Singled Out: Tom Heyman's The Mission Is On Fire

10-06-2023

Tom Heyman released his new album "24th Street Blues" this week and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the song "The Mission Is On Fire". The new record is concept album about the endangered culture and living ghosts of San Francisco's Mission District. Here is the story:

I have lived and worked in San Francisco's Mission District for more than 20 years, and a number of years ago there were a series of devastating fires, on Mission Street, seemingly right on top of each other. The biggest fire happened across the street from the bar that I work in. A mixed use 3 story building that predated the 1906 earthquake caught fire and turned into a 4-alarm blaze. One person died, a bunch of folks lost their homes, and a bunch of businesses were lost. At the time the City was in the midst of a crushing tech boom that drove high rents even higher, and really squeezed what was left of a hollowed out working class. At work I would stare at the burned-out shell of the building across the street, and wonder what happened to the families and businesses, the fish market, the taqueria, the flower market, the CPA... The remnants of the building were finally demolished, and of course the non-union crew working the demo, knocked the adjacent building off its foundation...the most SF thing ever.

The phrase the "Mission is on Fire" popped into my head, and the dual meaning of it actually being on fire, and of the extremely hot real estate market seemed obvious. I wrote the song pretty quickly in my rehearsal space. I had a record coming out the time, and the song didn't really fit in with the group of songs. I wound up making a very fast "demo" of the tune with my neighbor (acclaimed garage-psych auteur) Kelley Stoltz and my close musical compadre Rusty Miller and it came out great. When I was getting the songs together for my latest record "24th Street Blues" I knew I would be taking another swing at recording it. I played pedal steel on a lot of the songs on the record, but for The "Mission is on Fire" I wanted to get out of my own way and have a different voice so I called on my old Philadelphia pal Mike Brenner(Marah, Jason Molina, Wild Pink) to play lap steel on it. Mike used a variety of steels including a unique baritone instrument to create a really cool almost chamber music, string quartet feel.
There are currently plans for a 10-story residential and commercial structure on the site of the fire. Whether any of the original tenants will be able to return remains to be seen.

The fenced off lot is covered in wild grasses, and weeds, and when it rains a pond forms at the lowest point of the lot, and in the fall when the weather is what passes for warm in SF, I often hear frogs croaking when I pass by on my way home after a shift.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here