09 Re-Start by JJL

Like A Fox cover The Grateful Dead's "Cosmic Charlie"

Cosmic Charlie by JJL

Limited Edition Vinyl Single Now Available

In the next few weeks, you will be able to get hold of a very limited edition vinyl single from Like A Fox.

Following the debut album, Pronoia will be releasing a special pressing of 'A Little' on black 7" vinyl. Including 'You Will Burn' and 'Long Haul', two previously unreleased b-sides, this will be available soon from the Pronoia Records shop page.

The release will also be available as a digital download but don't miss your chance to own a copy of the single as we won't be pressing any more once we're sold out.

7 out of 10 ain't that bad.....

The Philadelphia Inquirer put out their best of 2008 deal. We scored #7 (out of ten) of the best local releases!

Click here to see who beat us out.....

First/Last with Jay

(image and content courtesy of Make Major Moves)

Philadelphia quintet Like a Fox opened the Mercury Rev/Dean & Britta show the other night at the Trocadero, and put on a fine display of psych-rock noise and loveliness. As PW’s Doug Wallen noted of the band — which features former members of the acclaimed, long-running local outfit Lenola — in his column last month: “It’s clear Like a Fox pack a lot of mood shifts. Their second album [Where’s My Golden Arm?] continues that way, spiking poppy sentiments with cosmic effects in a manner recalling the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev.” Indeed. This week, Like a Fox main man Jay Laughlin helps us launch our inaugural “First/Last” column…

First/Last…album you bought?

Jay Laughlin: KISS Dynasty/Neil Young Sugar Mountain Live

First/Last…concert you saw?

JL: KISS Dynasty Tour/Nada Surf

First/Last…alcoholic drink you consumed?

JL: Old Milwaukee/Box white wine

First/Last…movie you saw in the theater?

JL: I think it was Jason and the Argonauts/Borat

First/Last…time you wrote a song?

JL: “Cardboard Box” for my old punk band Pointless a long, long time ago/”Rear View Review,” last night

First/Last…book you read?

JL: The Outsiders/Slash

First/Last…venue your band has played?

JL: Club Pizzaz/Trocadero

First/Last…celebrity you had a crush on?

JL: “Ginger” from Gilligan’s Island/We played with Dean & Britta a few days ago and Britta was pretty hot in person

First/Last…advice you got about making music?

JL: “Do it yourself”/”If you wanna make money don’t play music”

First/Last…goal you had regarding making music?

JL: To release my music on a 7-inch/To keep being able to release my music

Troc show pics.

these photos were taken by photographer Eli Savage... enjoy...



















this is Eli the 10 year old photog... thats right 10 pretty good huh? thanks Eli!!!

Here's a nice write-up from the home land!

The Philly Weekly.....Click it!

"IndiePulse" Interview

Q&A with Like A Fox

Philadelphia's Like A Fox recently released it's second record entitled "Where's My Golden Arm?". You might remember a couple of members from the 90s band Lenola. These days, Like A Fox is crafting an enjoyable blend of classic rock and electro-prog-pop styles thoughout the album. Jay Laughlin is the band's songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He recently took some time to tell us about the band and project. Thanks, Jay!

Your music has been described as modern psych pop or pro-pop. How do you describe your band’s style and approach to making music?-

I dig psychedelic music and I dig “modern sounds” I suppose…The mixture of weird effects and a bit of electronics along with a solid song is a good mix to my ear, but I start every song with an acoustic guitar and my voice. If I can’t play the song with those two elements and still have a good song I scrap it.

Do you have a particular musical philosophy? -

No matter how overboard you go with production you should be able to get up on stage and play the song with a guitar/piano and your voice and still have a solid song. Otherwise it’s just smoke and mirrors…no songs. Like a house without a foundation. Looks good from the outside, but once inside you realize the first stiff wind will blow the whole deal to the ground.

Growing up, did you want to be a musician?-

Yes. I saw Kiss when I was kindergarten….No shit! The last tour (Dynasty) before they took off the make-up. I was hooked. Then my older brother got a drum set for x-mas a few years later, played it for a bit it and gave it up. I claimed the kit as my own a few years later and it’s been all down hill ever since.

Did you come from a musical family? -

Yes and no. My parents only listened to talk radio in the house, but my two older brothers were big into music so I did have that going for me. My grandfather on my fathers side was a jazz drummer way back, but I never knew him as he passed when my father was a child. He’s the only other musician I know of in my families past.

