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Bluegrass Unlimited - March 2007
James Reaney, London Free Press, July 2006 London Free Press article - Home County Festival 2006
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CD Review "What we play is what you get." That's the approach Ontario's Foxtail takes into the studio for it's debut recording. What we get is Cryin' Again - a splendid set of traditional bluegrass that captures the band's onstage energy. Cryin' Again contains no editing or overdubing. The quartet simply gathers around a single studio microphone, starts the tape, and unleashes golden harmonies and passionate picking. Guitarist Nora Galloway wraps lush vocals around her terrific originals "See What Love Does" and "All Through The Night," while bassist Rick Thompson leads solid covers of "Big Spike Hammer" and "I'll Take The Blame." Multi-award winner Gord DeVries (Dobro) and Larry Johnston (Banjo) are on fire throughout, and each contributes an original instrumental. Foxtail emotes glorious harmonies on its gospel numbers, which include "Mama Does" and "Don't You Judge Me," another pair of treasures penned by Galloway. The collection comes to a crescendo with a concluding refrain of "Amazing Grace," as the joy of the music pours from the speakers and flows into the heart! Foxtail weds concert excitement with living room intimacy. Cryin' Again sparkles with authenticity and artistry. It's no wonder those plastic CD containers are called "jewel cases!" Bluegrass Now Magazine - November, 2003 |
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Foxtail:Canadian Made - Kentucky Approved What could be easier than recording one's debut CD using only one microphone? The short answer: just about anything. Yet, it is with but one microphone that London-based bluegrass quartet Foxtail has delivered this pure, high and lonesome collection of tunes with an independent release entitled "Cryin' Again". While Foxtail subscribes to this traditional bluegrass recording technique,
their approach to choosing songs is quite another matter. Eleven of the fourteen
tracks have been written by the band - with nine of those penned by lead vocalist/guitarist
Nora Galloway. No doubt. The instruments are literally next to the head of the fivefoot tall
songstress during live performances. Gathered in a tight semi-circle around their
one microphone, Galloway and band mates Gord De Vries (dobro, harmony vocals),
Larry Johnston (banjo) and Rick Thompson (bass and vocals) employ a choreographed
weave and bob that they affectionately call "the dance". Good old-fashioned
dynamics and legwork are the keys to Foxtail's well-balanced mix. |
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CD Review Foxtail is a bluegrass group from Canada, whose musical personality is largely built around the lead vocals of Nora Galloway. The majority of the 14 selections were composed by Nora whose vocal stylings are similar to Jeanette Williams, apparent on pieces like "I'll Write You Everyday," "Don't You Judge Me," "Mama Does," and "You're Cryin Again." Other metionable entries are refreshing versions of "Big Spike Hammer" and "Endless Highway," along with bandmember Gord Devries' instrumental "Backstage Waltz." Judging from the contents of "Cryin' Again," Foxtail is a band on the edge of a major breakthrough. Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine - June, 2003 |
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Bluegrass at RSCC A New York retired businessman, transplanted to Roane County, brings Canadian bluegrass group, Foxtail, and well-known local group, Avery Trace, to Roane State Community College for a free concert. The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m Saturday at Roane State Community College's main campus in Harriman. The first time Roane County resident Bob Silvera heard a bluegrass song in upstate New York, nearly seven years ago, he was immediately drawn to the sound of five acoustical instruments blending so beautifully with unpretentious harmonic vocal delivery, according to a news release. His enthusiasm for the music carries him and wife, Joan, to bluegrass concerts and festivals throughout the region. During these travels they meet groups who share the glory of the Lord right along with their music. This combination of praise and music seemed worth sharing with his neighbors in East Tennessee, the news release stated. To this end the Silveras are hosting a free concert, inviting everyone interested in an evening of "Celebrating the Joy of the Lord" and traditional bluegrass music to join them. The program will feature the award-winning Canadian group Foxtail, four talented musicians playing Dobro, bass guitar, banjo and lead guitar, using a single microphone for sounds of the early days of bluegrass. They will share the stage with Avery Trace, from Crossville. Avery Trace, with the classic five piece musical instrumental makeup, has been performing for the past seven years. They feature great musical ability along with outstanding vocal harmonies. Both bands do a lot of original tunes and both were Showcase and Fan Fest performers at the International Bluegrass Music Association annual meeting last October in Louisville, Ky. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. with a surprise performance of another secret local band offering a special bluegrass music all their own. The Oakridger, Oakridge, TN - May 30, 2003 |
