Foxy Shazam release new album!

[Gordon Comstock]

Foxy Shazam have posted their new album GONZO for free in a variety of formats here:

http://fs-gonzo.bandcamp.com/

It was recorded live on Halloween 2013, it sounds closer to that last record (The Church of Rock And Roll) than their early records, I'm loving it so far. Do yourself a favor and get this album, and GET INTO THIS BAND. The album is free anyway, why the fuck haven't you done it yet?

Edited April 3, 2014 by RickRoses

[gunsfanoldie]

Well thats freakin hysterical that we posted this at the exact same time! I've copied my post below from my thread so feel free to delete mine and keep this one. Yours seems more official . Glad to see there's another fan here!

Here's what I wrote in my thread:

Anybody a fan of these guys? Their new album comes out today, as well as upcoming tour dates, and I can't wait to get back into them. Definitely one of the weirder bands I know of nowadays, but also one of the very few new bands I actually enjoy. Had a friend who told me about them probably 5 years ago, I shrugged them off because usually me and him don't have the same musical taste. They released an album 2 years ago that friend thought I'd like and I became hooked on their whole catalogue.

Ended up seeing them on tour 2 years ago, and then again on an amazing double bill with them opening for Slash and the Conspirators. Incredible live and the music is really solid as well. Their sound kind of changes with each album, as their most recent was 70s glam-esk (produced by the lead singer of The Darkness), the one before that was total power pop, and their earlier stuff being more screamo. But they've evolved and this new album sounds pretty good. Of course my luck that I loved their newer stuff and now they seem to be going back to more obscure genres, but on first listen the album had a few highlights and will probably only get better with each listen. First and last songs stood out as very enjoyable.

Anyway, here's the band website where the album is streaming, and also the bandcamp where you can download the album for free. Tour dates also just announced, and it kills me that the only time they are in my area is when I'm away on vacation for a week. But life goes on and I'm sure I'll catch them again at some point. They're kind of under the radar, but just big enough that maybe people around here had heard of them.

http://foxyshazam.com/#news

http://fs-gonzo.bandcamp.com/

[ZoSoRose]

I love Foxy Shazam, I've seen them 3 times and have met a few members of the band including Eric

I skimmed through Gonzo once but honestly, I am very underwhelmed so far. I appreciate the more "raw" style they were going for but I don't think it works for them, at least not right now.

I'll of course give it another go, but this isn't very good on the first round. Church of Rock N' Roll was much better.

[Black Sabbath]

I'll check it out when I'm home tonight. The last one was pretty good. I was going to see these guys live but didn't get around to going, then I saw a video of the singer talking about beating the shit out of this little dog after it apparently bit his kid, and I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not and it kind of disturbed me.

[gunsfanoldie]

Totally agree, although granted it usually takes me a little while to get into records. Ironically, Church Of Rock N Roll was the exception and I loved the record the first time I heard it. Their others took me awhile though, especially Introducing which I thought was total crap on first listen (besides A Black Man's Breakfast) and then loved maybe the third time around or so.

I agree I appreciate what they're doing but I don't personally think it was the right move. They were getting bigger and gaining traction with their self titled and Church Of Rock And Roll and I think it would have worked in their favor to have another "big production" type album that could get some mainstream exposure as opposed to going back towards more Introducing kind of underground territory. IMO, and this is simply an hour after its been released, I think with this released they are destined to stay underground. With the whole "free" concept and basically releasing this unannounced and totally independent I see it as a statement from them that they don't really care about getting any bigger.

In a way, I'm fine with that, although I was also hoping they might catch some more interest. I guess I'm fine if it means they stay in smaller venues. I'm mixed about the new album, but again thats just one go around. I really liked the first and last track. Story Told seems awesome. The rest was all kind of a blur but might get better with each relisten. Honestly, its gonna be really hard to top their last 3 albums, and I didn't really expect them too. I'm more just happy to have them back and assume this one might be a transition album.

[Gordon Comstock]

I loved half of Church of RNR at first and the rest grew on me a bit, but this record is a great follow-up. Loving each song right out of the gate (like I did with S/T.) I loved the polished sound of the self titled record but the rawer production on the last 2 albums fits the songs so well.

I've only seen them once and none of the dates announced today are near me, but hopefully i see them later this year!

