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Foxy McCoy
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When someone says they want to be a fire truck when they grow up, you know you're in for a different kind of experience. When this someone is Bebhin Blank, lead singer/guitarist/vice president ("I took the role of vice president because I didn't want to be in charge")/legal adult of Foxy McCoy, you tend to let such transmogrification ambitions slide, as Blank looks like she might kick your ass or at least make sarcastic remarks until you slink away.
Formed in July 2000 with a large number of members (10 to be exact, including a flutist and a trumpet player), the band, through a "systematic sloughing off of extra members," has arrived at the current lineup of Blank, Peter Underhill (guitar), Troy Davis (bass/backing vocals/president) and Dan Baechle (drums). They've gone from a seeming surplus of members to almost a shortage, as Underhill is just filling in on guitar until a more permanent member can be found.
"That's pretty much how the band formed -- it's been kind of haphazard," Blank says. "It's been a hodgepodge, but it's been a fun hodgepodge."
Sometimes members have lost the band's own lyrics in the stew. "One of (former member Patrick Gainer's) songs went, 'You don't know that I'm leaving you yet' ... that was the chorus," Davis recounts, "and (Baechle) thought it was, 'You don't know that I'm even here yet' for about a year. I was trying to figure that out -- what does that mean? You're here, but you're not here yet? I don't get it!"
"Our new band requirement is: You must be able to hear at least two-thirds of the audio spectrum," jokes Blank.
Their approach to personnel carries over to their music too, as they're able to take a wide range of influences (such as Davis' interests in Indian music for instance) and work them into the band's sound in a subtle and unique fashion. That's how they wound up in their own self-titled genre, Mutt Rock.
"When we tried to describe our music when the last disc (2002's Is Your Monkey Dancing?) came out, people asked us, 'What genre are you in? Is it like Blues Rock? Is it like '70s Rock? Is it Mod Rock? What is it?' " Davis says. "And I kept saying, 'It's got a little bit of Jazz, it's got a little bit of Blues, it's definitely got Rock and it's definitely got World Beat in there.' It's a hodgepodge."
I'd upgrade the sound to mélange (although that might be splitting semantic hairs), but there's a difference between a bowl of stew at a diner and bouillabaisse at a gourmet restaurant. The Foxys make a dish somewhere in between with their music, a goulash that fills your stomach while subtle herbs tantalize your taste buds. Nothing fancy (as Foxy McCoy is anything but pretentious) but nothing run-of-the-mill either -- like playing Chuck Berry riffs in an Arabian bazaar.
And then there's Blank's voice. Gutsy, seductive, playful and definitely self-assured, it's like a folk remedy for a cold: bourbon and honey filtered through silk, applied liberally and as necessary. She's Calamity Jane with musical chops.
As far as long-term goals, Davis sees music in general bending more toward Foxy's loopily erudite and diverse take on the art form. He sees the blending of different musical elements from different cultures as the logical destination of music, and he can't wait for that to happen.
"The record companies won't know what to do with this new music," he says. "They won't be able to pigeonhole these emerging genres. And when that happens, the big record companies won't be needed anymore."
And, true to their casually contrary form, the band gets some pretty odd compliments. "We did a tour of Borders book stores a while ago," says Blank, "and at one point, someone stole one of our CDs. And we were like, 'Yes! Somebody cares!' "
Considering that Is Your Monkey Dancing? is available for download in its entirety on their Web site for free, the larceny is even more flattering.
FOXY MCCOY plays the Chicks RockFest festival Saturday in the Southgate House Parlour. Find more info at foxymccoy.com.