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For Foxtail, the only difference between Southern, Canadian bluegrass
is the accent Foxtail bills itself as a Canadian bluegrass band -- just don't puzzle too much over the difference between bluegrass from the Great White North and the hills of East Tennessee. For the most part, it's pretty much the same, said Foxtail dobro player Gord DeVries. ``Boy, what a difficult question,'' he said this week. ``Other than the fact that you people down there think we talk funny, there really isn't a difference, because all bluegrass music comes from the bluegrass music originators in the United States -- particularly in Tennessee, the Carolinas, West Virginia and Kentucky. ``We base our music on our listening to the masters of bluegrass -- Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, Jimmy Martin -- and it's just our interpretation of it, and I don't think it's really that different from what a group up in Michigan would perform -- except we say `eh?' a lot.'' Granted, the Canadian audience for bluegrass is much smaller than the hordes of Southerners who devour the genre note for sweet-sounding note. Foxtail and other Canadian bluegrass bands benefited greatly from the ``O Brother Where Art Thou?'' phenomenon, but the audience -- and the amateur musicians so prevalent on the local bluegrass scene -- is hard to come by. ``We have a much smaller audience, although in our area in Ontario, there are about five fairly large festivals each summer, and there are about five or six bluegrass clubs that of course work at providing facilities and getting people together to play,'' he said. ``But the spontaneous kind of events that happen a lot in your area really don't happen much here. That's one of the things we all admire so much about having the opportunity to come down and play music in Tennessee. We think it's wonderful because we know people are so accepting of the music there. ``We certainly felt the impact of `O Brother' here, and the thing about it is that people now hear the words bluegrass, and they now have something to associate it with. Even if they're listening to nothing but rock stations, they'll still be aware through the movie that there's this old-time country and bluegrass music, and hey by golly, it's pretty good.'' Foxtail formed in 1997, with Nora Galloway, Rick Thompson and Larry Johnston joining DeVries a couple of years ago to share a vision a passion for music performed in the traditional style -- one microphone, excellent musicianship and careful choreography. Galloway and Thompson were nominees at the Canadian Bluegrass Awards last year, and for four straight years, DeVries was the recipient of the Dobro Player of the Year honors from that organization. But there's no comparing the CBAs to the International Bluegrass Music Awards. ``It's sort of like the mouse and the elephants,'' he said. ``I think, to be honest with you, if we were compared to the kind of people who are nominated and win at the IBMA, we would probably not be in the same crowd, most of us. We have some very good musicians in our area, but boy, you guys have a fertile ground to choose from there.'' Despite the self-deprecating attitude, DeVries is a man comfortable with his place in music, most at home on stage and performing for a live audience. Foxtail will perform Sunday night at The Palace Theater, on West Broadway in downtown Maryville, with East Tennessee bluegrass band Avery Trace. ``We're a very irreverent and loose band,'' he said. ``We play with a single mic, so there's a lot of movement on stage, and we usually like to interact with the audience, to get them not only into the music but what we're doing. We do a lot of kidding around and joking, and by and large I think the audiences really enjoy that because they see a lot of banter going on.'' The Daily Times - Thursday, May 30, 2003 |
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Top 10 London music list fun, reassuring It was a good year for music with a London accent. So with all the good recordings from London-connected performers in 2002, putting together a personal Top 10 list was fun. And hard work. And reassuring. It's a measure of how creative is the scene that there are no repeat performers from last year's Top 10 list. Still, the class of 2001 -- from No. 1 alt-rock Two-Minute Miracles to No. 10 folk-country singer- songwriter Ken Foster -- kept rocking in 2002. Honourable mentions for 2002 include fine CDs from DuffleBag Theatre and its friends and the classical ensemble Arcady playing the music of Ronald Beckett, its director. There was good rock from the Constantines, Headstrong and Lost Coin. There was alt-blues from the Yams, jazz from John Noubarian, folk from Doug McArthur. There were words and sonics from the team of former London poet bill bissett and Forest City composer Chris Meloche. Any one of those, and a bunch I haven't heard, would be a contender. But on this day, based on the recordings I've been enjoying, here's how my 2002 Top 10 list for London CDs counts down. (Most recordings on the list are indies and should be available at your fine local indie retailer.) ... