer for the first "Spiderman" soundtrack, as well as engineering and assisting on a few well-known albums, including Matchbox 20's immensely popular 1996 album "Yourself or Someone Like You." Based on what he heard, Springer agreed to work with the band.

Promise to Burn places great emphasis on their songs, looking for something to stick in the listener's head as well as being something that one can still rock out to, so working with the experienced Springer helped them to some degree.

"When we went to work with Malcolm, the lyrics and hooks for the songs were already there. He helped us arrange and take it more from verse-chorus-verse," said guitarist Derek Pearson.

Pre-production on their EP "And Everything After" was begun in December 2005 The EP was finished in April and mixed in Nashville in May.

Completion of their EP is one of the things Promise to Burn wanted to do before they started playing shows around the area. "We wanted to make sure our cd was for sale," said Pearson. "We didn't want to come out half-baked. We wanted everything to be as thought out as it could."

To get a ticket for Promise to Burn's first show July 15 at Port Cape, you can contact the band through their Web site, www.myspace.com/promisetoburn.