New York, Aug 12: Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel will join two of his three former Sunny Day Real Estate bandmates in the Fire Theft for the latter group's upcoming North American tour, beginning Sept. 26 in Vancouver. During downtime with the Foos, Mendel participated in the recording of the Fire Theft's self-titled debut, due Oct. 7 via Rykodisc. The Foos wrap a European tour Aug. 31 at the Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands.
"Obviously, Nate's other commitment is huge," Fire Theft frontman Jeremy Enigk told Billboard.com. "We'll just play it by ear and take it one tour at a time at this point. It would be an extreme disappointment if we had to go on tour without him. I'd almost want to cancel a tour just to prove a point, but you've got to keep it rolling no matter what."
Mendel did not play on Sunny Day Real Estate's last two studio albums, although he remained on good terms with Enigk and drummer William Goldsmith. Enigk says once Mendel came onboard with the Fire Theft, he made immediate contributions to several album tracks, including "It's Over," "Summertime" and the largely instrumental "Rubber Bands."

"It's such a rare thing to actually find a musician who locks into you right away and understands where you're going," Enigk said.
Fire Theft keyboardist Nick Macri filled in for Mendel on bass at the Fire Theft's first two live shows earlier this year, and Enigk said he'd be a likely candidate should Mendel be unable to tour at some point in the future. The Fire Theft's live lineup for the upcoming tour will also feature second guitarist Greg Suran, who played with Sunny Day Real Estate during its final tours.

Bureau Report