Bio

Safety First is an indie-pop band with carefree lo-fi tendencies. The band is located in Berkeley, California and was started by a 6th grade math teacher named Pete Gidlund who began writing and recording these fun pop songs just for kicks after spending years in Bay Area "post rock" bands. When some life-long friends heard the demos, they joined Pete and formed Safety First.

The players

These friends are Keith Gidlund- drums/keys/guitars/percussion, Leif Fairfield- harmony vocals/various synthesizers/stringed instruments/percussion/dancetastic spin moves, and Scott Lehman- bass guitar. Scott is working on his masters at S.F. State and sometimes substitute teaches. Leif is a printer and an artist. Keith is a photographer.

Recordings

Safety First began playing live and collaborated on a slew of demo recordings that are full of melody, open chords, toe-tapping, analog synths, glockenspiels, flaming guitar death riffs, tuned water glasses, pink noise monsters, and feedback goblins. Some songs from this promo-only demo are available for free download on this site.

Live show

Safety First's live set has a reputation for being fun, festive, and dancable. Their performances have a light-hearted and comedic side. And the use of ever-changing eclectic live instruments bring new arrangements to the songs at every show.