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quinta-feira, 26 de dezembro de 2013

Interview with Foxing

Hey nice people!

Recently I got really, really stoked with Foxing last and debut effort, The Albatross. It has become the soundtrack to my end of year. It’s a damn good record; endorsing the list of amazing bands at CYLS. So, I was really thankful when they accepted doing an interview.  You can read it below:

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1.   I’ve read on the web you’ve selling plenty of records. Being your debut, it was something you expected?

Josh: No.

Conor: We definitely anticipated selling a few records to our friends but the sales really took off fast.  We sold out of all of our copies during our release show, three days after the album came out—we were certainly not anticipating that.

2. Honestly, since I’ve been emo stuff, your release is one of the most heartfelt things I’ve heard. How was the whole process of recording it?

Conor: It was really intimate and emotional for all of us.  I feel like the recordings really captured a full year of both the happiest and most awful experiences in my life.

Josh: Yeah, it was a really long and arduous process. The songs and their meanings are extremely personal pieces of work; we felt it necessary to handle them with care. From start to finish, it was over a year of work.

3. How is the reaction of the audience when you play the songs live?

Conor: We really don't know what people actually think but they're always to kind; I hope people enjoy it as much as we do.

Josh: I think it just depends on the crowd and the environment of the night. Generally speaking people are either getting rowdy or participating in some pretty chill moshing—if nothing else or there is always a nice wave of eyes closed and heads nodding.

4. What have your learnt being in a band that you can’t learn in daily routine jobs?

Josh: I’ve learned how to bag a beer.

Conor: I've learned a lot about myself; what I really want in life.  I've also found out what its like to be truly happy doing something that I am capable of doing—which has been invaluable to me.

5. What are the bands you recently felt in love?

Conor: I've recently been listening to a lot of Caspian, The Reptilian, and Little Big League.  I'm also rediscovering Tears For Fears.

Josh: Recently, If You Leave by Daughter has completely shut me down, it’s beautiful. I’ve listened to Tim Hecker for a long time, but his new record Virgins is also a kick in the chest. I would never turn down more Joie De Vivre in my life. The new Brighter Arrows and Crash of Rhinos really did something for me as well. In all honesty, 2013 wasn’t a huge year of discovery for me, rather a year of affirmation.

6. The cover of The Albatross  is amazing. How that idea came up?

Conor: We all agreed on the idea of using a photograph rather than a design.  All the art came from a brilliant photographer named Kevin Russ.  He's amazing and you should definitely check out his other work.

Josh: He was extremely gracious in allowing us to use his photography.

7. Is Bit By a Dead Bee (part I and II) is a reference to Breaking Bad? If so, what were the reasons that made you so excited to make two songs about it?

Conor: [Laughs] Ask Josh.

Josh: No. It was initially a reference to the 1940’s film, To Have and Have Not. However, while re-watching Breaking Bad, I noticed there was an episode with the same name; obviously the writers on Breaking Bad are referencing To Have and Have Not as well. I can honestly say I wasn’t aware of it until after we named the song; paying attention to episode titles has never been my thing. However, all five of us are fans of the show, so I’m completely fine with having people think the name is a reference. Lastly, the songs have nothing to do with To Have and Have Not in a direct sense. I’d rather not say what those two songs are specifically about—I will say that conceptually both songs are about having things inside of you that you thought you had gotten rid of, more specifically the way bad habits, depression, feelings of inadequacy, and self-destructive behavior can so easily surface.

8. How are the gigs at  St Louis?

Conor: St. Louis gigs can unabashedly be called “gigs” if that answers the question.  Our shows are usually awesome.  For touring bands, it’s a lot of twisting folks' arms to come out to shows though.  Even if the band is amazing.  St. Louis is a weird, weird town.

Josh: I disagree with Conor; I don’t really think there is necessarily a difference between all local shows and shows with touring acts on the bill. There are a ton of issues with Saint Louis music; I’m an expert on none of them. Some bands play a show in Saint Louis every week and then complain that they aren’t drawing people. We try to space out our local shows in order to give each of them the proper attention they deserve. There are peaks and valleys to every scene; ours is no different. Aside from that, I couldn’t really say. I enjoy playing music in Saint Louis.

9. What are the things that most influence you to write the lyrics?

Conor: I get influenced a lot by talking to myself in my car.  I have a pretty consistent open dialogue with myself while driving.  From talking to yourself like a crazy person, you learn a lot about what's really on your mind and if you write some of it down, it tends to sound pretty nice and meaningful.

Josh: Besides the obvious things, such as other writers, I suppose the lyrics that I pen for Foxing are about my own experiences and shortcomings. There are lines in our songs that are so close to things that have been said in relationships, that I’ve had to take a step back and ask myself if it’s worth keeping them in, simply because there is no way those people that they are references wouldn’t know they are about them. On the flip side, something I’m trying to work on is writing more openly and stop masking certain meanings with metaphors or turn of phrase. I suppose my goal in writing is to achieve the proper balance.

10. Violin, Cello, Flute… Since the beginning you thought about putting all this instruments into the music, or the recording sessions made you realize that?

Josh: We all have a lot of love for symphonic music; I think from here on out there will always be a degree of that written into our music.

Conor: From the beginning we intended to include orchestration to a few of the songs.  A lot of it came from questioning if we could do something and trying it out.

11. Right now, what is the level of Foxing in your personal life?

Conor: Foxing is really all that I actually want to do.  School and work are complete obstacles for me every day. 

Josh: I agree with Conor. On a day-to-day basis, it takes up about 70% of my personal time, about an equal amount of my headspace. I handle most of the business side of things for the band, which comes with a ton of responsibility. In no way am I complaining about that though--I love that stuff.

12. Which emo bands you think will make it big? (Not monetary, you know what I mean).

Conor: Well, I guess you have to define what "make it big" would mean.  To me, making it big means playing SNL or All Tomorrow's Parties.  I think The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die will continue to grow [...] I mean, they’re already a big deal, but pretty soon I feel like they'll be doing Letterman and shit.  Honestly, I don't know a whole lot of emo bands that I could see playing SNL or All Tomorrow's Parties though.

Josh: I agree that “make it big” is kind of a subjective way to view music. For example, where we were a year ago in comparison to where we are now, I feel like we’ve made it big; things like that are completely relative though. I guess I think Into It. Over It. has that potential to cross over into a mainstream playing field. I don’t know, this is something that I don’t really think about, mainly because “making it” has completely changed over the years. If “making it” means make a living off of their work, I can name a handful of groups already doing that. If “making it” means private jets and Grammys, then none.

13. The name of our blog is “Anthem Albums”. Please, tell us what your anthem album is?

Conor: My anthem album is Dancing on the Ceiling by Lionel Richie.

Josh: My anthem album is The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid by Stars of the Lid. I understand that this record is not chalk full of “anthems” but I love it.

14. Thank you! Really appreciate.  Please send a message to our readers, a kiss, anything.

Josh: If you are reading this, thank you for taking interest in our band; we never want to let any of you down.



You can check out their music right here:

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