[ZoSoRose]

I'll check it out when I'm home tonight. The last one was pretty good. I was going to see these guys live but didn't get around to going, then I saw a video of the singer talking about beating the shit out of this little dog after it apparently bit his kid, and I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not and it kind of disturbed me.

Don't worry, Eric makes shit up on the spot. He always tells stories during songs and they are always insane. At one show I was at he talked about how his dad got drunk and passed out when he was 2 years old, then he fell in a laundry basket and wrote the song they were playing

[Gordon Comstock]

Totally agree, although granted it usually takes me a little while to get into records. Ironically, Church Of Rock N Roll was the exception and I loved the record the first time I heard it. Their others took me awhile though, especially Introducing which I thought was total crap on first listen (besides A Black Man's Breakfast) and then loved maybe the third time around or so.

I agree I appreciate what they're doing but I don't personally think it was the right move. They were getting bigger and gaining traction with their self titled and Church Of Rock And Roll and I think it would have worked in their favor to have another "big production" type album that could get some mainstream exposure as opposed to going back towards more Introducing kind of underground territory. IMO, and this is simply an hour after its been released, I think with this released they are destined to stay underground. With the whole "free" concept and basically releasing this unannounced and totally independent I see it as a statement from them that they don't really care about getting any bigger.

In a way, I'm fine with that, although I was also hoping they might catch some more interest. I guess I'm fine if it means they stay in smaller venues. I'm mixed about the new album, but again thats just one go around. I really liked the first and last track. Story Told seems awesome. The rest was all kind of a blur but might get better with each relisten. Honestly, its gonna be really hard to top their last 3 albums, and I didn't really expect them too. I'm more just happy to have them back and assume this one might be a transition album.

Daisey did a Reddit AMA the other day (Foxy posted the link on their facebook), and one of the questions was "how much did exposure did you guys get after Unstoppable got played at the Super Bowl?" And he said not a lot, just that people who already knew them were like 'woah!'

I'd like the next record to have either a S/T-style production or something new altogether (like this record), but I have no problem with the "raw" sound.

Edited April 2, 2014 by RickRoses

[Black Sabbath]

Fuck, man. I would do that May 27th show in Harrisburg but it's 21+ and my birthday isn't until June 3rd... ffs

[gunsfanoldie]

Fuck, man. I would do that May 27th show in Harrisburg but it's 21+ and my birthday isn't until June 3rd... ffs

I'd consider calling the venue or something. Thats so annoyingly close they might do something about it. Maybe even contact the band. I will say 21+ stuff is something I'm very happy not to deal with anymore.

I'm so pissed. Can't do the 30th show or the ones after cause of vacation, Boston is a bit much the night before I leave for the trip. I'm considering Harrisburg, but thats also a 2 and a half hour drive and a bit much for this show. Really want to see them though so I might pull the trigger. Have to get used to the album more since they've said they'll be playing the whole thing.

[Black Sabbath]

I'm thinking about it, because if I can get someone to go with, I'd consider the $40 or whatever VIP Meet & Greet

I got into the Gn'R 21+ Brooklyn Bowl show, but only because we waited since 10am and they pretty much had to let us in at that point

[gunsfanoldie]

I'm tellin ya, they're a small enough band that I think there's a way to swing around it. Honestly, I'd bring your birthday certificate or something and say "look, I'm THIS close."

VIP probably would be another good call. Either way, I'd definitely not let that keep you away from the show.

I understand the annoyance though. I never cared about drinking at shows so it always bothered me when there were 21 and over shows and I really was just dying to see the band.

[ZoSoRose]

What happened to your name, bs? Lol

And i hope you make it. They're an amazing live band, one of the best

Edited April 3, 2014 by ZoSoRose

[Gordon Comstock]

You should definitely try. They're one of the bands where everything you hear about how good their live show is, is true. Hope they come to Vancouver again on this tour cycle, I was too young to get into the venue last time (by 2 months).

[Gordon Comstock]

Foxy Shazam

8 hrs ·

We traveled to the depths of our soul to bring you this record. You can have it for free. Let the whole world know, we've gone GONZO.
-e

[feconroses]

A little disappointed with this record, maybe I have to give it another shot. Really loved S/T (IMO one of the best records in the last 15 years) and Church of Rock N Roll was solid.

[Gordon Comstock]

I've listened to it a bunch of times now and I really like it. I love the live atmosphere.

