| |
| |
|
|
| |
Zox
Good Vibes for the masses
COVER STORY
Back on March 26th, a band named Zox ran away with the crown at WBRU’s Rock Hunt, held at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI. In doing so, they defeated, with the might of their musical swordsmanship, bands from all over Rhode Island. The final show was an amazing one - also featuring Monty’s Fan Club, Just Before August, and The Mercy Beat. Though Zox won, it was some seriously stiff competition. Any one of the bands could have taken it, because all had different musical styles, high-points, and low-points.
But, in the end, Zox played the hell out of their reggae, symphonic-flavored rhythms and emerged ultimate victor.
Zox formed in 1999 in Providence. Their lead guitarist and vocalist, Eli Miller, has a talent for keeping smooth, yet sophisticated lyrics moving along Zox’s tunes - sandwiching his style between Spencer Swain’s steal-the-show antics on his violin. Dan Edinberg (I never realized that there were two people in all of Rhode Island named Eli, let alone in the same band) and John Zox keep the rhythms bouncy, on bass and drums, respectively. Their walking-down-the-street-in-the-dead-of-summer reggae roots are quite apparent in many of the songs off of Zox’s first album, Take Me Home.
Their influences are obvious, right from the start. Their cool, calm, and breezy reggae tunes bring forth images of Bradley Nowell chilling on a beach with his guitar and Lou Dog. And at the same moment, they are dosing this style with a slew of other inspirations - one of which would be the Police (think songs like "So Lonely" or "Walking on the Moon"). Take Me Home starts out with their best "summary song", as I like to put it. This is the song that best portrays their sound.
"The Squid" is a sweet-ass track - it puts you in a cheery mood right from the start, only to further your interest in what else Zox has in store. This track, and "Canon" have a very mature feel, with wonderful violin; but they still manage to keep a "party song" feel, with the reggae breakdown and even a not-sure-if-it’s-conscious-or-unconscious Sublime shout-out, "now it takes up nearly all of my time." Their transitions between slow and fast tempos are well calculated. The third track also keeps in the same vain. "Ghost Town" may be the best track on the album. The lyrics and a quicker bass line than most reggae songs make this one stand out right off the bat. It opens, "I live in this ghost town/The whispers from the walls fall like feathers to the ground/I walk upon these cemetery streets/I don’t speak the language of the skeletons I meet". These are the type of lyrics you can expect from Zox, with an almost Paul Simon-like storytelling knack.
Some other more notable tracks include Zox’s deviations into more ska/punk ventures. "Homebody" has a quicker pace, thanks to a kicking drum beat and swift bass line. Eli’s vocals are smooth and quirky, "It’s so hot outside/I could fry an egg, but I’m eating Taco Bell and getting high instead/My eyes spread wide/I smoke a cigarette/Watch the sun roll by with nothing in my head." Zox can keep it uppity without sacrificing their musical dignity.
"Starry Night" is another song that makes you want to do that stupid thing that we all do when we hear some chill-ass reggae - the up and down thing from our knees where you feel really stupid, but it’s caused by the soulful music that makes you wanna bury your boner and smoke a joint. "Starry Night" has one of the best hooks on the album, "I don’t think I wanna spend another night with you."
Though Take Me Home is entertaining as hell (and as it turned out, quite nostalgic in many ways); their live sets are even more phenomenal. When they first step out on stage, you may get an inner chuckle, if you can remember what The Greatest American Hero looks like from the television show- he looks just like Eli Miller (maybe it’s just the hair). But then they jump into their first song and your chuckles are replaced with smiles and an overall good feeling. These boys are for real. One needs to visually observe Spencer Swain’s writhing enthusiasm on stage in order to understand the passion that exists in every note of Zox’s music. His dizzying spins about the stage seem to really get the crowd excited. Seeing both Zox and Monty’s Fan Club live for the first time at the Rock Hunt really made my week. Again, big ups to all involved.
Check out Zox’s website at www.zoxband.com and download a few of their songs.
[Eric Dimbleby]
THE INTERVIEW
As Eric enters the room to meet with the prodigal masterminds, Zox, he begins right away:
dB: Hello Zox. How are you all today?
Eli: Great, thanks for asking.
John: Doing well.
Dan: Very fine... and good and well, thank you.
dB: Very nice. I know you're busy- heading out to Cali right? Tell me more about that...
John: Well, since Eli is from that gold gold state, we decided to turn his yearly visit home into a band outing of sorts.
Dan: So we figured we'd stalk him and play a few shows in the process.
John: Yeah, we have three shows set up out there, with a little vacation time in between. I probably wouldn't have joined the band in the first place if I hadn't known he was from Cali, foresight telling me these trips would occur.
Dan: right. We're all looking forward, but ready to play again back east come summer.
dB: How did you guys get started? What originally made you want to jump into the music scene?
Eli: Well, I met John my freshman year at college, and we started to jam in the basement of my dorm. When we developed a handful of originals and some covers, we decided it was time to start playing frat parties and the campus bar. But our decision two years ago, when Spencer joined the band, to venture into the New England club scene, was the real turning point.
John: Yeah, there was no turning back - from said turning point. (pause) And we've been playing ever since.
Dan: So to summarize: it was more of a crawl, then a hop, and then a jump into the music scene.
John/Eli: Exactly.
John: [under his breath] We shouldn't talk in unison.
Eli/Dan: Sorry.
Spencer: I only speak in unison.
dB: You have a very different style from a lot of the bands on the scene right now - Do you feel that you stand out a bit because you predominantly feature a violinist?
