On The Verge

The Stone Foxes

Photo by Mike Rosati

San Francisco, Calif.
Pure, Tonal Bliss
www.thestonefoxes.com

Channeling Southern rock, traditional blues and Jimmy Page guitar heroics, The Stone Foxes disguises Californian roots behind a dense layer of rugged riffs and elusive tales such as poisoning Robert Johnson and stealing from passenger trains. “Some fans even say that [lead singer] Shannon Koehler has a Southern accent!” laughs guitarist Spence Koehler who explains the band’s unlikely affinity to the blues. “You just hear raw vocal tone, how the guy’s picking at the guitar and there’s something true and honest about hearing those pure tones,” he says. “We translate that into a full band setting and when you’ve got four guys slamming down on the same notes, you can get some heavy sounds.” The band’s unique method of writing songs during live performances is largely responsible for the music’s organic energy and pulse, as well as its crowd-engaging, charismatic nature. “Most of the songs we played just long enough ‘til we felt like [they] had matured and hit a really solid state,” says Koehler of the quartet’s self-produced, sophomore album Bears & Bulls, while emphasizing that even after a song is recorded, it’s perpetually evolving. “It keeps things interesting for both the band and audiences.”