Jonathan Fire*Eater was formed from a childhood band called The Ignobles. All the members of Jonathan Fire*Eater attended high school at the D.C. private school
St. Albans School. Lupton, Martin, and Barrick formed a
ska band called the Ignobles while in junior high school. Maroon joined as the guitarist and Ryan Cheney signed on as the vocalist. Lupton played bass. In 1993, the members went to college, mostly in New York City, and Jonathan Fire*Eater was formed with Cheney departing and later joining The Cunning Runts and Lupton taking over vocal duties. St. Albans alum Tom Frank joined as a new bassist. In 1995, they released their eponymous debut on Tucson, Arizona's Third World Underground Records, which featured "Christmastime, Halloween", "To The Tigers", and other tracks. Later that year, a self-titled EP on PCP established their reputation with the frenetic tracks "The Public Hanging of a Movie Star" and "When Prince Was a Kid". In 1996, the five-song mini-album
Tremble Under Boom Lights was released by
The Medicine Label, featuring well-produced offers such as "The Search for Cherry Red" and "Give Me Daughters". Reviews were positive, with
AllMusic describing
Tremble as "a ferocious record" despite its "minor flaws." By this time, the band was receiving considerable media and industry attention. They were courted by
Calvin Klein to model and opened for Brit Pop stars
Pulp and
Blur. As Lupton said in a 1996
New York Times Magazine profile, "Right now the record companies are sort of circling like vultures." In early 1997, Jonathan Fire*Eater signed with
David Geffen's nascent
DreamWorks music label. Their major label debut,
Wolf Songs for Lambs, was released by DreamWorks in 1997 to tepid critical response. Maroon, Barrick, and Martin later went on to form
The Walkmen and Lupton has pursued his music career through his band
The Childballads, who put out their debut album in January 2007. The latter has toured with
Cat Power and
the Kills. In 2009, he released an EP in a new band, The Beatin's, which he formed with Carole Wagner Greenwood. Titled
A Little Give And Take, the limited edition vinyl included Lupton's poetry and the duo's art and writing. Tom Frank pursued a career in journalism as T.A. Frank.
Stewart Lupton died on May 27, 2018, at the age of 43. ==Legacy==