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MAY 2006
In April, Foxtrot returned to public performance with our
new lead singer and a larger repertoire. This gig was an
all-Gabriel show. Three hours of material from Nursery Cryme,
Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound and The Lamb Lies Down
On Broadway, including classic pieces like Supper’s Ready,
The Battle of Epping Forest, The Musical Box, and Cinema
Show as well as more rarely played songs like Harold the
Barrel and Chamber of 32 Doors.
Future gigs will include early Collins-era material from the
Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering albums as well as
older songs like Fountain of Salmacis, Seven Stones and
Stagnation. As has been our goal from the beginning, Foxtrot
will continue to expand our repertoire so that each time you
come to see us, you will hear new material!
The varied musical interests of the band members have led us
to a unique idea, which, as far as I know, has not been
explored by other tribute bands: a pre-show performance of a
classic piece of music by another great prog band like: King
Crimson, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd, Yes, UK, etc. This by no
means implies a movement away from our dedication to the
music of Genesis, rather merely a bit of fun for the band
and a treat for those of you who arrive early for a show.
This deviation from what has been the “norm” for tribute
bands leads us to a topic which is obvious to those who have
seen our performances: Foxtrot is not, and has never been
concerned with the “theatrical’ side of Genesis. Our
“tribute” to Genesis is first and foremost this: a faithful,
note-perfect, accurately reproduced, ‘living’ performance of
their music. We are not concerned with flower masks, bat
wings, sitting or standing to perform as dictated by
tradition or in acting like or “becoming” our musical
counterparts. This is not to say that we are against this
approach. Certainly the performances of bands like The
Musical Box are a real treat for the eye as well as the ear
and we applaud what they have done in the area of historical
reproduction. In fact, it could be argued that any attempt
by another band to do the same could only pale in
comparison! That being said, we hope that Foxtrot will be
seen, not as a reproduction but as a new look at a unique
body of music which should be played by as many musicians as
possible, the world over, much the same as ‘standards’ are
played by jazz musicians. We believe that the quality of the
music demands that it not remain a cultural phenomenon that
disappears with it’s generation but continues to be kept
alive in public performance.
NEWS ARCHIVE
Foxtrot is glad to announce
that they have found their new lead singer. Brian Caufield
has joined the ranks and the band is now busy rehearsing for
upcoming gigs. We thank all the talented singers who came
out to audition. (Some from very far away!) Please
check back for new demos, info and upcoming gigs!
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Having started the band by diving in and tackling that monster
known as The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, we then started working
back through the music of Selling England By The Pound, Nursery
Cryme, and of course our namesake Foxtrot. View
SONGLIST
It remains to
go further back and further forward.
Foxtrot found their lead singer only recently and are busy
rehearsing the material that had been explored as an instrumental
four piece.
UPDATE!
The demos on the Sounds
page were recorded and mixed rather hurriedly back in March at
Crystal Studios. They were recorded live by the band in one or two
takes and are posted here warts and all.
Thanks to all who attended the shows at "The Alley" and
"Orphan Annie’s" and for the kind words and support.
Needless to say the theatrical side of Foxtrot will have to wait
until we play larger venues. At this point it’s been very
difficult for the band to squeeze a lot of gear into a very small
space. The light show will of course grow from our modest start at
Orphan Annie’s but thoughts within the band are steering away
from the usual mask and costume replication as presented by The
Musical Box (not to take anything away from those fine gents who
put a lot of work into their recreations of Genesis tours). Video
and slide projection are a strong possibility, although again not
an attempt to recreate but instead a stab at our own
interpretation. In some cases materials have already been shot.
(If someone out there has expertise in this area and would like to
work with us, please contact
us.)
The Shows page has been updated with new
gig listings. Please note that the July 2nd gig in Suffern, NY is
a double bill with The Wall (Pink Floyd tribute) and will not be
our usual 3 set show. Our return to that venue in September will
be a full show.
The Sounds page now has a photo slide
show. See some of our recent photos while listening to our
demos and sound clips.
Thanks to all who have posted to the Forum
page and have emailed us directly with questions, thoughts on
repertoire, and kind words about the band. We hope that the forum
will continue to grow as a place to discuss not just Foxtrot but
all things GENESIS. Many of you have set up usernames but did not
post. We encourage you to post something so we can get to know
you. So far we have enjoyed meeting in person those we only knew
from the web although it’s been tough to find the time to chat
at gigs. Hopefully this will change and we encourage you to
introduce yourselves at the shows.
Rehearsals have begun on Suppers Ready as well as some surprises
that will work their way into the live set very soon.
Added 7/5/04.
Thanks so much to Scott Gelfand for filling in for the injured Jim
Jeffries on the June 25th gig at Orphan Annie's. It is a testament
to his talent and musicality that he was able to step in on very
short notice and save us from a possible cancellation.
News
Page Update:
August, 2004
A
long overdue thank you to Jim Zipf, our sound man, for his
invaluable assistance, equipment repair, moral support and
“sound” advice.
Thanks
also to Monika Kwiatkowska, our lighting girl, for her help,
support and dedication.
The
band has now moved into a period of increased activity and will
hopefully expand our playing area to include more southern
locations. We expect to finally get into Manhattan and
Philadelphia once we have developed our theatrical ideas.
Our
first outdoor gig in South Bound Brook, NJ went without a hitch,
despite the threat of rain. We have two more outdoor gigs coming
up. On Sept. 12th we will be in New City, New York
sharing the bill with other bands as part of the New City
Festival. The time is 12:00 to 6:00 and we’ll be playing at
least a one hour set, much like Genesis did in their early days.
This will be broadcast on a local cable channel. We hope that you
can come out and enjoy the day with us.
On
Sept. 19th , we will be in Chester, NJ, again outdoors,
providing music for the 3rd Annual Fall Crusin’ Car
Show. We’ll be playing a full show there (at least three sets).
Again, we hope that you can come out and join us for a fun
afternoon. Check the Shows Page for times and details on both of
these gigs.
We
are constantly trying to expand our repertoire and those of you
who have been attending regularly have probably noticed that we
try to have some new pieces each time we play. Of course, as
we’ve added repertoire, we’ve dropped a good portion of The
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which we did in it’s entirety for
our first few shows. We will be playing the whole Lamb again on
Sept. 17th at Ramapo Valley Brewery in Suffern, NY,(see
Shows Page), and will occasionally feature it at other shows.
The
size of the stages we have been playing on, and the amount of gear
we need to present the music the way we want, has so far prevented
us from featuring some of the music built around the classical and
12-string guitar. Although our shows now regularly include
Supper’s Ready, Can-Utility and The Coastliners and Fly On A
Windshield, other pieces such as Blood on the Rooftops, Horizons,
Unquiet Slumbers… and Entangled may need to wait until we play
larger venues.
Aside
from the sheer joy of playing this music, the other great thrill
for us is meeting so many nice people at our shows. The
enthusiastic support and kind words have been overwhelming and we
thank you all.
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