A Dirty Dozen with THE FOXFIRES – October 2020

According to a recent press release: “NYC’s beloved indie rock band The Foxfires call for peace and love during the most turbulent of times. Their new single “Orion”, slated to release on Tuesday October 20th, is a conscientious response to a year when everything seems uncertain. The melodic new anthem presents dream pop and shoegaze influences, seamlessly paired with lyrics that reflect the endless social and biological wars we currently face. The melodies evoke optimism, harmony and peace. Orion, known as ‘The Huntsman’ in Greek Mythology, represents the magnitude of our current state of conflict. In divisive times, we put up walls to protect us from what’s on the other side. With “Orion”, The Foxfires aim to illuminate the core civility of society, tear down interpersonal walls and introduce positivity and a sense of nostalgia to reawaken social synergy.” We get the band to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

If you listen to “Orion” towards the guitar solo and outro section, you can hear a first for us- five part harmony choir style. It’s got a really uplifting feel to the song and we figured what more spiritually uplifting than a choir? If you want a quasi-hidden nugget about the song that may just be for the composition nerds out there, definitely pay close attention to the guitar solo. It’s actually a double solo that almost sonically resemble a double helix pattern, occasionally intersecting and often separating soon after. The song has a really strong overtone of the division and isolation we’ve been living through and it’s very surreal that musically, the solo becomes the embodiment of people being harmonious for brief moments only to become strangers to each other moments later. It precedes the chorus where everything is harmonious; it’s like a sonic painting of the times.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

It’s always been a hand to hold for us in troubled times and a vice that always feels like the first time for us. It only feels natural that it becomes what we want to create for others. It’s like therapy, a gathering of the people who hear and understand you, and something that makes you feel alive and well. We grew up relatively alone as kids and music was always an outlet for that loneliness that made us feel less alone.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

We got to see the Ride in 2015 as a band and Beach Fossils as a band in 2017 and those have to be the most transformative live shows we were active participants in.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

We collectively bonded over a bunch of bands when we formed. My Bloody Valentine, Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, Silversun Pickups, and Foals. We all generally come from different musical backgrounds, but our sound owes much to those four bands.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Ben Gibbard from The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie. He’s always been a big influence on our sound.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We like to say our music is the feelings you get when you’re doing anything near the ocean. We call our sound Seagaze because it combines a ton of different borrowed elements from several genres. Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Folk, Surf Rock, Garage Rock, and Alt Rock all meet in the center of what makes our sound ours. So, one time we got told we made pirate rock and while we understand we’re fronted by a singer who at times gets told he looks like Johnny Depp, we’re definitely not Pirate Rock. Ocean Grunge is a close runner up but is way more accurate than saying we have pirate music.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

CD (Christian Diana) is definitely first with the acoustic guitar and we have to hide them when he comes over. CC (Christian Cordero) is definitely the cook because he’s the Daddest of the Dadfires. Adam is by far getting the drinks in, but only because he’s gotta start early in order to catch a buzz by 10pm.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

We were pretty starstruck by Kevin Lyman at East Coast Music Conference. He’s been a big part of why summers growing up were always phenomenal. It was surreal. It was the year after Warped ended and it was both bittersweet and awe inspiring.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Best part of being a musician hands down is always the people aspect of it. It’s the lives you touch, the people you meet, and the feeling you get when you create something that really resonates with people. CD would definitely want to be a producer. CC would probably be coding the next thing that revolutionizes the way we think as people. Adam would be a politician and be focused on reform.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

We’ve definitely always wanted to be asked which Beatle each of us are and we’ve established years ago that CD is John, CC is George, and Adam is Paul. We never cease to grumble at least a little when we get asked who we are as the first interview question. How did you manage to decide to interview us if you don’t know who we are? And if this is a more philosophical question, how do we apply who we are as a group of three to four individuals who have gathered to play music in a way that’s anymore blatant, before saying we’re nothing and everything at all?

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

There are so many unfortunate moments that bands go through together. I feel like to do over something that happened as it did and led us to where we are would be to neglect the valuable lessons we learned. Part of being a musician, an artist, a leader, an athlete, or anything that’s ever touched greatness is failure. We can all stand to learn from it and learn from it, we have. We learned what to do and what not to do.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys. There was a ton of studio magic happening in that studio and it would have been awesome to be a fly on the wall for.

BONUS QUESTION – Due to the current world situation with COVID-19 / quarantine / shelter in place, what have you discovered you miss the most from your life before the pandemic struck?

Definitely shows. We miss shows like crazy. We know it’s not exactly safe to do so yet, which is why we’ve refrained. The second shows come back, it’s gonna be a tearjerking moment. It’s not going to be lost on us how much we adored the moments we could light up an audience and our weeks would be brighter for it.

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Category: Interviews