Interview with Country Fried Rockers Phillip Fox Band as they are out on tour

The Ohio quartet Phillip Fox Band have been quickly gaining attention for their unique style of music, country fried rock n roll. They seamlessly blend classic rock and old country and fuse it with a modern twist. What you are treated to, are songs that not only rock but are emotionally driven and create a solid connection with the listener through story telling songs all the while you are feeding your rock n roll soul.

They currently have their debut full length album Heartland set for a September 2nd release. Heartland takes you on a musical journey full of hope, loss, love and truth. In a time where the musical industry can stifle a band’s creativity, Phillip Fox Band rose about it all by creating and completing their album fully funded by their fans through a Kickstarter campaign. Phillip Fox explains, “I think the whole Kickstarter thing, particularly with our fans voting essentially with their money and saying, ‘No we want this music’… The fact that we are able to put that out, we feel very blessed to be able to do it.”

The album has it all, catchy melodies, smoking guitars, bluesy riffs, powerful and captivating vocals, heartfelt songs that stir emotions as well as invite you to make Heartland the soundtrack of your life. Check out a live video promo for Phillip Fox Band:

We had the opportunity to chat with vocalist/guitarist Phillip Fox as they are currently touring. We are pleased to bring that interview to you here:

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MJP: Thank you for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. We are very excited about the album release next month of Heartland.

Phillip: Awesome, we are too!

MJP: You have to tell us, even the title has some great personal meaning to it. Can you explain a little bit about Heartland?

Phillip: Ya, I mean. We spend a lot of time on the road, there are those places where just feel like home and then there is also nothing like coming off the road and being back at home. The Midwest for us, that is where we chose to live. We could have moved to New York or Nashville but, we chose to stay here in the Midwest and travel from out of there. Every time we come back, we felt like that song Heartland just really captured more than any other tune on the record, where we were as a band and stuff.

MJP: We know that the album is set to release on the 2^nd of the September but you are also having an album release party on the 5^th. I am sure you are excited to finally get it out there and into the hands of your fans.

Phillip: Ya, we are very excited about that and it has been a long time coming.

MJP: It is interesting because your music has it’s own style. It has been dubbed Country Fried Rock n Roll, which is great and you bring a lot of energy and emotion to your songs. For someone who has never seen the Phillip Fox Band perform live, what can you tell them to expect?

Phillip: I mean a solid show, excellent musicianship, and we give a 110% every time we get up on stage. I mean we love what we do and that I think is more evident to people when we get up on stage. We are doing what we want to do, we are doing what we love to do, we are playing the music that we want to play. Having all those things align for a band just doesn’t happen very often so I think that people recognize that what they are seeing, is something that is very rare. I mean stylistically, we kind of blend this old country, southern rock with a modern twist to it. Again it is just something that they are just not going to see very often.

MJP: You mention that you bring a lot of energy to the stage. Do you have any preshow rituals before you hit the stage?

Phillip: Ha, Not anything that is not regular, aside from just getting on stage and getting comfortable up there. There is a lot of times where you have driven for like 6 hours, we have been working the whole time on the road while we are getting to the show and just taking the moment to clear your head and let everything else that happened for the day go away and forget about what is going to happen tomorrow. To really center in what is going to happen right now on the stage right now. The nights that we have the opportunity to do that, are I know, that we can feel the difference for sure.

MJP: The album, it not only rocks but you also bring great emotionally driven songs to the forefront, Can you tell us a little bit about the song, Don’t Forget Me?

Phillip: Ya, I wrote that song a few years ago. I had a buddy of mine was overseas, this was at the time, when a lot of guys that were in like the National Guard or had been staged stateside and then got sent over to the Middle East. And several different friends, one of them either he went overseas and within six months, he posted on Facebook that his wife and he were getting a divorce, another good friend of mine from College, she had two young kids with her husband, he went over and was killed, like in the first week from getting over there. So she was like immediately widowed with two babies. And it was just one of those moments where it was like, Man, I feel this story needs to be told. When I talked with some of my friends that were over there and I mean the biggest thing that they wanted, which was to not be forgotten. Because that was the hardest thing, you know they are so far away, the time shift is so different, it is expensive to call or to find the time to with family and with six months of that and it is easy to forget.