You guys are from Philadelphia. Do you have a favorite local place to play shows?-

Johnny Brendas is the best smaller venue in Philly for sure. They get a ton a of great touring bands along with the best of the local bands in Philly. That’s the best place hands down.

The album is called “Where’s My Golden Arm”. Why?
-

It’s a quote from an old ghost story called “The Golden Arm” that I used to listen to with my old friend Skip when we were just kids. He passed a few years ago and I just think it brings back the good memories of what we had and it also ties into the movie ‘The Man With A Golden Arm” about a musician with a Heroin addiction….drug addiction has taken some dear friends away from me. Good times vs. Bad times. That’s what the album is about.

How have people been reacting to it so far?
-

We’ve had only three reviews come through so far as the album hasn’t seen it’s official (Oct. 28th) release, but the three bits of press have been very positive so far even though I’m not really sure what they’re getting at most of the time.

What was the overall tone you were going for on this record?-

As I said about the title of the album above, I’ve been through some shit times with losing some of my oldest/best friends in the past couple of years so the tone I was going for was the sound of someone being so down in the shit about what’s going on around them and finding that all the good memories and times you were lucky enough to spend with the people that have passed can pull you back up you know? Keeping the good stuff alive through your experiences and memories.



Why did you do your recording at Brown Bear Cavern Studios?

-It was the studio we built to make the record. We didn’t have a big budget so we decided to put the money we did have into building a proper studio so we can make more than just one album in a “real/pay by the hour” studio. Now we’re set up to keep recording nice sounding songs all the time.


What was the most challenging part of this project?

-Deciding when it was “finished”. We don’t work in the normal way of a “band” getting in a room all together and recording live. We track each instrument/part one at a time and really take our time on each specific sound. This can cause for way to much fucking around and not really knowing when to call it a day on certain songs, but I enjoy doing it that way, it just takes a bit more time than the normal way of doing things.

Do you use any specific instruments in the studio?
-

Any and everything we can get our hands on.

What do you think of the new records you have heard so far this year?
-

I love the new MGMT, not sure if it was released this year, but I think it’s a fucking great album. The new Spiritualized is amazing too. M83 recorded a nice album…great for some late night listening.

Have you noticed any trends in the work?


-Well I love music that doesn’t reveal everything it has to offer on the first listen you know? I love hearing new stuff after repeated plays of an album. The first spin gives you enough to want to spin it again and every listen after that the puzzle starts to take shape until you just can’t stop playing it. I’ve always thought that an album that you think is amazing on the first spin will get old quick. It’s the albums that keep on giving you more discoveries after repeated listens that are the most rewarding.

Anything else you would like us to know?


-Go here to read and view all about the making of “Where’s My Golden arm?”: www.likeafoxtheband.blogspot.com

Click away!

Spin checks in on "WMGA".....

Like a Fox, "Where’s My Golden Arm?" (RedEye) ** 1/2
"The Man With the Golden Arm" was a groundbreaking 1955 movie staring Frank Sinatra as an ex-con trying to shake a heroin addiction.
That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw the title of Like a Fox’s sophomore disc. It had been described as a psychedelic album.
So in I went looking for some dark, drug-induced music — the type that often toes the line between genius (Velvet Underground) and the godawful (Brian Jonestown Massacre).
To my surprise, "Where’s My Golden Arm?" is one of the year’s sunniest power pop albums.
The disc is full of guitars, a ton of keyboards and a singer (Jay Laughlin) whose voice registers somewhere between Wayne Coyne and Robert Schneider. Naturally, the Philadelphia quintet can sometimes sound like a band trying hard to imitate others, but still does it well.
"Night Person" feels straight out of Schneider’s Apples in Stereo power pop catalog. It has an infectious beat, like a song you remember but you can’t quite put your finger on (handclaps will always do that). So too with "Time Stands Still" — a blast of pop if there ever was one.
The best song, "Better Bring a Bomb," has an epic quality to it, going from quiet to fury with ease and excitement.
The album has its down moments. "Gold" veers from psychedelic to new age, and the closer "Just a Light Hit" seems like a needless Pink Floyd imitation. Like a Fox often relies too much on guitar solos, although the one that closes, "Been Sitting Here," is thrilling.
Like a Fox sometimes strays from its pop inclinations, but not as much as you would expect from a neo-psychedelic band. There really is no overwhelming feeling of an acid trip or a hazy heroin cloud of ecstasy.
So maybe it’s good that Laughlin and Co. don’t have a clue where their golden arm is.
— Scott Fallon, Staff Writer

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Some Pics from the CD release show!