Foxy Shazam: The name really does say it all – a band like no other on Earth
Back in February 2012 I was feeling especially low emotionally for reasons that I’d prefer to keep private and I needed something to cheer me up and fast. I asked my Dad if he wanted to go on a spontaneous road trip to see the band The Darkness at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. He very enthusiastically said yes and we made the arrangements to see the show one week later.
When my father and I checked into our room at Excalibur I hooked up my computer and we decided to check out via youtube.com the support bands for The Darkness; Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam. The first Foxy Shazam video that loaded up was for “A Dangerous Man”. My father and I had the identical reaction of “I don’t know if I should be horrified of or embarrassed for this band”. We watched a couple more videos and those weren’t really doing anything for us either. We very much thought that we were going to have to go through hell (Foxy Shazam) to get to heaven (The Darkness) during the concert.
The concert was general admission seating so my Dad and I arrived early at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay and we were respectively the 10th and 11th people in line. There was this huge group of women who had traveled all the way from England for The Darkness concert and they were quite entertaining which thankfully helped the time pass a lot faster while waiting to get into the concert. Eventually, next to the front door the staff for The Darkness set up the tables for t-shirt sales. As I looked over the shirts the one for Foxy Shazam got my attention which had the words “Foxy Shazam – White Music for Black People”. I immediately thought to myself “back on my LDS mission if I wore that shirt in the Garfield Heights or Belmar sections of Pittsburgh, I might not be found the next day”. Once again my thoughts were “what is the deal with this band?” and instead of feeling like I would be mildly irritated for 45 minutes I was really starting to full blown dread Foxy Shazam’s set. However, my excitement to see The Darkness did not decline.
Once inside the House of Blues my dad and I claimed our piece of the floor and were very excited for the show. The first band, Crown Jewel Defense came on stage and they were actually really good. The lead singer was especially fun to watch and had a lot of personality. Next, came on Foxy Shazam. I’ll never forget how they looked when they took the stage. Lead singer Eric Nally was wearing a black jumpsuit, keyboardist Sky White had a piece of twine tied behind his beard to the top of his head to make it look like he was wearing a fake beard (his beard is very real), and the leather pants, top hat and shirtlessness of Alex Nauth. Frankly, I didn’t even how what to make of them. Then they immediately started their set with “Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll”. All six members of Foxy Shazam were jumping and dancing around in a very unique style and Eric Nally was working the microphone stand like a true pro. There was so much going on that it was hard to focus on. When “Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll” concluded the audience gave them polite applause. Everyone in the audience had a “what the hell is this” look on their face (me and my dad included). Then not wasting any time Foxy Shazam went straight into “Killin’ It” and Eric Nally was doing summer saults, push-ups, and twirling the microphone stand with his legs. Sky White was standing on top of this keyboard and not missing a beat while he played. Alex Nauth was really playing off of Eric Nally’s energy and had a lot of cool dance moves of his own which involved twirling his trumpet when he wasn’t playing it. Plus Alex’s voice is the perfect complement to Eric’s. Bassist Daisy and guitarist Loren Turner were jumping all over the place while drummer Aaron McVeigh was the anchor that held it all together. The reaction of the audience then changed from “What the Hell” to “I am strangely drawn to Foxy Shazam and I can’t figure out why”. After “Killin’ It” and “Oh Lord” the crowd gave fairly enthusiastic applause, but we still weren’t convinced. None of us had ever really seen a band like this. Then came the song “Holy Touch” and at this point the crowd actually started to dance around and really enjoy themselves. Much to my surprise in under 20 minutes Foxy Shazam went from a band I was completely dreading to a band that completely took me back. They were really cool. As much as they have a flair for showmanship, their music is extremely good and has a lot of depth. By the end of “Holy Touch” the crowd was cheering loudly and Foxy Shazam had won us over. The rest of their show was just plain amazing. They played with amazing energy and charisma! Eventually their 45 minute set came to an end and the audience was still screaming for more when it was over. Me and Dad just looked at each other and said “That was so freaking cool!” We were both completely taken back and amazed with the one and only Foxy Shazam.
As the night continued The Darkness took the stage and they put on a top notch show. They performed every song on their classic album Permission to Land and several other obscure songs as well as few from their album One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back. Permission to Land was one of my favorite albums back when I attended Utah State University, but because I was extremely broke while I was attending college I was not able to catch them live and then The Darkness broke up shortly after the release of One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back, so it was especially awesome to see The Darkness reunited and live. The entire evening was awesome! The next day as my Dad and I drove back to Salt Lake City from Las Vegas we were still talking about how awesome Foxy Shazam was live. They were one of the hugest surprises we had ever seen in all of the concerts we have gone to together.
