Drummer found!

Our new drummer is Joy.

With her wicked skillz on drums, we’ve put Fabian on bass full time and Tricia can concentrate on vocals.  look for some better photos in the future.

Influences

Here are what I (Joe) consider to be the eight most influential bands on my and Shiny Pretty Fox’s music. They are in a vaguely chronological order, starting with the earliest. I’ve listed two songs by each; not necessarily their best, but perhaps representative of their influence.
These aren’t just bands I like. These are bands that I have learned from, that have had a real, definable musical influence on me.

1. Nirvana (About a Girl, Heart-Shaped Box)

Anyone who was a teenager in the early 1990s couldn’t help but be influenced by Kurt and Nirvana. Although their songs weren’t the first I learned to play on guitar, they were up there. Never mind that they were (mostly) simple power-chord songs — they taught me that good music could be simple. And they taught me about passion and emotion. And about rock.

These two songs were both ones that we (in various bands) covered. They’re not my favorite, but I learned them and learned from them.

2. Pearl Jam (Corduroy, Unemployable)

And then came Eddie Vedder. I spent a lot of time learning Pearl Jam songs (and even solos), but Eddie and his vocal style has obviously had an enormous influence, too. Corduroy, to me, epitomizes the grunge scene. And Unemployable, from their newest album, shows that they can still write great songs. They’ve been probably the most consistent band throughout their career.

3. Thrush Hermit (Great Pacific Ocean, Oh My Soul!)

Tricia and I went to see them once at Cafe Ole, and they really impressed her. Although Sloan was a Halifax band that made it big (whatever big is), it was great to see real music being made and played in Halifax still. Thrush Hermit and Joel Plaskett have been a major influence over us simply because we’ve seen them live so many times.

4. The Doors (Light My Fire, Five to One)

Somewhere along the way I started listening to older bands, and nobody captured my interest like Jim Morrison. Plus, the Doors were a fantastic live band, and their extended jams and fills are a big influence over how I want our live shows to be. Plus, I love to hear Trish sing Five to One, her Jim growl is great.

5. The Strokes (Last Night, New York City Cops)

A friend of mine gave me two CDs (back when the “The” bands first became big): The Hives and the Strokes. My initial impression was that the Strokes were just an adult (boring) version of the Hives. Subsequent listenings proved how wrong I was: the Hives were a one-trick pony. And the Strokes had much more depth to them. And attitude. We listened to their first album while driving around L.A., and it’s never left my head since.

6. Led Zeppelin (Babe I’m Gonna Leave Ya, Black Dog)

Every guitarist must listen to Led Zep, it’s a law somewhere. Although their influence on me is not a formative as the other stuff I’ve listed, it’s still there.

7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Maps, Cheated Hearts)
I love girl singers. I can’t help it. Especially girls that bring an intensity to their music. Girls Like Karen O. Her voice was the model for how I wanted Tricia to sing — not neccessarily sound just like her, but she was a good example of a female singer in Tricia’s range that sounded awesome. By the time Show Your Bones came out, we had moved on a bit from that — but man, that record is so good.

8. Sleater-Kinney (Words & Guitar, The Fox)

Sleater-Kinney deserves a post all their own, which I might get to sometime. Here’s the short version: we saw them opening for Pearl Jam in Montreal and Ottawa, and by the end of their Ottawa set, we were hooked. Since then, we’ve been stocking up on their older material. They are by far our (my and Tricia’s, that is) favourite band. They were, in fact, the impetus behind forming a band when we moved back to Halifax. After they went on hiatus this summer, we made our band name Shiny Pretty Fox as a testement to their influence on us.

Okay, that’s it. There are other band and musicians, but thos are the top eight, I think. Fabian and Tricia would list a different eight, I guess, which they are free to do.

New songs and photos

Hey, we put some new songs on the download page, and also put up some more photos.

Let us know what you think … leave some comments!

Currently Seeking Drummer

We’ve been playing with just the three of us — Fabian and I have been splitting the drumming duties depending on whose song we were playing.

It’s got to stop. Neither of us is good enough to play drums full-time, and I think it’s holding us back somewhat.

So, if you’re a drummer, or you know a drummer, get in contact with us. We’ll go to a jam space in Halifax and try you out. You don’t even have to be that good — listen to the songs we have on the site, and if you think you can play better, that’s good enough for us.

Shiny Pretty Fox it is

Welcome to the website of Shiny Pretty Fox, a modern alternative rock band hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

We are

• Tricia: vocals and bass guitar
• Joe: guitar and drums
• Fabian: guitar and drums