INTERVIEW: PHOX

1)      What do you want people to hear most when they hear your music?

I would hope people find some reflection of themselves. We try to keep the song fresh on the page. Once the paint dries, we're done. And that can be a very achievable process for a lot of artists, since the tendency for a lot of us is to belabor ideas and siphon all the life out of them. Of course there are details that you will always want to refine, but 

2)      Having music on Band Camp, along with other such platforms in music right now such as Sound Cloud, Spotify and others, do you feel that music is moving into a virtual age?  Personally, I fully support the idea of downloading songs for free from Band Camp and then if I like them buying them on vinyl.

Of course it is moving into the digital age. Information finds the path of least resistance. We don't use parchment anymore, save for faux-nostalgists. 

3)      How important of a factor do you feel that record labels play in music these days when pretty much anyone can put their music on the internet as opposed to having to hand out demo tapes at shows, the distribution record labels can offer, etc.   It just seems like it’s a bit easier these days to succeed as a band- and even build up a strong fan base- before a label possibly comes calling for you.

4AD, Asthmatic Kitty, Nonesuch, and Sergeant House are great examples of labels that house like-minded, but stylistically disparate artists. So even if the times say labels are on the way out, those would still be great clubs to play for. Of course, we can do a lot ourselves, but you can't just say, well the internet exists, so I can disappear from the real world. Playing shows and making face to face connections have been and will likely remain the best way to spread music. Even amidst all the easy streaming and torrenting, I still find myself discovering 90% of my music through friends and subsequently shows that they bring me to.

4)      If you could tour with any single band or musician who would you pick and why?

Sufjan Stevens. I wanna know how they tour with all the costumes.

5)      Who is your favorite New Kid on the Block?

Was Johnny Drama one? He seems like a real hustler.

6)      Who would win in a musical fight: Jack Black or Jack White?

I think PHOX roots for Jack Black, because he's more or less the next generation Weird Al. 

http://phoxband.bandcamp.com/