Tucson firefighter band rocking 2nd Saturdays

But the Fire Department International Conference contest, which closed on Feb. 1, gave the Tucson Fire Department-born Turnouts a boost that is landing them on the main stage at Second Saturdays Downtown this weekend.

"I had no idea that it was going to turn out as well as it did," said 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 Second 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's son, not long 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 that briefly flirted with the idea of going all in; they toured California and the East Coast and 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. "We (Uptones) 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 advisor at the Rio Rico Medical and Fire Department. In addition to Monterey Court, the quartet has played gigs 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, Lynryd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band," he said.

On Saturday, they will add 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.”