INTERVIEW WITH FOXY SHAZAM

Interview with Foxy Shazam in support of Introducing

PunkTV.ca: Hey there! So you guys are playing a show tonight, how do you go about preparing for your shows? What’s your daily routine like?

Uh, were just hanging out, taking it easy, drinking a lot of water. It’s good. And I’m starving so there should be food coming soon.

PunkTV.ca: Oh nice! Something to look forward to.

Yeah!

PunkTV.ca: You guys do a lot of improv onstage, where do you draw your inspiration from? How do you come up with all the stories and lines you through out there?

Uh, I don’t know it just comes to me. Sometimes I’ll say something onstage for the first time and I like it a lot, so I kind of put it in my inventory of things to say. Sometimes it comes off of the top of my head.

PunkTV.ca: But doesn’t it get difficult coming up with new things every night?

Not really, I mean, no not really, it just comes to me.

PunkTV.ca: Yeah, some people are more creative in that department, so you’re gifted!

Fuck yeah!

PunkTV.ca: There is so much energy in your live shows. Have you ever gotten injured? What’s the most outrages thing you have done onstage?

Um, let’s see. Usually I won’t feel anything during the show because of the adrenaline. But after the show or the next morning, your just like “Oh god, I feel all this pain in my knees and bunch of scrapes everywhere that I didn’t even know I had.

PunkTV.ca: Just completely injured and bruised up!

Yeah, it’s just kind of the name of the game. I’m so used to that being bruised, broken and sore is normal for me. We have a long time off on tour, but it’s weird for me not to feel sore.

PunkTV.ca: Basically, you can just recoup after. Your lyrics are very different, they contain a lot of humor and can be quite strange. When you write lyrics, do you intend for them to come out humorously or does it just come naturally?

Uh, I don’t really like to be funny at all. There some humor there, but it’s just a character. I’m not making jokes, it’s just funny that I would create something like that, you know. But there are some people that are humorous to look at or listen to talk. But they’re not making jokes, they are just funny people.

PunkTV.ca: It’s pretty much like, you don’t try, it just comes out naturally. How did you decide what the band was going to sound like, and when did you decide that the band was going to be so funky and different? Has it been challenging being such a unique band?

Um, I never really decided, and I still haven’t really decided what we sound like, we just do what we do. We have this rule, where I said, “Nothing is really cool.” Like, a lot of bands are trying to stick to what’s cool. With us it’s like, nothing is going to be thought of as cool until we make it cool. We’re writing our music and we try not to get caught up in things that are already cool.

PunkTV.ca: Kind of start this whole movement in a way. Because if no one does that, it becomes this sort of assembly line.

It’s boring if it’s the same.

PunkTV.ca: Popular media and radio attention requires this sort of cookie cutter kind of band, where there is a lack of uniqueness. Does it bother you that you guys haven’t gotten the media attention in which you deserve? How important is radio play for this band?

Yeah being a unique band has kind of been difficult, getting on tour has been hard sometimes. Just right of the bat, we’re turned away.

PunkTV.ca: You have to be open minded to understand your sound. But in the end, you’ll have a great audience.

Yeah, in the end, I don’t care who it is, as long as they like it.

PunkTV.ca: Do you ever worry about writing lyrics that offends your audience? How much of self censoring, if any, do you do during the writing process?

Well, I don’t like to cuss, and I definitely don’t like to offend anybody. Sometimes I’ll say stuff that….I don’t know, might be dangerous to say or something. I never want to offend anyone intentionally.

PunkTV.ca: You know where to draw the line. What do you do on tour to keep yourselves entertained, as I am sure it can get tiring at times.

We have a Nintendo 64 and a TV, a lot of us like to read, movies. We sleep a lot. Every tour we are on the bands are so awesome, so we like to kickback and hang with them.

PunkTV.ca: Where do you see yourselves in the next 5 years? What lies ahead for you guys?

It’s my dream to go down in history and someone will remember what we are doing. I won’t die until we do that. Hopefully in the next 5 years we are ahead of where we are now. Make a mark in ancient history.

PunkTV.ca: Yeah, to make a mark in history and make a difference and have a following. That’s a great goal to have.

Yeah, we tend to get bigger every year.

PunkTV.ca: Is that because of touring or putting out more videos…?

Yeah, it’s touring and we are putting out new material, we don’t have anything planned. We’re just writing. We are always on tour, and do what’s best for the band.

PunkTV.ca: We have two questions that PunkTV.ca asks all of our interviewees:

First, which of the following have you experienced, have you seen the face of god, Seen a ghost or had an alien encounter?

Um, let’s see. I don’t know. I’ve never seen a ghost, but I’ve heard a ghost. I don’t want to talk about it though.

PunkTV.ca: Ha! Too creepy to even talk about?

Yeah! I won’t be able to sleep tonight.

PunkTV.ca: Last, what would surprise kids most to learn about you or Foxy Shazam?

I don’t know.

Probably that we are just regular guys. People see what we do and they’re like ‘ I want to meet him, he’s crazy, blah blah blah’ or whatever strange impression you get from us. We are nothing like what we are onstage. I think the 5 performers are the Mr. Hyde of us.

PunkTV.ca: That’s great that you guys can get into character like that because it makes your live shows amazing.

PunkTV.ca: Alrighty that’s all I have! I wish you guys the best of luck tonight and I will see you soon!

PunkTV.ca: Thanks! Bye!