A band of Tucson firefighters came 200 votes shy of becoming the nation’s top firefighter rock band earlier this month.
But the Fire Department International Conference contest, which closed on Feb. 1, gave the Tucson Fire Department-born the Turnouts a boost that landed them on the main stage at 2nd Saturdays Downtown last weekend.
“I had no idea that it was going to turn out as well as it did,” said the Turnouts drummer Frank Granados, a retired fire captain. “We were the only band in the competition that had all firefighters. But it has really, really been a blessing in disguise.”
In addition to the 2nd Saturdays gig, the Turnouts also have played Monterey Court and have leads on several other gigs, Granados said.
The Turnouts — named after the firefighters’ yellow bunker gear (pants, boots and jacket) that they hop into when they go on a fire call — got their start on a lark in 2009. It was supposed to be a one-and-done deal: Play a Halloween party and then go their separate musical ways.
But it was so darned fun they decided to keep practicing, bringing in Frankie Granados, Grandados’ son, soon after he finished the fire academy in 2009.
The band also includes lead guitarist Mark Wilsey, who retired as a captain in December from Station 17 on the east side; and fire Capt. Geoff West, who works at fire prevention out of Fire Central downtown.
“The really cool thing about it is it’s like if you had a group of basketball players that depend on each other to win and they had a band,” he said. “You are literally knowing that if something goes wrong the person behind you is going to take care of you and themselves. You take those risks knowing you are not alone.”
Wilsey is the group’s most experienced and veteran musician. He has a music degree from the University of Arizona and has been playing in bands throughout his life.
In the 1980s, he was in a Tucson band called the Uptones, and they briefly flirted with the idea of going all in, going on tour in California and on the East Coast.
The romance of being a rock star was sort of appealing. But the life of one ... not so much.
“I got a taste to see what the road was like,” said Wilsey, who also is a member of the Tucson acoustic trio Reno del Mar. His impression: He wanted to stay in Tucson.
“The fire department career is a gem,” said Wilsey, who served 26 years in the department. “(Reno del Mar) had opportunities to go out of town to kind of blow it up a little bigger. But someone would have to give me a million dollars to leave the fire department. I’m not going on the road for 50 bucks a night when I’ve got a career like that.
“We’ll do gigs here and there, maybe once a month or so, will be fine,” he added about the Turnouts. “But family first. There’s no expectation or pressure from me to do anything but a chill approach to this thing. It’s fun doing a gig.”
The Turnouts play a mix of classic rock and contemporary country and pop, said Granados, who is spending his post-retirement as a senior adviser at the Rio Rico Medical and Fire Department. In addition to Monterey Court, the quartet has played private events and at Arizona Hops and Vines in Sonoita.
“We cover John Mayer. We do a lot of different stuff. But we cover the classics: Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band,” he said.
On Saturday, they added some contemporary country to the mix, including hot country newcomer Chris Stapleton’s singles “Nobody to Blame” and “Tennessee Whiskey.”
Granados said his son, who writes original Christian songs and serves as a youth minister at St. Pius X Catholic Church, is introducing new music to the band.
“I can’t tell you what it is like playing music with one of your kids and playing with the band of brothers that you have so much in common, 24 hours a day for 30 years,” he said. “Playing music is great.”