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Bluegrass quartet Foxtail is hailed as "very creative" by U.S. 'grass expert Raymond W. McLain. The one-mike harmonies and songs and picking on Cryin' Again are just that. Thank you, London musicians, for the joys of 2002. Bring on the sounds of 2003. London Free Press - Thursday, December 19, 2002 |
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Foxtail always on the run London bluegrass band Foxtail has been getting its thrills in the 'villes. In recent weeks, the foursome and their one microphone were at a star-studded gathering of the 'grass community at Louisville, Ky. Foxtail won the trip at Huntsville's Central Canadian bluegrass association's event in 2001. Following the big show at the Kentucky metropolis, Foxtail was back at Huntsville's 2002 event over the weekend for more good times and friendly competition. Foxtail's frequent voice and chief songwriter is Nora Galloway, who handles vocals and guitar, and is a former member of such London groups as Sirens, Prairie Wing and Galloway. Another of the vocalists, Gord DeVries, won the dobro title at Huntsville so many times, rules prevent him from adding more hardware in the category. Bassist/vocalist Rick Thompson and Kitchener- Waterloo banjo player Larry Johnston also brought plenty of splendour in the 'grass upon joining the group's co-founders DeVries and Galloway in 2001. All four have jobs away from the part-time joys of Foxtail.
Foxtail has been busy in the Forest City, too. The band appeared at Home County 2002 and completed a beautiful, timeless-sounding recording, Cryin' Again. It's to be available by Dec. 6. Outlets are to include the Madrigal. The CD may also be ordered at www.thestringman.com Foxtail's three singers gather around the one microphone in a classic 'grass technique the band members call "the Dance." The joy of the dance is watching Foxtail sway and play and smile around that one mike, heads bobbing in and out as required. Many other bluegrass groups have gone to the multi-mike system. Cryin' Again was recorded overdub-free at Danny Santarella's DansanMan Studios. Larry (JitterBugs) Smith produced. It also helps that the material is all pure, high and lonesome, whether it is the gospel song If God Be For Us, sung by Thompson, or a dry-eyed weeper like the original and opener Cryin' Shame, sung by Galloway. Tears, blame and heartbreak are big themes on Cryin' Again, but so is the uplift of See What Love Does. Johnston, who composed Millrace, and DeVries, with Backstage Waltz, each contribute a fine instrumental. Most of all it helps that Foxtail trusted its one mike. "This is who we are and I think it works," says Galloway. " 'The Dance' works for us." No arguing with that. Among those who have become Foxtail fans is U.S. bluegrass expert Raymond W. McLain. McLain met Foxtail at both 'ville gigs and offered to write the liner notes for Cryin' Again. "Your arrangements and performance style show the magic that can happen when everyone in the group listens and works together to make the group sound good," McLain writes. It just makes you feel like dancing. London Free Press - Thursday, November 21, 2002 |
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Excerpts from "The 29th (Home County Festival) addition's final concert at the Kiwanis bandshell was fired by great alt-rock from Guelph's Tannis Slimmon. Other evening highlights included Cape Breton fiddle magic from Jerry Holland and fine bluegrass from the London-based Foxtail band." "Another evening performer was London singer-songwriter Nora Galloway, who has been at Home County as a solo act and then with the London vocal group Sirens. On the weekend, she was with Foxtail Bluegrass Band, an award winning outfit. Her bandmates were finding out how far-reaching Home County's definition of folk is, Galloway said. Previously, Foxtail had played only at bluegrass festivals. "At a folk festival, it's everything...a taste of every kind of music, "Galloway said." London Free Press - Monday July 22, 2002 |