I agree S/T was one of the best records of the last decade or so (especially if you count the bonus tracks). Church of RNR, Gonzo and Introducing are all really good albyms - I always thought Introducing tried really hard to capture their live sound/energy and didn't quite get it, so it's cool to have something of a live Foxy album with Gonzo. Flamingo Trigger is kinda weird but has a few good songs too.

S/T kinda seems like a one-off now, production wise. It'd be cool if they went that way again eventually though. Eric really shines on songs like this:

edit:

I'll just leave this awesomeness here too:

Edited April 7, 2014 by RickRoses

[oxocubeingravy]

Sounds sick, thanks for the heads up.

[Gordon Comstock]

A new interview with Eric:

What was it like working with producer Casey Bates on Introducing…?

That experience was good because it was our first experience making a record with a producer, it was our first time in an actual studio. He was a really easy going guy, really embraces what we know what we do, and he doesn’t try to change that. Some producers really try to get involved in that type of thing, and Casey’s never done that, and he’s been really successful because that’s one of the reasons I enjoy working with him: he really lets you do your thing. I haven’t talked to Casey for a while, but he’s such a great guy.

What exactly made you transition from the early, chaotic noise rock type days to your current incarnation as aspiring stadium rock stars? Did you have a clear vision that was set in stone after your first two albums?

I think that sound from our older albums from our self titled album to The Church of Rock And Roll has a lot to do with the producer, the self titled, John Feldmann has a really specific sound and the way he records. I think a lot of the fact that our music took on a different sound, that’s just kind of something that Foxy has always done. We are a creative entity, and we just kind of go through the world and hook up with different produces to make much different records. We just kind of change and reform as we go. It wasn’t really intentional, it was just kind of a natural progression, and we’ll continue to go different places throughout our career.

Rock music not selling or getting airplay isn’t news nowadays, but did the relative commercial failure of The Church of Rock And Roll bother you at all?

It definitely made me rethink… I think with this new record, Gonzo, it deals with the aftermath of how that record went. Before there was a compromise in our work because we were working with different people, there’s labels, there’s producers, that stuff is unnecessary, really. That’s what this new record stands for, for us, its the essence of Foxy Shazam. There’s no other bull crap. Its just Foxy.

The new album sounds very organic and stripped down compared to the theatrics of the last album. Is this why you decided to work with Steve Albini?

I think the decision to work with Steve was because of the way he records, its very similar to Casey Bates, what we just talked about, he’s a master at recording what you’re good at. He doesn’t do anything to it to put his stir on it, make it better or worse for whatever reason. He has great equipment and he’s very passionate about recording, but he just puts mics and hits “record”. We knew we were going to do that. What we did was take a year off and we wrote Gonzo in a room together, and we played it in sequence, every day like 11-3 nonstop. Gonzo everyday, in sequence. We had the whole record done before we even got to the studio. Then when we got there, we just set up in a room the same way we did in a rehearsal and played it back-to-front and recorded it. I wanted the energy and the theatrics to be tehre still, but in a really refined, organic, and natural way where the energy is inside the music and the feeling rather than the production, jumping all over the place type thing.

I know you wrote and performed the album before you even got to the studio, but did you feel at all creatively elevated by Albini’s involvement, being the man who recorded classics like Nirvana’s In Utero, and Surfer Rosa from Pixies? What was your creative process?

It was inspiring to work with him, I knew he was gonna make a good sounding record, he didn’t really come into my mind that whole year. He really didn’t into my head until we got to the studio. We just basically focused on what we knew what we had to do, and that was the only thing I could do: focus on myself, what’s inside me. I had to shut out everything when I was making Gonzo, not listen to any music outside of Foxy, and not think about what any other people wanted in any way. I just had to get in touch with myself, we all did that, all six of us. That’s how we came up with Gonzo. It was inspiring to know Steve would be a part of it, he’s been part of so many great things in the past, but I put all attention on myself, at first at least, not anyone else.

You mentioned before that Gonzo made you reevaluate your band’s career and its relationship with the music industry. It almost sounds like your lyrics are inspired by those thoughts.

Yeah, lyrically, this album is so personal to me. Its the first time in my career that I’ve written about something that I’m absolutely feeling. What you’re hearing on Gonzo, its a very personal point of view that I have. Its about my father, and its about my career, and how all that is lining up. Its the first time in my career that I could get in touch with something that I can genuinely say is the truth and an honest feeling inside me. With my other records, I’d try to get that, but I felt like I was, as an artist, still young, but I wasn’t sure how to find that myself. We would write songs that were more about crazy, not really about anything in particular, it was just about the joy of putting a song together. These songs are more about what I was put here to do, everything that I have.

