Welcome The Stone Foxes back to the Fresno area.
Three-quarters of this now San Francisco-based classic rock/blues band hail from Clovis and Tollhouse, and they're coming home to perform at Starline on Tuesday night.School beckoned, and now the band's 20-something members live in a house/rehearsal space in San Francisco's Sunset District, playing music that sounds more geared toward their parents than themselves. The four of them -- Aaron Mort (vocals/guitar), Shannon Koehler (drums/harmonica), Spence Koehler (lead guitar) and Avi Vinocur (bass) -- gathered around their computer to let Fresno know what they've been up to in this e-mail interview.When and why did you guys leave the Valley?Spence and Aaron left in 2003 to go to school at S.F. State. Shannon came up in 2005. Avi is from L.A., and he first visited Fresno in 2007.What's it like trying to cut your teeth around the San Francisco music scene? Painful! Even though there are more venues in S.F. than in Fresno, most are 21 and over, so drawing the younger crowd can be difficult. Music is a huge part of S.F.'s history and it shows in the quality of the bands we get to play with.Is it a big deal to come back and play a show here?Of course, we love coming back and playing for all of our friends and family. Fresno seems to really appreciate our rock, country and heavy blues sound. There's a definite '60s/'70s influence in the band, but you guys are all pretty young. Where does that come from? We all grew up listening to Dylan, The Band, Zeppelin, Hilary Duff, Wilco, you know, the classics.Hilary Duff? Not Haylie? Or Ashley Tisdale? Who?Fair enough, but about that older music -- was it something you guys found on your own, or was it family members turning you onto it? Avi got the Beatles from his brother. Aaron got the blues from his first-grade girlfriend. Spence dug up his mom's Led Zeppelin IV LP and forced it upon Shannon.How does your style work with your fan base? Do you have older fans? Or do you have younger fans who are more old souls? We started out playing more mellow stuff and the fans tended to be older. But our sound has gotten bigger, more heavy, more upbeat, and the younger crowd really seems to dig it.You guys have an album due in August. What's its status and what should people expect from it?The album is currently being mastered and will be available Aug. 21. We recorded the instruments live together in the same room and feel it truly represents who we are as musicians and the way we sound on stage.