To support himself, Tod says, “I’d been teaching English as traveling to pay the rent. I had stage fright getting up in front of Indian students learning English. You find yourself in a foreign land with no salable skills, surprised what you get up to.”
Ultimately, Tod came back to music. He found himself writing on his laptop computer as he traveled through India and Pakistan. “It was therapeutic,” he says of the trip, and the creativity it unleashed. “Songs kept coming into my head. Eventually, I had two records worth and decided, for better or for worse, that’s what I do. I didn’t want to go back to New York so I recorded there. I wrote the songs and words and there were a lot of different percussionists from different parts of the world, most of whom I met along the way, along with some longtime members of Firewater. We recorded in India, Pakistan, Istanbul and did the ‘rock band’ elements in Tel Aviv.”
    What came out of it was a brilliant disc, “The Golden Hour.” “It’s probably one of the more upbeat records we’ve done,” says Tod, “which stems from the sense of freedom I had, just being able to create on the road. It eliminated the pressure of being in the studio.” The point of view? “In certain ways, it’s looking back with sadness but looking forward with optimism, distilled through a lot of black humor. It’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek.”
    All this happened, Tod says, despite “illnesses twice over three years in rapid succession. In Pakistan, before a monsoon, there’s a lot dust and who knows what’s floating around. I spent a month in hotel rooms with fluids coming out of all orifices.”
 Tod first came to a measure of fame in the hard-edged punk band Cop Shoot Cop. He formed the klezmer-gypsy-punk Firewater in 1996. Other bands have followed in his wake. Does he feel like a trailblazer? “Possibly. I know others have been more successful. I’m really glad that people are opening up to different sounds from around the world. I’ve always been a big fan of music – doesn’t matter if it’s punk rock or an Indian wedding band, as long as it has energy, soul and honesty to it.”
The Paradise show will be mostly culled from “The Golden Hour,” with about a third from their catalog – “old stuff turned on its head, reinvented.” Although, it’s the band’s first US gig, they just finished a month in Europe. Tod says he was nervous the first week after being away from the stage for so long, “but I got back into the swing.”
Although Firewater is touring America and Tod holds a US passport, he's not calling it home. “I’m based in indonesian, living in Bali,” he says. “It’s easy if you no mortgage, children or dependents. I’m lucky technology allows me to work form a laptop . I couldn’t have done this ten years ago.”
Is he satisfied with where he is? “Yeah. By hook or by crook, I’ve been able to make a living at music, without having to work at a bank or a McDonalds. I feel lucky to live this life. Despite all the negatives, it’s a pretty interesting time to be alive. I’m struggling to remain optimistic … although if the Democrats don’t take back the White House I’m never coming back.”
The Paradise show starts at 9 with Harris opening Tickets: $14 door/$12 advance.

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