Foxy Shazam Band

-- super charismatic singer with great stage presence (eating cigarettes, microphone stance tricks...)
-- worked with super producer John Feldmann
-- signed to major label
-- song played during the Super Bowl commercial time (similar to Fun?)
-- channelled influences from the best rock bands ever (queen, the darkness etc)

what happened? did anyone drop the ball?

 

they weren't good

 

Their songs were too abrasive and has an uneasy ness to their sound. I like it, but hard for the general public to catch on.

 

They were too good for this world. I honestly think that's the only answer. By far the best live band I've ever seen, it's not even close really. And they have a handful of anthems that should have blown up on rock radio at the very least.

Oh and also the members of the band are the coolest guys you'll ever meet

 

Definitely had a cult quality to them that may not appeal to larger groups of people. Even the self-titled (my favorite) is a little abrasive in its own weird way.

 

Saw them twice and they were alright but I didn't find anything too special about them, and their singer's voice could get annoying.

 

They definitely seemed to have that "something special" that superstar bands have imo... Eric Nally in particular is one hell of a singer.

 

I really thought that his spot on Downtown would give his career a little lift, but it's been far too long now to utilize any momentum he might have gotten.

 

Supposedly we'll see a solo album sometime this year. And Alex (trumpet player) has a new band, The Skulx, who put out a terrific rock record last year.

 

I saw them support Lostprophets(lol) once and thought they were awful lol.

 

i have never seen them live....but this is one of my favorite live recordings of them

 

They were always so fun live, I miss this band a lot.

 

AGREE, they were the best. So much fun live and the Self-Titled and Welcome To the Church albums are GREAT. Very radio-friendly and they easily could've blown up. Gonzo was a disaster though, in my opinion.

He's an incredible singer/frontman, I wonder what his solo album will sound like???

 

Opinions are subjective but there's just some things that are flat out incorrect and this is it.

As far as why they didn't blow up as I see it:

I was first introduced (pun intended) to the band during their Ferret debut "Introducing..." and was immediately captivated. I saw them a few months later on tour with Finch and they were just as great live as I saw on YouTube. Was a huge fan back then and bought shirts and all to support. When they dropped the teaser vid for their new album, I was stoked as hell. Then it was released and aside from a few tracks- I was let down. They changed their sound and I wasn't prepared for that. It took me years after to actually love it. After their S/T they released Church which is... just a pretty lame record. The S/T did alright I believe (sales wise) but they needed a real home run on the follow up with a fantastic single not a song like "I Like It" which is catchy until you really let the lyrics sink in..

They were dropped and then released the terrible "Gonzo" as their farewell. I tried listening to it once and just.... no.

It would be a massive shame if they never came back to release something on par with Introducing... and S/T. According to Eric, one hell of a frontman, they will be back one day.

 

I've never listened to the band. Was just joking around

 

Opinions are subjective so consider this: despite this novel they were a terrible band with a talented vocalist

 

Every member of the band is incredibly talented. Fantastic band who never got what they deserved. And Gonzo is my favorite album of theirs, also one of my favorite albums of all time. I just think a lot of people didn't understand it.

 

I'm curious about why you like Gonzo so much. I won't deny there's some decent stuff on there, but it's definitely my least favorite.

 

I love it because it's weird and raw, and also it means a lot to me emotionally because I feel like it helped me understand myself more. I just see it as this beautiful work of art about finding yourself. And I saw them perform it live in full which was incredible.

 

I would have liked to see them perform it live, I think it would give me a deeper understanding of some of the choices they made.

For me, even with production aside, I just don't think the songwriting and performances are as strong as their other records.

 

for what it's worth...i've read somewhere on a reddit post that you should turn up the volume when you listen to the gonzo record...

 

I actually did it once when I was driving home and it kinda sounds like they're playing in the room with you.

 

Foxy is such a great band, but I think the biggest reason why they didn't blow up is the inconsistent quality of their releases. they were super close to blowing up during the self titled era, had a lot going for them, but i think to me and a lot of others, the church of rock and roll was a big disappointment. i'm usually not a huge fan of feldmann's work, but he did wonders on the foxy shazam self-titled, it's still one of my favorite records of all time and if they could have followed up with something as good, i think they definitely would have blown up.

I think that it's all gonna work out though... Eric Nally will release a solo album this year hopefully and it'll be big enough to build a ton of hype for the Foxy Shazam reunion!

 

Gonzo was the sound of a band imploding to me. The guitar player and bass player exchanged instruments (come on!), they tried to hard to be "different" from what they did well. The melody all disappeared. It sounded like a totally lost band to me. I'm not surprised they broke up after that.

Nally is the star, but that's a great band, loved the way they used the trumpet, and LOVED their live shows. The most energetic and wild show you will ever see. Jaw-dropping.

I was thrilled Macklemore recognized his talent and gave him that opportunity but he needs to do something with it soon! That was over a year ago now.

 

Everybody, please re-listen to Gonzo when you get a chance. Just give it another try, that's all I ask. Don't go into it expecting another self-titled or Church.