MJP: Beautiful track, very well written and truly one of my favorites. Then you have the rockin track of I’d be Running Too. That rocks. How about that one?

Phillip: We had a lead guitar player for a minute who always seemed to be getting himself in trouble and that song is loosely based off his antics.

MJP: Classic! I love it. Now this album was completely put together by yourselves and funded by a Kickstarter campaign. You guys took the bulls by the horn and did it your way with your awesome fans. How does that feel to have accomplished all that on your own and have the full control over the album process.

Phillip: You know, right now it is exhausting. (laughs) But when we get a chance to stop and think about it and know that we were able to put out a record that is 100% us. A record that if we were on a label, wouldn’t be able to be the same record. The song selection would probably have had to be a little different, we wouldn’t have been able to get as creative, I don’t think as we would with the song palette. A song like Nothing Worse than the Weak would not have been able to be on that record. SO knowing that we are able to put that out there and that our fans supported us and they wanted this music, ya, it is encouraging and it gives us hope, that maybe we can do this our way and make a go of it.

MJP: With the changes in the music industry within the last 15 years, what is something that you would like to see change?

Phillip: Well, I would love to be able to see artists express themselves in meaningful ways and not just record a song that they know is gonna sell. I mean, that doesn’t just go for like the big named Top 40 artists. A lot of guys we know, that are slinging it in the trenches with us on the road, they are facing those same challenges. DO I record this song that I really, it means a lot to me and I believe in or do I record this song that I did a co-write with these three dudes that are published down in Nashville, that I know might get more traction and might get me noticed. You know? I think the whole Kickstarter thing, particularly with our fans voting essentially with their money and saying, ‘No we want this music’. Some of them may or may not listen to the radio, I know we get a lot of our fans that are just fed up with everything they are fed from the media machines. And they want something that is real, something tangible, and that has some investment in it and that is a little risky. The fact that we are able to put that out, we feel very blessed to be able to do it.

MJP: Your fans also feel a part of the whole process and it includes them and they feel they are also keeping the spirit of music alive as well. Now, you guys have been busy touring. You have had a lot of shows this summer and are on tour right now, what has been the highlight for you so far on your tour?

Phillip: Man, that is a good questions. Headlining Bike Week was really sweet. Ya, there was a lot of energy there. We played on the Jaegermeister stage and it just grew. They were just solid. They had everything, it sounded good, it felt good, the lights were great. That was a great night. The Buckle UP Fest in Cincinnati was a really cool festival. Unfortunately, it rained almost the entire day we were there but you know seeing the people out in front of the stage with their umbrellas and stuff, that were there to see us, that was encouraging. It was awesome.

MJP: You have shows playing all the way to September. What do you have planned after that?

Phillip: So in October we go back to playing a lot of the clubs, the circuit in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. We are going to be down in Texas in early November, we are down in Houston and then from that point, we will see how the record is picking up and where that is hitting and hopefully that will open up some more markets for us.

MJP: We are hoping you come out to the West Coast and bring your energy to us.

Phillip: We would love to! Love to! Just gotta figure out how to drive across the country and make that happen.

MJP: We are looking forward to the album release on Sept 2^nd and lastly, is there anything you would like to share to our audience?

Phillip: You know I would say, Listen to the music, give it a song or two. We don’t, we are not one of those bands that say hey we are cool, or we are fashionable or sexy, so you will like our music. If you like the music, you will like the music. If you don’t like it, there is a lot of other music out there but I say if they listen to the first three tracks of the record and they don’t dig, at least they gave it a shot. But I am pretty sure they are gonna like what they hear.

MJP: I do too! That is a certainty. Thanks for talking with us here and have safe travels. Everyone stay tuned for Heartland set to release on September 2^nd.

Phillip: Thank you very much.

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So do yourself a favor, mark your calendars to pick up the new album, Heartland on September 2nd and check the following tour dates and see if the Phillip Fox Band will be coming to a venue near you. Make sure to visit their social media sites and stay connected to be up to date on their latest news.

~ Marisol

Tour Dates: