Stopover Spotlight… Faux Ferocious

Faux Ferocious plays Thursday March 10th at The Jinx // 10pm

Faux Ferocious, out of Nashville, Tennessee, plays rock and roll that relies on tension and its release. Anchored by the motorik beats of drummer Reid Cummings, their songs are slick and sharp that, at moments, barely stray away from the simplest punk beat but then suddenly turn on a dime, taking the breath right out of you. The two frontmen often sing simultaneously in a deranged yet monotonic manner, as if the devil and angel on your shoulder are now pitted against you, whispering about encounters with ghost towns and bemoaning the bullshit of dead end jobs.

The vocalists, Jonathon Phillips and Terry Kane, are also the guitar players, trading off fuzzy chords and dissonant licks. The band is touring in support off their latest record, Blues Legends, a DIY effort in recording which makes their trademark garage rock and glam fuzz moments sound all the more vintage. If you’ve never seen Faux Ferocious live, they are a can’t miss act at this year’s Stopover.I asked the guys a couple of questions, answers below.

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How would you describe your music?

A train chugging alone down a track in the middle of a hellscape.  


How would you describe your music only using nouns?

Garage psych punk

 

What’s the best song you’ve heard recently?

ECSTATIC VISION – Astral Plane

 

If you could have pet outside the normal dog/cat norm, what would it be?

Iguana, Donkey, Raptor

 

You’ve been a band for over 4 years to my knowledge… what was your first show like?

Our first show was at a place called THE SPACE.  Everyone sat on the floor.  No one seemed to like us.  We didn’t really mesh well with the other bands.  By gosh we were nervous.

 

How has your songwriting developed over the years?

We have been a band for a little while now and with that we have developed a way of writing songs that has become more comfortable and more organic than when we first started.  We have maintained the same DIY format of the recording process but we have just evolved with an understanding on how to do so.  The way we write now slows us to groove and understand each other in a way we didn’t before.

 

What were some records that inspired your new one, Blues Legends?

Blues Legends was recorded over a period of time so we wouldn’t know for certain.  We are all big Lou Reed and Neil Young fans.

 

It seems like you guys pull your glam-ier lead guitar moments from Marc Bolan. “Beaumont” has that Sabbath moment. But on songs like “Feeding Frenzy”, you become… a motorik garage machine; where does that come from?

We listen to a lot of various types of music.  A lot of our influences can be drawn from kraut rock hence a more motorik garage machine of a song.  We are also all big Black Sabbath fans and did want to write a rocking song in the Sabbath style of heaviness.  We have been compared to The Damned meets Hawkwind and I believe those two songs in particular can reflect so.

 

Weirdest place in the South

Kirstie Alley’s Davve Grohl Grill which can be found in Nashville, TN

 

When Dj-ing the ole iHome at a party… song you know won’t let you down

Miley Cyrus – “Party in the USA”

Bruce Springsteen – “Born in the USA”

Beach Boys – “Surfing USA”

 

Best hangover cure

Grandpa Harrison’s TN hangover cure: 3 raw eggs, 1 cup apple cider vinager,  1 ounce vodka/gin (preferred TAKA),  1 banana,  1 Apple, 1 BC powder,  1 teaspoon peanut oil, dash of salt and pepper. .combine all ingredients in a blender fill to top with boiling water.  Blend on high till smooth and chug.  If needed repeat

 

Favorite jam band (jam being a very broad term)

Grateful dead, sun o)),

 

Is your drummer a robot? If not, what does his diet consist of?

He is a robot.  We chant his name at night.  The repetition of hearing “Reid” in unison gives him energy so he can guard us while we sleep.

 

What would be your dream bill?

Velvet Underground and Neil Young

 

Hidden talents?

We can form a human pyramid in under 5 min