Hello, my name is Eric Nally and I am the singer and founding member of this rabble-rousing pack of freaks they call Foxy Shazam. Our other five members are (in alphabetical order): Daisy (bass) Aaron McVeigh (drums), Alex Nauth (horns) Loren Turner (guitar) and Sky White (piano). I love them but before I get into their story, I would like to spend a little time on myself: I am twenty-four years old, the father of two boys, Julian Michael and Francis Jordan, as well as a loving husband to Karen Nally. This creates an interesting contrast to my career as a professional musician.

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I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was one of two white boys in an all-black high school. The band name Foxy Shazam came from a saying in my school meaning, “cool shoes.” If you had cool shoes kids would say those are “foxy shazam.” Because of this we have a lot of soul, and try to let it bleed through our music as much as possible. Mom and Dad were pretty poor as I was growing up but always supported my musical interests nonetheless. In the early years they bought my band cheap guitars and amps and drove us to shows in the family Thunderbird. I owe them big time and will someday repay them.

Now that you know a little about my history, I would like to talk about my bandmates. Alex, our trumpet player is my right hand man and as a matter of fact he is transcribing this for me right now. Alex is classically trained, has a likable personality and is easy to get along with. We picked him up on the corner of Hollywood and Las Palmas a couple of years into the band’s existence and I feel like his horn playing has added to the uniqueness of our sound. I meet a lot of people that think horns are stupid, but he’s going to change that. Loren, our guitar player is a weird guy to get the hang of and he’s very quiet. Everyone that meets him gets the impression that he’s mad at them but that’s not the case, it’s just the way his face looks. He loves Dimebag Darrell and I love the influence that gives him in his guitar playing. 

Daisy, our bass player has been in the band for about three years. To be honest, I don’t know too much about him and I like him like that. That’s what makes him Daisy. However, I do know that his contribution to our band is enormous and without him we would not sound the way that we do. Aaron our drummer is the newest member of the band. The position of Foxy’s drummer, until Aaron, has been one that is filled temporarily but never permanently. I would never be caught dead in the clothes he wears but, hey, to each his own. His drum playing is not fancy but it’s extremely solid and is exactly what we’ve been looking for all these years. Last but not least is Sky White, our pianist who is trained in classical and jazz performance. I remember Loren and I went to a show his old band was playing and the second I saw him stand on his keyboard with a piñata on his head I knew we had to get him in Foxy Shazam. It didn’t take too much convincing and a week later we were recording our first album Flamingo Trigger (which came out in 2005) and went on to do Introducing (2008). Our latest album, The Church of Rock & Roll, is due out in January 2012.

When I listen to a Foxy Shazam record I think of Evel Knievel, Bruce Springsteen, my childhood, Van Morrison, my old friends from high school I don’t talk to anymore, Elton John, the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and beyond, Iggy Pop and my first kiss. One of my favorite things to do when listening to my music is to close my eyes and picture a crowd of six million people all chanting “Foxy! Foxy! Foxy!” The lights go out and my band walks on stage. It gives me goose bumps. It all makes sense to me. When you listen to our record, think of your favorite things and it’ll make sense to you as well. Foxy Shazam is not concerned with what category it falls into. We want to stand for our generation. We want to be the biggest band in the world. We are the Michael Jordan of Rock N’ Roll. [Eric Nally, Foxy Shazam]

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Brooklyn-based trio, A Great Big Pile of Leaves got their start in 2007 when guitarist/singer Peter Weiland and drummer Tyler Soucy took time from their prior projects to start writing material of their own.  The first six songs came together as the self-released EP The Fiery Works, which the duo put out as a free download on their Web site. As word spread online, the band’s fanbase grew along with Weiland and Soucy’s excitement to get back to recording.

Continuing with the formula of self-producing, The Fiery Works II followed shortly afterward and was also released as a free download. Within the next year, the digital releases were downloaded over 12,000 times and the group prepared for a live setting with the addition of Tucker Yaro on bass. After playing several shows and writing a batch of new songs over the next few months, the newfound trio prepared themselves to record a full-length record Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex?

With each member also taking on engineering, production, mixing and mastering duties, the record became a full collaboration of each member’s respective influences and knowledge. “We don’t like to set up any boundaries when writing; we don’t consciously come into it with any walls up” says Soucy. “The three of us have a rather eclectic background of musical influences and we like to explore that and have a good time. The only thing we knew coming into this record, is that we were in control and that we wanted to make the best record we could; something we would enjoy from beginning to end with no sense of filler.”

