Review Fix chats with singer/song writer and guitarist Phillip Fox, who discusses his band’s new album, “Heartland.†A hearty mix of country and good old-fashioned rock and roll, what the band calls, country-fried rock and roll, Fox believes all you need to do is to listen to the first three songs on the album to know if the band is for you or not.
Review Fix: What is “Country-Fried Rock and Roll”?
Phillip Fox: It’s a mix of Southern Rock and Country. But not tan legs and tailgates country – the kind of country that tells a story that rattles around in your mind for a while.
Review Fix: How is this album different from the other work the band has produced?
Fox: For starters it’s longer. Though with only a 5-song EP previously released that wasn’t hard to do! It’s a deeper project all around – the songwriting went deeper, musically and sonically we dug deeper. We’ve played over 300 shows with our current lineup so there was also a band chemistry on “Heartland” that didn’t exist before.
Review Fix: Your fans have shown a ton of support over the years. How have they played a role in this album?
Fox: It’s fair to say this record wouldn’t be coming out right now if it wasn’t for our fans. They have been waiting for this record for almost two years, and we included them as much as we could in the process. (Partly, I think so they wouldn’t mob us after shows…). We held several concerts where we played all the song candidates for the album and we asked the crowd to vote on them. The feedback we received was really valuable. And when it came time to put the record out, our fans came through big time with the Kickstarter campaign – even though most of them had never heard of Kickstarter! They figured it our just for us and in some ways that meant more than the money itself.
Review Fix: Any song on the album have an interesting story behind it?
Fox: Lots of them do, though I think “Cancer Cannot” is still the most touching. I wrote that song for my wife. Six months after we were married she was diagnosed with cancer and for the next year or more that sort of consumed our life. I learned so much about her during that time, mostly how strong she is, and I wanted to tell her that in a way that was big enough to convey how I felt. What started as a poem turned into a song and I sang it for her one week before she was officially “in remission”. When we first started playing it live it was amazing how many people in the audience felt like it was their story too.
Review Fix: What have you learned about yourself through the recording of this album?
Fox: It’s been a long, tough trek and the process leading up to “Heartland” allowed for lots of introspection and evaluation. Other people are now starting to see and hear what I’ve had in my head for years. As an artist you have a vision for what you’re trying to create and it’s hard to tell sometimes how much is reality and how much is your vision filling in the blanks. With this project I was more aware of that and I learned to rely on other people to help me make that distinction and bring more of the sound into reality.
Review Fix: What do you think makes “Heartland” special?
Fox: We wrote “Heartland” the old-fashioned way: years of inspired songwriting (as opposed to writing by formula) and touring.  We’ve kept the same guys and just put in a ton of hours together playing. My voice is really unique and Jonathan’s approach to the bass guitar is very unconventional which affects the role of the guitars and drums. David and Austin are not just talented with their respective instruments but in feeling out what the song needs. Really the whole package is one of those situations where 2+2=5. We’re not trying to sound like anyone else other than ourselves and in this era of music that’s pretty special.
Review Fix: What are your goals for it?
Fox: “Heartland” captures our live energy, the personality of the band and the diversity of our sound. Our goal is to get it in as many ears as possible and find those people who dig it. We know it’s not for everyone but for those people who appreciate song-craft and the relationship between human beings, their instruments, and their fellow musicians – this record is a breath of fresh air.
Review Fix: Why should someone buy it?
Fox: All we ask is that you listen to the first three songs. You’ll know at that point whether you want to buy it or not.
Leave a Reply