Foxtide on Their New Alternative-Garage Rock Single “Hold On”
Photo by James Varela
To introduce their new era of music, Foxtide ushers in a new alternative sound with their first single release of the year. Fronted by Elijah Gibbins-Croft, and a newly developed line-up of bandmates including Oey James, Dom Friedly and Ian Robles, - Foxtide grew their sound on the sandy shores of the SoCal beaches and have slowly been inching closer into the garage rock scene. It’s a style that Elijah had always wanted to make, and with “Hold On” now out in the world, we’re so happy that they weren’t afraid to experiment with their sound. Foxtide have a strong following in the SoCal music scene, especially within their energetic and memorable live gigs.
On August 26th, Foxtide will be joining Lucys, Beach Clinic and Kelo for a show in Los Angeles’ The Echo!
[UNPUBLISHED]: How did you all meet and form Foxtide?
[ELIJAH]: Yeah, so I began Foxtide as a musical outlet just for myself. I started it in high school and since then we’ve changed around members who have always been my really good friends. It’s nice always being friends with musicians! So, the new evolution of it is just some more of my friends, and we’ve all become really close since they joined. The new lineup has only been around for about a year and a half. But we’re really hitting it off and have been writing a bunch of songs, so I’m super excited.
[UNPUBLISHED]: As this is your first single off your third upcoming EP, how do you feel “Hold On” represents you as a band now as it stands as the introductory track of this new era?
[ELIJAH]: I think it’s exactly that. It just kind of opens a new door that we haven’t opened before. We kind of leaned more into a surf-rock, jazz influence with less actual rock and more indie, - but I think “Hold On” is a lot more rock with a heavier grittiness that we hadn’t had prior.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Can you give us a rundown on what “Hold On” is all about?
[ELIJAH]: Yeah, this song kind of flip flops from the verses like an internal dialogue. So the whole verse is like this person talking to himself through his stories. The first verse is a lot of self doubt that the narrative is going through, and then the core is basically about forgiveness. The verses explain these shortcomings or whatever, but then the chorus is like ‘hold on, sorry, can you forgive me?’. And yeah, it does that in a Strokes, rock-2000s, sort of way.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the production and songwriting process like for “Hold On”?
[ELIJAH]: In the past, it was often just me doing a lot of writing for the lyrics and everything. This one was a very hands-on approach from everybody in the band. Even the drummer on the track offered a lot with just the rhythms that we put on it. We all wrote the lyrics together and brought in parts for the verses and chorus. So yeah, it was really nice having that experience with them.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How has living in Southern California inspired your music? Are there any artists that have influenced your sound specifically?
[ELIJAH]: It definitely influences the easy, laid-back kind of approach in that sound. There’s this band called Mrs. Magician that was actually a local band, and they were awesome. As a kid, I loved them! Just living by the ocean and having that culture around definitely influenced that reverb style.
Photo by James Varela
[UNPUBLISHED]: I’ve seen some clips from your live performances and you all look like you’re having a blast, so I absolutely need to see you play live. What’s the most memorable gig you’ve played thus far?
[ELIJAH]: Yeah, there’s definitely been a few where we get pretty rowdy! We headlined this spot called Soma in our hometown, San Diego, we sold it out and it was really cool because we went to see all of our favourite bands there. So, that was a really nice landmark. Earlier in the career of Foxtide, we played a show with The Backseat Lovers, which is probably the coolest band that we played with. So that was dope, they were super nice guys. It was actually while I was still in high school for a senior project.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How has the transition from making more jazzy, beach, surf tones in music to producing a single that has more of an alternative, 2000s, DIY type sound. Has this style been something that you had always wanted to create?
[ELIJAH]: Yeah, I grew up loving The Strokes and that classic rock sound. So, I feel like the new style is taking from those more so than our music in the past. I think it’s just incorporating a lot more of my influences. It sounds kind of weird to say, but I feel like the old stuff didn’t but now it is.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Is this early 2000s garage rock sound going to be a continuing style throughout the rest of the EP or have you played with some more experimentation in styles?
[ELIJAH]: I’ve stayed in the realm with some experimentation but it’s hard to pinpoint. I like to write songs that are totally different from the next and have fun with it. So yeah, I guess I’ll have to let [the listeners] be the judge of that.
[UNPUBLISHED]: With a few live shows coming up in August, what can listeners expect to see from you in the next couple of months in regards to future releases?
[ELIJAH]: Yeah, there’s gonna be another version of “Hold On” coming out actually. Then after that, we got another single coming hopefully at the end of August. We’re getting more on a steady track I’d say.
