Photo by Jim Mimna
Fox Street is quickly gaining a reputation for being one of the hardest working rock and roll bands on the Colorado music scene. They boast a big, soulful Rock n’ Roll sound laced with three-part harmonies, screaming guitars, soulful sax, and a devastatingly funky rhythm section. It certainly helps that the members of Fox Street share varied influences throughout American Roots music — Blues, Jazz, Country and a whole lotta Funk — but also having shared the experience of taking Fox Street on the road together gives the band a certain tightness, a dynamic range that simply cannot be acquired any other way. Check out their Denver Day of Rock set at the Champa Street stage from 6:15-7:15pm!
Eric Low (drummer) met up with brother and sister duo Rowan (age 10) and Felix (age 7 ¾) Hillhouse to discuss how Fox Street got their name, their new album dropping August 1st (on vinyl!), and which musicians have influenced him the most.
Rowan Hillhouse: How did you come up with your band name?
Eric Low: Good question! Fox Street is only a few blocks away, and me and the guitar player lived in a house right over on 8th and Fox for five years from 2005-2010.
RH: Funny, I was looking at Fox Street and said that’s probably how they got their name.
EL: Yes! Two of us lived there and then our singer, the three of us are the core of the band, he lived just on the other side of Broadway, so we all just lived in the neighborhood. This is my old neighborhood. On the inside of our cover we have a picture of the house we used to live in on Fox Street.
RH: Cool!
Felix Hillhouse: How do you describe your sound?
RH: We saw on your website it’s described as “funky.”
EL: To be perfectly honest, this is always a tricky question for us because we take from a lot of different genres. We say we’re a little bit of Rock-n-Roll, Funk music, Soul music, a little Blues, a little Country music, too. It all kind of mishmashes and turns into what we sound like. Some bands thrive on saying, “Oh, we’re a really good Punk band” or “we’re a really good Blues band.” But we don’t. We have multiple genres that we’re working on.
RH: Kind of a mix?
EL: Yes! You know, one song will be a certain kind of style and we might do another song that’s a completely different style, but they both sound like they come from our band. That’s what we’re shooting for.
FH: Who would you count as a major influence on your band?
EL: That’s a hard one too because I think you have to ask every one of us individually; so I’ll speak for myself. I’m a huge fan of this band Galactic from New Orleans. Their drummer is a pretty well known player named Stanton Moore. He’s been a teacher of mine and we’ve made a personal connection, so he’s a huge influence on my life. As well as my other drum teacher, Paul Romaine, who teaches at CU Boulder. He’s one of the most incredible Jazz musicians I’ve ever seen and he’s from Denver. If you guys ever see the name Paul Romaine, go and see him! From stuff that’s more mainstream, I was a huge Led Zeppelin fan when I was younger. Do you guys know Led Zeppelin?
RH & FH: No!
EL: [Laughing] You will soon enough because they are a huge Rock-n-Roll icon band. I got into the band Phish when I went to college, and I started getting into more jamming types of music and I studied a lot of Jazz music. That’s what I got a degree in during college, playing drums for Jazz studies. I find a real connection with different players from the jazz scene. My favorite drummers are guys named Tony Williams and Elvin Jones and they played with guys like Miles Davis. I don’t know if you know any of these names yet, but you will at some point because they are extremely important American historical figures. So that’s where I come from. I bring a lot of that influence, and then some of the other members in our band are completely different. Our singer, Skippy [Jonathan Huvard] is from Texas so he brings that Bluesy, Country, Texas thing to us. James [Dumm] and I are Colorado born and raised – we went to Cherry Creek High School and grew up in South Denver, in Greenwood Village.
RH: How did you guys get started playing music?
EL: James and I met at West Middle School in 6th grade and we started playing with other friends who have gone to different parts of the country that first year we met. We learned music together, and in college, James met our singer and introduced us. To make a long story short, we played together in different bands for a few years and once we graduated college, we found ourselves here, right in this neighborhood [Baker] and we started a band. The thing that’s been a little different about our band is that there are 3 of us, but we usually have 7-8 people on stage. We’ve written a lot of music that we hire other players around town to play. We usually hire the same people, but sometimes you’ll see a slightly different band on one night than you see the next night, but you’re always going to see the three of us. Recently, our sax player, named Mirco [Altenbach], has joined the band too. We’re slowly building our way to a bigger, more consistent band. We wrote all this music and we’re able to hire people and it’s fun to change it up a bit.
RH: That just got me thinking, what do you play?
EL: I play the drums. I should have clarified that earlier! I just started talking about all those drummers. [Laughs.]