Following the release of Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? this summer, the group have seen a rapidly growing fan base as well as praise on infuential sites such as absolutepunk.net where the record was reviewed with a 93% approval rating. The rest of the year will see a vinyl release of the album for hardcore fans as well as a large-scale fall tour that will showcase everything that this band has worked so hard for. “The positive reactions to our music have been pretty overwhelming so far, especially in a day and age when the Internet seems to be filled with a lot of negativity on message boards,” explains Soucy, “we haven’t really gotten much of that yet.”

A Great Big Pile of Leaves will be hitting the road this Fall on their first national tour with Motion City Soundtrack, Say Anything,and Saves the Day. “This fall tour is exactly what our band needed to be doing and at the perfect time so we’re extremely grateful for the opportunity that we have,” Soucy continues when asked about those large-scale shows. “I spent most of high school listening to these three bands, so it’s going to be pretty surreal to walk off stage every night and watch the rest of the line-up,” he adds, “it’s going to be a great time.”

Threads, the second full-length release from Minneapolis based Now, Now explores the fragile and often transitory nature of our existence, our perceived understanding of the world around us and relationships shared with others physically and emotionally. Produced by Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, An Horse, New Pornographers), Threads forms a sprawling sonic endeavor that showcases the bands incredible growth as songwriters and musicians. Vulnerable vocals give way to oceans of sound retaining definition via deftly layered guitar parts augmented by lingering synths which alternate between background and center stage. The trio composed of Cacie Dalager (Vocals, Guitar), Jess Abbott (Vocals, Guitar), and Brad Hale (Drums, Synth) packed up their van and drove 1800 miles across North America to record Threads with Redekopp in Vancouver, BC.

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Beyond the geographical shift, the recording felt miles removed from their full-length debut Cars. Released in 2008 prior to Abbott joining the band, Cars saw the fresh out of High School Dalager and Hale traveling the United States non-stop and finding their way onto European arena tours. Through word of mouth and constant touring, Now, Now (formerly Now, Now Every Children) began building a support system of fans and friends, including Maine native, Abbott, who soon enough relocated to the Twin Cities to become the third member of Now, Now Every Children, sharing equally in songwriting and vocal contributions. Dropping “Every Children” from their name, Now, Now began working on the Neighbors EP, an experiment in writing and recording for the first time as a three piece.

“What people will specifically notice about the songs on Threads,” says Hale, “is the way that they are put together. We spent a lot of time going through the basic song ideas and restructuring them to make them their best. Since we haven’t released a full-length in so long,” he explains, “we wanted to make sure we were all loving everything about it before we went all the way out there to record.” During the recording Now, Now could tell they were hitting their stride for the first time. “As happy as we are with Neighbors,” Abbott says, “a lot of things didn’t click because we were just learning how to write together.” Dalager notes, “We killed ourselves over Threads. That sounds dramatic, but everything about it was excruciating in a good way. Every little idea was worked to its best.” As a result, “this is the first release we feel really proud of.” With the album complete, Now, Now look to the future with great anticipation. “This band feels like an extension of us as people,” explains Dalager. “It’s something we’ve been nurturing for a long time and is all we really care about; something we’ve worked really hard for and need to make happen no matter what.”

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Dani asked Angie to be in a band with her…” Since that moment, the cousins have been playing consistently in the Twin Cities area. The group uses shows at venues such as: Triple Rock, The Kitty Cat Klub and their recent four week engagement at the Nomad World Pub to promote their particular brand of pop music. Using instruments such as the ukulele, melodica, kilimba, piano, flute, concertina, and bells, the group has a sound which works well in coffee shops as well as other venues. This unique approach led Erin Roof of the City Pages to comment, “This is pop music thinking outside the guitar-shaped box.” These seemingly quiet and sparse instruments work together with strong vocals to produce a sound that is simultaneously gentle and powerful, soul-baring and soul-affirming. The band self-released their first EP, This Has to Be Meant to Be, at the Kitty Cat Klub in February. They recently began sessions for their follow-up at Flowers Studio which will be released in the Fall. [Theodore Stassen]

"with the duo's first full length, M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I, Lewis and Krube expand their instrumental repertoire, but keep simplistic songwriting intact. Lewis has a special voice. Her beautiful vibrato bespeaks her years of training in opera." [Erin Roof, City Pages]

"The Chord and the Fawn is lead by the string-plucking, flowery-dress-wearing duo Danielle Lewis and Angela Krube. Lewis' vocals recall Michelle's [Lucy] sweet songbird style with some of Joni Mitchell's siren-like folky delivery, and her ukulele playing sounds as if it were washed ashore straight from Hawaii." [C.R. The VitaMn]