On The Church of Rock and Roll, your lyrics were silly, but in a fun way. Do you think the casual listener would hear a song like “I Like It” and pass you off as a joke band like The Darkness?

I feel like that was always something I was afraid of. I never, ever, ever thought of myself as something of a joke because music is the only thing I take seriously in my whole life, besides my family, being a father and a husband and all that. Music is the only thing that I care about, and its been that way since I was very young. I’ve always known I had something inside of me that I could get in touch with, it was just a process of working that out throughout my career. I don’t regret any of those records, I love The Church of Rock and Roll. Its all in the big picture. I’m so proud of what I’ve done so far with my career, and its only going to new places. I feel like with this new record, and how we released it for free, we’re in charge now, we’re beholden to know that the possibilities are endless now.

On a lighter note, reportedly, Slash personally chose you guys to open for him on his solo tour a little while back. Any cool stories from that tour?

Slash is great. That band and everyone in it is down to earth. Its good being around guys like that. With Slash, he’s been on that road a long time and he has a lot of experience as a rock and roll person and musician you look up to. On that tour, I specifically remember an after party upstairs, we played the House of Blues in Texas and there was an after party upstairs. Our guitar player is a huge, HUGE Pantera fan. Some guys from Pantera were there that night, and we were just getting wasted and drunk with them, and that was just probably one of the funnest memories I have on that tour, and the most significant because we’re in the company of people that have been around in your department for a long time. Its just inspiring.

http://www.concertfy.com/concertfy-interview-foxy-shazam-frontman-talks-slash-steve-albini-gonzo/

Edited April 14, 2014 by RickRoses

[feconroses]

From recent interviews I get the feeling they didn't like at all the experience of recording S/T, mainly because the style of the music, the pushy producer and the record label pressure to sound a certain way.

[Gordon Comstock]

Yea, he talks about that a bit in this interview: http://arena.com/article/foxy-shazam-goes-indie-feels-more-powerful-than-ever

It's a good interview, hopefully they hit the west coast this year. They're playing Gonzo in full, then a second set with the older songs.

[ZoSoRose]

Man, I just don't like this at all =/

Still love the band but am disappointing at the direction they took. This is not what they should have done at this point in their career. I don't think they care about getting massive, though, and thats cool

[Gordon Comstock]

Total opposite for me. Every Foxy record has it's own identity, I still love the atmosphere on this one.

Eric seems like he disliked the overall recording process of S/T the most, so it makes sense that he'd veer away from that direction. But that's the album that got a lot of people into Foxy so he's kind of shooting himself in the foot. But he's happy to be able to make the music he wants to make.

If shipping for vinyl weren't so expensive I would've bought the album already.

[gunsfanoldie]

Fucking freaky! Just listening to this album for the first time since April 7th and I've come around to it. I don't love it like I love the self titled or Church Of Rock And Roll, but I definitely enjoy it a lot now. Was gonna bump this thread but see its already been done for me!

Obviously, like RickRoses, I'm hearing the album because they tweeted that article and I wanted to give it another shot.

I agree with ZosoRose. If they keep moving away, which I don't think is a good idea, they won't make another album as good as their last two before Gonzo. Those got a lot of people into Foxy and they should have stuck with that for at least one more album. They really were growing, and I would have been interested to see where they went if they had one more "radio friendly" album. I respect what they're doing with Gonzo, and I'm into it now, but thats cause I'm trying. It won't have that affect on people except their hardcores. I hope they prove me wrong, but to me, a band like Slash's takes notice of an album like Church Of Rock and Roll and not Gonzo.

I get them not liking the experience of Self Titled, but I just hope they don't reject it so much that they try to get "too" indie. I still think that second set of older songs are gonna be self titled heavy. They wrote classics with those songs and it would be sad if they rejected them now. Although it definitely makes me happy that I saw them last tour that featured those last two albums so prominently.

[Gordon Comstock]

They're one of my top 3 bands, so I'm probably a bit bias with this album. The only song I don't like as much is "Have The Fun". It's got a vibe kinda similar to The Temple I think, I could see it being the song where Eric eats the cigarettes.... But it just doesn't really click. But then "Shoe Box" is my favorite on the album.