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Foxtail - One Mic And Four Pickers Nora Galloway still chuckles when she thinks of the day she nearly lost her head to a swinging guitar. "That was a close call," she said. "It sure made for a good laugh." But Galloway has become accustomed to the unexpected happening everytime she takes the stage with her young bluegrass band, Foxtail. More so, she admitted, three of the band's four members weave around each other, vying for time on the one available microphone. "If it's done badly, sharing one microphone can look clumsy," Galloway explained. "But when it's done right, it can look very good." Using just one microphone has become a trademark of sorts for the London-based group, which only started performing together last fall. The concept was popular among bluegrass bands in the 1940's and 1950's. So Galloway, along with bandmates Gord DeVries (vocals, dobro), Rick Thompson (vocals, bass) and Larry Johnston (banjo), resurrected the style, to the delights of longtime bluegrass fans. "Leaning into the same area and singing helps get the vocals tight," said Galloway, whose roles with the group include Vocals and guitar. "We call it 'The Dance'. One person leans in, sings, then backs away. Then another person moves in and does the same thing. "It makes the performance seem more alive with movement." A lone microphone, Galloway said, also completments the band's three-part harmony. "Most bluegrass bands have a fiddle or a mandolin; we don't," she said. "The challenge is we still have to get that 'chop' sound without a mandolin, and we do that with our three-part harmony." Galloway said everything seems to be falling into place for the group, which started as a Tuesday-night garage band three years ago. But times, and faces, have changed, and the group is cutting its niche in what's becoming a competitive Canadian bluegrass market. Over the last half-year, Foxtail defeated the odds by winning the 2001 Central Ontario Bluegrass Challenge championship in its category, beating 10 other bands. "That was a real surprise, considering we make a mistake," Galloway said, "It was the first time our banjo player had performed with us, and he started the song in the wrong key. But instead of stopping, we make a slight joke about it and went on. I think that went in our favour. A rule of thumb is no matter what happens, keep playing. But we still tease our banjo player unmercifully about it." The win awarded the group recording time and a showcase gig in Louisville, Ky. this fall. The band was also named " Most Promising Group" at the 23rd annual Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards. Galloway said the band's rise in success has been somewhat of a whirlwind for her. Prior to Foxtail, she focussed on the country music scene, spending 10 years with a group called Prairie Wing, and then as a member of a three-women trio. "But I always loved listening to bluegrass," Galloway said, " I love the harmony and the instrumental aspect. "Having only played country music, for me it was like starting kindergarten on the guitar." " But I've been learning the essential licks. It's excellent I still have things to learn after playing for so many years." While the group covers tunes by some well-known bluegrass bands from the past, a lot of the music is original. Galloway said she enjoys having lead hand in writing the band's music. Most of her ideas, she said are topical, based on a variety of events. "The songs come from my perspective," she said. "A lot of the songs are about what's in the news, and what's happening around the world." Galloway said she wrote the song "Don't You Judge Me" after seeing a homeless man outside a grocery store. "That one's really close to my heart." she said. Another, called "See What Love Does" is meant to show people a lot of good can come from taking a chance on love. Galloway said the band is now working on its first CD, which is expected to be released sometime this summer. "We're creating a CD with music that caters to all ages," Galloway said, "Bluegrass music is really making a comeback. "Our bass player was in a record store recently, and there was a kid in line behind him, about 18 or 19 year old. He had three bluegrass CD's in his hands, and he was really excited about it. "It just goes to show this music appeals to everyone, and in the business the audience is everything." Foxtail will perform this Sunday, April 28, at the Waterloo Legion, 19 Tegina St. N Showtime is set for 2 p.m., and tickets are available for $5 in advance or $6 at the door. Legion members pay $5. Tickets are available at the Legion 88601440, or by calling 744-8420 or 338-2806. Waterloo Chronicle - Wednesday, April 24, 2002 |
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Foxtail wins bluegrass competition London band Foxtail was named the Central Canadian bluegrass champion at the organization's 23rd annual awards ceremony on the weekend. Foxtail was founded in 1999. Original members Nora Galloway (vocals, guitar) and Gord DeVries (vocals, dobro) have been joined by Rick Thompson (bass, vocals) and Larry Johnston (banjo). (DeVries had previously won the dobro category five times in the 1990s and rules prevent him from adding to those titles.) Foxtail beat about 10 other Ontario bands in a competition to claim the championship category. Foxtail's prizes include recording time and a showcase gig at Louisville, Ky., in the fall of 2002. London Free Press - Tuesday, November 27, 2001 |
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