The Fox Sisters is featuring a group of friends, all veterans of the Rochester NY music scene who got together for kicks and immediately sparks flew! Before long they were known as the Flower City’s premier party starters and the go to band for night clubs, dances and backyard BBQ’s.
The Fox Sisters return this year with a new full-length album, "Bust Out!". Twelve original tracks recorded at the Subterranean Studios. First single served up is "The Song I Sing", with video directed by Austin Lake.
The Fox Sisters are a six piece Rock’n’Roll band heavily influenced by American rhythm & blues music of the 1960’s. We are from Rochester, New York (USA) and have been a band since 2012, so about 8 years at this point. Band members are Patrick McNally vocals, Jimmy Filingeri bass, Brian Shafer drums, Mark Bradley sax, Phil Marshall guitar and Joe Bushen piano. This is Jimmy answering the questions by the way.
2) About the latest full length record "Bust Out", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
Bust Out was recorded almost entirely live with only a few overdubs of backing vocals. We recorded in the Subterranean Studio which is the basement studio of Chris “The Squire” Zajkowski. Chris recorded, produced, engineered and mixed the entire album. We consider him our 7th sister. Chris has been creating pop masterpieces under the name The Squires of the Subterranean for decades and you should definitely check out his records.
3) Do you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you guys only work with analog machines in analog studios?
Bust Out was recorded and mixed on analog tape. We have recorded by both digital and analog means in the past, it usually depends on who we are working with and the type of equipment they have. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Honestly, we care more about WHO we are working with than how they are recording us. When I hear music I’ve made in the past the dynamic that is most apparent to me is people that were involved.
4) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
Patrick writes most of the songs and I write some songs as well. That said, all of the songs are full band collaborations. The songs are skeletons when they are introduced but it’s not until the band adds their blood, guts and muscle that they are show ready.
5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
Love, love, love and loving life. The flip side of those topics are abundant in the daily grind, who needs to hear any more about that? The Fox Sisters are here to spread love and happiness. Not in a hippy way. In a loud, dance ’til you drop and smile until your face hurts way.
6) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers and does it still influence your today work? What were your 3 favorite bands as a teenager?
As a teen probably The Rolling Stones, The Replacements & Cheap Trick. The Rolling Stones are definitely a life long influence. With the Fox Sisters, the way the Stones took their influences and made it into something of their own is most significant. I also think our sax player Mark has a style similar to the Stones long time sax man Bobby Keys. In other words, a very Rock’n’Roll sound the suits us well.
7) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the LP?
We have a couple of videos from the new album. The video for “The Song I Sing” was done by Austin Lake who makes amazing music under the name Aweful Kanawful as well as with The Televisionaries (a band that includes his talented brothers Trevor & Brendan). Austin also makes his own music videos and is finishing up a feature length film that several of The Fox Sisters play characters in.
There is a video for “RunRabbit Run” that Jimmy made and Patrick is working on a video for “If You Only Knew”.
8) What can concert goers expect at a Fox Sisters concert? Are you playing any famous cover songs during the gig?
People can expect dancing, sweat, and revelry bordering on a rampage. We try to put on a high energy show and we like to leave the audience exhausted but wanting more. We don’t do many covers but one song we have done recently is “Right Hand Man” by Bobby Comstock (famous for his song “Let’s Stomp!”) Bobby grew up not far from Rochester in Ithaca NY. We also recorded a cover of the song “Sweet Mary” by Wadsworth Mansion that is available on our website and Spotify. “Sweet Mary” did go to number 2 on the charts in 1970 but is still a fairly obscure number to most people. It’s a real gem of a song and I think we did it justice.
9) Are there any bands in The USA today you consider yourself close to, musically speaking?
I would say our most obvious contemporary influences are The Fleshtones and Barrence Whitfield and The Savages. World class! Really the best of the best. Patrick and I also received an invaluable education from a local band called The Essentials, later known as The Salamanders. They showed us that hometown bands were capable of making amazing Rock’n’Roll. Greg and Todd of The Essentials went on to become The Hi-Risers. Mark of The Essentials is now a Fox Sister and the Essentials drummer Chris is The Squire, who produced Bust Out! We also have a great Rock’n’Roll scene here in Rochester. We love to play with and are inspired by our friends The Televisionaries (Hi-Tide Recordings), Aweful Kanawful, Harmonica Lewinski, Dangerbyrd and many more.
10) How would You describe the music you're playing?
In the simplest terms, it’s Rock’n’Roll music. We are inspired by black rhythm & blues and soul music of the 50’s and 60’s. We are influenced by high energy Rock’n’Roll bands, R&B inspired garage and frat bands and blue eyed soul primarily from the 60’s but right up to the modern day. We do not attempt to capture the look or even the sound of the era we take influence from. What we hope to achieve is the aesthetic and the energy of the music we love. Those are elements we can define ourselves as they don’t belong to any one era.
11) What are the plans for the rest of 2020 as far as Fox Sisters is concerned?
We will continue to promote our album as best we can under the current circumstances. We are still writing songs and rehearsing and hoping for a better 2021. Once the coast is clear we plan to play more shows in as many places as we can manage.
12) Anything you wanna add?
If you made it this far in the interview we hope you are interested enough to give our music a listen. If you like what you hear please tell your friends about The Fox Sisters. Our music is available on Bandcamp & Spotify. Our records are distributed by Get Hip in the US and FOLC Records in Europe. Thank you for your time!
PURCHASE Bust Out! HERE: https://thefoxsisters.bandcamp.com/album/bust-out
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