FH: I have to ask you this question. Do you like Denver so far?
EL: I love Denver! I have a lot of pride for Denver. We’ve gotten to travel from coast-to-coast and we’ve been able to play internationally in Poland, Germany, and Switzerland. With that being said, Denver is one of the coolest places in the world, still, and we’re all very lucky to be here.
RH: What was your first gig together?
EL: James and I played a gig when we were in 8th grade at a place off of 18th and Franklin. That place is long gone! That was my first gig I ever played, and that was with James, I feel like it’s worth mentioning. The first gig Fox Street played was what brought the band together because we didn’t have a band per say, and our friends had this gig at a bar called Herb’s, downtown, and they got a different offer they had to take, and so we, “subbed” their gig. We came in and did it for them last minute. We put together this group and we had such a fun time that night that we decided to keep it going. Part of the reason we have the name Fox Street is because we needed a name, and because we live on Fox Street, that’s what we decided to name our band. It stuck with us! [Laughs].
RH: Have you been working on any new material lately?
EL: Yes! We have a new album coming out August 1st.
FH: That’s my birthday!
EL: My birthday is August 5th, so we’re both Leos! We just finished our third album and it’s coming out August 1st. It’s our first album we’re going to print on old-fashioned vinyl records.
RH: Those are so cool!
EL: They are, right? We’re very excited about that. It’s been an interesting process. We got to record with some great players — I don’t know if you’ll know any of these names, but this bass player that used to be in the Derek Trucks Band, who is one of the Allman Brothers, a great American rock band. He didn’t join until later because he’s younger, but we got to play with him. He’s a pretty amazing bass player. It was a real treat, and the most fun I’ve ever had recording in the studio.
RH: I’m sure later on in my life I’ll hear all these names and I’ll look back and think, “Oh!”
EL: What you should do is you should take all these interviews and write down the names of all the influential people and then start searching them. Then you’ll start seeing who’s related. Have you guys used Spotify?
RH & FH: Yes!
EL: All the people I mentioned today are on Spotify.
FH: What is your favorite venue in Colorado and why?
EL: My favorite venue is Red Rocks, but I’ve never played there. My favorite venue that I’ve played at is the Mishawaka Amphitheater near Fort Collins. It’s this cool little stage right on the river. The Poudre River comes right through the venue. I think this Denver Day or Rock is going to be one of the cooler places to play! The band that’s playing right after us, Orgone, I just saw them play for the first time last week in New Orleans and they are incredible. They have an amazing female singer and a whole horn section. It’s going to be amazing.
RH: What is the most outlandish thing your band would consider putting in your backstage rider?
EL: [Laughs]. We don’t really get a rider so much. When we get a rider, it’s free food and snacks. I’m waiting for the point in my life when I get to say anything I want and they have to put it there. I guess I’m just waiting for that moment!
RH: Some people may want 1,000 jellybeans, or couches, or a flat screen TV. Or a zebra!
EL: I heard that Steven Tyler from Aerosmith requires to have 3 full-length mirrors.
RH: Does he get it?
EL: I’m sure he does!
RH: What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve had happen on stage? Or mistakes?
EL: Too many! I don’t necessarily think that the mistakes that you make end up being that embarrassing because one thing you learn as a musician as you get older is that most people aren’t really paying that much attention, unless it’s a disaster. Even if you’re listening pretty intently, the little mistakes you make tend to get blown up in your head, but the reality is that it was not that bad from afar. One embarrassing thing was when the singer called me out because my grandma was there and he wanted me to say something to the entire venue about my grandma! Those are more embarrassing moments than making little mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes can be frustrating, but not so much embarrassing.
RH: Would you consider yourself famous, citywide or statewide?
EL: Absolutely not! [Laughs].
FH: In my way, I would say, “Are you famous?”
EL: I don’t think anybody can answer that question humbly, unless you’re Steven Tyler or Kim Kardashian. [Everyone laughs]. One of the humbling things about playing music and being a local player is knowing that it’s not about you. One thing we’re lucky to have is a lot of friends’ groups that are doing the same venues so it gives us this sense of community. We get to use each other’s successes and failures together. I think this is a good way to tie it up – you know, it’s cool to be a part of this community. Writing, and Tim’s website (www.listenupdenver.com), and listening to and writing about all these local groups, this is all part of the process that is going to make the city of Denver grow, and have the music scene be fun to be a part of.
FOX STREET
Saturday May, 23rd
Champa St. Stage
6:15 – 7:15 PM
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