Aaron Mort Explains His Horribly Wonderful Band the Stone Foxes

You can call a band like The Stone Foxes retro, indie retro or revivalist. From the sounds of their latest release "Bears and Bulls" the band should mainly be seen as a rock group with a heavy (and I do mean heavy) emphasis on the blues. Their latest disc is a dizzying tribute to the blues in all its forms! Aaron Mort was able to give me the low down on his band and he let me know the unconventional way, his band gets their sound.

David Carr: How long has the band been together and how did you all get together?

Aaron Mort: I guess technically the band started up about five years ago. Spencer and Shannon Koehler (they are brothers) had been jamming together for a while. I joined them along with Avi Vincour. Avi left to go to school for a while and then came back. As a foursome we have been going strong for the past two years.

David: Aaron who is one of your biggest influences as a musician/songwriter?

Aaron: I remember buying this best of Bob Dylan record when I was in Jr. High. I have to admit, I didn't really know who he was. I think I bought it for a dollar. I put it on and I was blown away. It was horribly wonderful to me!! The vocals were ragged; the guitar was all over the place but I loved it! It really had a huge impact on me!

David: "Bears and Bulls" is your second disc correct?

Aaron: Technically yes. "Bears and Bulls" is our second disc but that first disc we put out was just something to establish who we were. We just wanted something we could give folks. We didn't really "push" that disc. With this one, we are making the concerted effort to get this disc heard.

David: What does that look like? Are you trying to hit up satellite radio? Are you using the internet?

Aaron: Well it is difficult as a young band to get your music out there. We are trying to be savvy about it. We are using things like Facebook, My Space and Twitter. We are also using Blip FM. It's like Twitter but you can actually post music on it. Even with all of those resources, it is still a lot of work! We have to grow our audience and that means playing a lot of shows. Word of mouth about our live shows will get our music out there.

David: You have a show coming up this week at the Viper Room correct? What's the plan for the band after that? Will you be going on tour?

Aaron: We do have a show at the Viper Room this Friday (July 30th). After that we will be on the road in September and October. We would like to do some opening slots as well as headline our own club shows.

David: Is there anyone in particular you are looking to tour with?

Aaron: I think we would work well on the road with bands like The Black Keys, Wilco or Conor Oberst. Maybe even The Delta Spirit. It's just a matter of doing the work to make it happen.

David: Your latest disc has a strong blues sound. Are all of the band members hardcore fans of the genre?

Aaron: HA! Well, we all grew up listening to the blues in one form or another. I guess we have never been into "mainstream" music. We liked bands like Rage Against The Machine and the Beastie Boys -- I guess it has been a mix. We really didn't know what the disc was going to sound like when we were done. When we finished the record, it came out with a heavy blues sound. To be honest, with this band we never quite know where we are gonna end up musically. On this disc there were three tunes that got recorded at the last minute and a couple tunes we thought for sure that were going to be on the disc and they just never made it. We are constantly evolving and our sound is constantly changing.

If you are in the LA area on July 30th, get to the Viper Room and watch The Stone Foxes evolve, live on stage!