I have since bought all three of their albums and I love them! They are quite honestly one of my favorite bands. But musically for the purpose of this blog I would like to focus on their latest album The Church of Rock and Roll. A few months ago I was feeling exceptionally ambitious when I got off of work and the goal of the day was to ride my bicycle from my apartment in Holladay, UT, to Saltair (a small concert venue on the shores of the Great Salt Lake) which is a 50 mile round trip from my apartment. I wanted some new music for the ride and via iTunes I purchased The Church of Rock and Roll. From the albums start of “Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll” I was very enthralled. The song is a very powerful rock and roll anthem with its own unique rally call and in my opinion is in good company with “Rock and Roll All Night” by Kiss, “Footstompin’ Music” by Grand Funk Railroad, “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” by AC/DC and “Dance to the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone.
The entire album is one of the most unique I have ever heard. Justin Hawkins of The Darkness as the producer of The Church of Rock and Roll has really harnessed the very best musically of all things Foxy Shazam. The whole album is straight up rock and roll mixed with lots of influence and character from many genres of music. The song “Holy Touch” is quite honestly one of the best rock and roll songs I have heard in ages. I especially love the gospel/operatic backing vocals and Sky White’s piano (very much in the vein of composer Scott Joplin) that take this song up a few levels. The song “Wasted Feelings” starts with a very R & B feeling guitar and Eric Nally’s high tenor and to some degree reminded me of “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones. But then the brass and Hamond organ come in and really take this song up to a get up and dance R & B song. While on the other hand the song “I Wanna Be Yours” has a very folk feel to it and “The Temple” has a very intense and dark feel to it that I would associate with songs like “The End” and “L’America” by the Doors. The song “The Streets” has a feel to that reminds me of “Dreamers Ball” and “Spread Your Wings” by Queen and once again the operatic backing vocals really complete the whole soundscape. I ended up listening to this album six times in a row and I bicycled out to Saltair and I will never forget listening to “Freedom” as I arrived at Saltair and looked over the Great Salt Lake. The song really said it all after a hard day at work and a long bicycle ride. In addition, Eric Nally’s vocal prowess is spectacular. He has power, intensity, and a lot of range in his voice and is one of the most unique vocalists to immerge in the last five years and has a personality to match. Foxy Shazam as a band is six of the tightest musicians out there and Alex Nauth’s horn playing really adds to and rounds out Foxy Shazam’s sound. However, one of things I think makes this band even more unique is forgiving the fact that there is just an insane amount of talent within Foxy Shazam and I know they take their music very seriously they really enjoy and have a lot of fun playing music together and it really shines through in their live show. The Church of Rock and Roll is very much one of the coolest albums I have ever heard and Foxy Shazam has nowhere to go but straight up!
I have a feeling like many people I was very skeptical the first time I heard Foxy Shazam’s music, but seeing them perform live is what made me a fan. Foxy Shazam in their live performances bring a lot of flair, showmanship, charisma, and all out excitement back to the rock and roll stage that to a degree has been seriously lacking for quite a while. The entire band is exceptionally enteraining and I rank Eric Nally with Freddie Mercury of Queen, David Gahan of Depeche Mode, and Steve Marriott of Humble Pie/Small Faces as one of the best frontman and all of rock and roll. If you are not sure about this band go see them live! I guarantee you will be won over as my Dad and I were. Since 2008 Foxy Shazam has opened for the Strokes, Hole, Panic at the Disco, The Darkness, and Slash just to name a few as well as touring very extensively as a headliner. I can’t adequately describe how awesome their live show is, it really has to be experienced.
Compared to the first time my father and I watched the video for “A Dangerous Man” on youtube.com and frankly thought Foxy Shazam kind of sucked, now every time I watch “A Dangerous Man” and just sit back and smile from ear to ear. To quote Foxy Shazam’s Eric Nally “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.” Like Eric Nally I too wish for the very best for Foxy Shazam and I hope I can say ten years down the road with pride when they are selling out arenas “I saw Foxy at the House of Blues in Las Vegas back in 2012!” A band this unique in my opinion will not stay hidden for very long.
