"What's most astonishing about this disease, is that it came from me"

- Lyrics from "About Me" by The Chuckbeat Grog (1993)

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Hello, My name is Michael Tokarz, and I am Life Fire in Peopledom. 

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Life Fire has been my solo project/outlet since ~2002, for music that just didn't fit with any of the bands I was playing in. The first collection of songs I put out under this name was the "Inflammababies" record in 2002. It was released on cd in handmade packaging and I only made about 30 of them- all given to friends. Perhaps I'll do a digital re-release at some point.

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Since then, while I continued to record, I didn't put out the next Life Fire album until sequestered with the rest of the world during the pandemic of 2020. That year, I put out both "Bodies"- a guitar-based more organic sounding record, and "Anti-Bodies"- a synth-based electronic album. Both contained songs written and recorded at my home studio (Echo Bass).

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In 2022, I put out the "All Valley Sentimentals" EP.  That EP had two songs ("We Fall Together" and "Zoey's Reflection on American Carnage") that were brother/sister.  Both songs were started the same day- January 6, 2021. While that was a dark day for our country, neither song is political. Both are actually about interpersonal turmoil.

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2023 saw the release of "The Thicket" EP.  These four songs were all written and recorded during the spring of 2023 and about conflicting emotions (hence, the thicket) present in relationships. A rote topic for sure, but one we all must deal with and which brings forth difficult emotions. The two Solverson songs ("Goodnight Mr. Solverson" and "Goodnight Mrs. Solverson- And All The Ships At Sea") specifically tell the story of the Solverson marriage from their respective perspectives. The songs are unified by their chords and arrangement. They are made distinct by everything else.

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The start of 2024 brought the release of the "Death Chest Etiquette" EP. The music was recorded between August and November of 2023. It is a reflection of loss, or perhaps a "pre-reflection". It is the story of Betty and her astronaut husband, Dave. Dave is to embark on a one way mission to Jupiter. Betty will never see him again. "What is one supposed to say in moments like this?"

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I've always viewed music as more of a therapy. It is not a mere hobby for me. It is something I must do to exercise emotions I have that cannot be articulated in words. To that end, it really doesn't matter if nobody hears them. In some ways, it might be better if nobody did. Releasing music that is personal comes with inherent vulnerability.

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In Life Fire In Peopledom, I play all instruments except for the drums. I otherwise almost exclusively play bass, in a variety of projects, currently with Scramble Kids; an Oakland-based post-rock band made of the remnants of San Francisco bands We Be The Echo (guitar and bass) and Form and Fate (guitar and drums).

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Be careful out there. Namaste.