Eli: Probably. I guess it became apparent early on that there was something about the violin that drew people in, especially Spencer's performance style, but we never sat down and said, "Hey, we need a violin to give us the edge." it wasn't calculated like that - actually the idea of the violin and ZOX happened sort of by chance: my freshman year roommate was the first chair violinist in the orchestra and so I had no choice but to integrate his instrument into the songs I was writing, or else face the wrath of musical roommate resentment syndrome (pauses, grins).
John: Yeah, he jokes, but it’s true: the violin worked its way into our sound back then, and now just seems to fit perfectly. And it helps of course that there don't seem to be too many bands out there currently that feature the violin as a main part of the band. It's novel to the audience, and natural for us.
Spencer: [blinks]
Dan: Yeah, I suppose the violin is the most obvious difference. [look of realization on his face]
dB: Who are some of your bigger influences? Lemme guess... Sublime. The Police. Billy Idol.
Eli: Definitely Billy idol...
Spencer: "Rebel Yell" is my all-time favorite song.
Eli: ...any body who can take the experience of a white wedding and turn it into a song that kicks that much ass is a lyrical mastermind in my book. (laughs) no, seriously, when you get down to it, we all have very different influences, and that's what I think prevents our sound from falling into any stylistic rut.
John: Enough! (spits out his gum) it’s like this: Eli will write the lyrics and chords of a song first with his acoustic guitar, so the songs' primary influences themselves are one in the same with those of Eli, namely bands like Sublime, The Police, The Cure, NOFX and songwriters like Paul Simon and Ben Harper... for me, I think the drumming of people like Adrian Young (No Doubt), Stuart Copeland (Police), Chad Smith (RHCP), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Mike d/AWOL (beasties), Animal (Muppets) and the sounds of millions of drum machine transistors working in unison to create electronica, have had the greatest impact on my playing...
Dan: On the bass, some of my main influences are James Jamerson (bassist in many Motown recordings), Aston 'Family Man' Barrett (Marley's bassist), Marcus Miller, Jaco Pastorius, Earl 'Flaba' Holt, John Paul Jones... I could go on.
dB: --but don’t.
Dan: okay.
dB: And Spencer?
Spencer: Um, I like to take influences from musicians that have near to nothing in common with my instrument, say, anything by Mike Patton, like Mr. Bungle or Fantomas. Um... Hendrix, Aphex Twin, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Salvador Dali. I really like a lot of edgier musicians and stuff like Mahavishnu Orchestra, which does have a pretty sick violinist. My tastes in music change pretty often though, like week to week. I also like cheese.
dB: [frowns- awkward silence] So, What are some of your plans for the next year- more touring? New material? World domination?
Eli: hmmm, we can't even agree on our set lists, let alone what we wanna do in the upcoming year. (smiles devilishly) But I think it can be boiled down to one word, said over in over again in a maniacal fanfare of in-unison chanting...
All (EXCEPT SPENCER): playing, playing, playing, playing, playing...
dB: (interrupting) Stop.
Eli: sorry. [Awkward silence, again. Shifting eyes.]
dB: Moving onward. Can you each describe your fans in one word? Ready. Set. NOW!
John: Out of this world!
dB: I said, ONE word.
John: Sorry, I lost control. Out...
Eli: Of...
Dan: This...
Spencer: Um...World?
dB: I see. (Confused look on his face)
John: Okay, how about... fantabulous.
Eli: Delightful.
Spencer: Jubilant.
Dan: ...and cream-filled.
dB: Incredible... How do you feel about the scene in Rhode Island? What does it need?
John: This is actually something we talk about a lot as a band - that is, what specifically in a city or town allows for a vibrant music scene? For Providence, there's no doubt that the band presence is there, just so many great bands established and sprouting up all the time. I think to improve the scene, more venues that are all ages would boost show attendance. As well, late night public transportation, especially on the weekends, from the suburbs and outskirts into the city, would help the scene tremendously. Hey, a light rail from up north down to South County would also help alleviate the summer beach traffic too.
Eli: The talent is here, the environment he talks about fosters the growth, and fan interest follows, like clockwork.
dB: In that same vein, who are some of your favorite local bands, in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts area?
Dan: We realize there are so many bands playing with so much talent, but the unfortunate thing about actually being in a group that gigs so often is that it becomes very difficult to see the bands you'd like to go check out, i.e. these bands that share the scene with you. That said, the Providence bands we admire are those we've had the honor to play with include...
John: Reverser. Holiday. Badfish. Bad Larry. Immune. The Mercy Beat. Just Before August. Lush. Monty's Fan Club. Slik Willy. Woodbelly. The F-Bombs. Floodwaters. The list goes on and on. There are too many to even mention here.
dB: What are your favorite Zox songs to play live?
Dan: "Goodbye to You" is probably my favorite one, it features every member... the bass and drums get to do a killer groove, Eli gets to sing in full volume, and Spencer plays this crazy violin part at the beginning.
John: My favorite songs include anything that's new. After we play a song so many times, the deep love begins to fade -- although I'll always consider it one of my own, and enjoy performing it...
Spencer: My favorites are the cover tunes...(grins sheepishly)... Just kidding.
dB: Eli, in what genealogical way are you related to the Greatest American Hero?
Eli: ... (puzzled look on face)
dB: If I buy you a cape and red pajamas - will you wear it at your next show?
Eli: ...the cape maybe...Spencer would probably wear the whole outfit (looks at other band members, everyone slowly moves away... signals to Eric to wrap up interview with the universal "move on" signal: circular index finger roll.)
dB: Thank you, boys. Rock on.
All: Thank you!!!
dB: No unison, guys, remember?
[No reply, band has left the building.] |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
