By: Rob Cavuoto
Foxy Shazam’s fourth and most electrifying release to date, The Church of Rock and Roll, is an awe-inspiring cavalcade of passion and humanity. From the bawdy sex-strut of lead single “I Like it” to the heart-wrenching ardor of “Forever Together,” this is a record for anyone with a beating heart.
Displaying a unique caliber of musicianship, Foxy Shazam creates forceful landscapes of commanding melody. The uplifting keys of pianist Sky White twinkles playfully above the soaring chords and searing solos of guitarist Loren Turner. The rhythm section of drummer Aaron McVeigh and bassist Daisy churn steadfastly while the shimmering shrill of Alex Nauth’s trumpet pushing the instrument to majestic new heights. At the center of the pulpit stands one man, a hypnotic hurricane of smoke and glitter.
Cutting through the lush instrumentals like a fiery bolt from the Heavens, Eric Nally’s unparalleled vocals power the congregation with a roaring sincerity that burns deep within the mortal frame. Think Zeppelin inspired riffs meets Freddie Mercury vocals with big hooks and chorus like The Darkness. That’s it in a nut shell.
I had a chance to sit down with guitarist, Loren Turner to talk about the new CD.
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Robert Cavuoto: Tell us about the songwriting process for your new CD? Is there a primary writer or does it start with a riff?
Loren Turner: There really is no rhythm or reason to it. It sometime starts with a vocal melody that Eric Nally or Alex Nauth comes up with. In some instances it develops within a smaller group and then the rest of the band is brought into it. It’s a pretty collaborative effort.
Robert: What’s the secret to writing a Foxy Shazam song since they are so catchy?
Loren Turner: It seems like if you try to make a hooky song it doesn’t work out, you have to just let it happen. After it’s done and if it’s catchy you keep it, if it’s not they you scrap it and move on to something else.
Robert: How many songs do you typically write for a CD? Do start with a lot and then weed some out?
Loren Turner: The last CD we wrote more then we used, but for this record we only wrote 12 and used 11 of them.
Robert: Do you have a favorite track on the CD?
Loren Turner: I’m a big fan of “The Church of Rock n Roll.” Sky came up with the riff. It started as a completely different song than what it is now.
Robert: The CD was produced by Justin Hawkins from The Darkness, they’re one of my favorite bands. How was it to work with him?
Loren Turner: It was cool. It was a laid session considering on the last CD was a big production, had a big budget as well as a multi-platinum producer. I think we were the first band that Justin produced. We ended up going to his house to record. He had a Digidesign board with ProTools HD. Other than that there were no fancy compressors or $10,000 mics. It was about as simple as you can get.
I think bands need to get back to the simplicity of recording. Everything is just so edited that it sounds midi, which is cool if that is what you are going for. Music has to have some of that human touch. There is a difference between rough cut and adding technique. Sometimes you have to let your hands do what they have to do.
Robert: Your new single and video, “I like It,” is as far left from being PC as you can get, with the chorus repeating, “…that the biggest black ass I’ve ever seen.” Was there ever a concern that that you would meet up with resistance from different groups in the US who might get upset?
Loren Turner: [Laughing] There were definitely some conversations about it. In hindsight it was pretty ridiculous. We really stuck to our guns and it worked. We stayed true and upheld the integrity of the song and didn’t make any changes. It turned out that it didn’t seem to offend anyone.
Robert: Was it written to be controversial and shocking?
Loren Turner: It was a line that Eric had and it just came out in the song. It wasn’t trying to be anything more than a cool song. It just sort of happened.
Robert: What are you playing live from new CD?
Loren Turner: We have been playing “Holy Touch,” “Church of RnR,” “I like It,” “Freedom,” and “Last Chance for Love.”
Robert: Who are some of your formative guitar influences?
Loren Turner: When I first started playing, I was always a metal guy. I was influenced by Dimebag, Kirk Hammett and Tom Morello. It’s kind of funny looking back on the early CDs you can hear how I was influenced by Kirk.
Robert: How about now?
Loren Turner: It always changes; I look for new people to find inspiration from. Lately I have been digging Jimmy Page. I have been listening to Led Zeppelin non-stop.
Robert: For someone who hasn’t seen your live show, what can they expect?
Loren Turner: It’s about the art of performing and the passion of it. It is typically high energy. We give the crowd something they don’t see often. It’s very natural and not choreographed on practiced. It what comes out naturally.
Robert: What are your current touring plans for the summer?
Loren Turner: We are doing a headline run for a month, a month off, and another headlining tour hitting some secondary markets that we didn’t hit with The Darkness or this spring.
Noel* (12 years ago)
Great interview and great album. I can’t stop listening to this album and I can’t wait to see these guys play live again soon…