Foxygen to Bring Their Avant-Garde Rock/Pop to The Roxy

The American psychedelic pop band Foxygen will be performing at The Roxy on Friday, January. 2 and Saturday, January. 3. Multi-instrumentalist duo Sam France and Jonathan Rado grew up in the suburb of Westlake Village in Los Angeles listening to 60s psychedelia and avant-garde. Their mutual adoration for Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre inspired them to learn as many instruments as they possibly could.

While some high schoolers filled all of their time with school-sponsored club activities and after-school sports, Rado and France spent most of their time recording their own albums; 10, by the time they went off to college, to be exact. After spending some time apart studying at opposite coasts of the U.S., France and Rado met up in New York and began their journey into the hazy and surreal world of avant-rock by recording the genre-bending “Take the Kids Off Broadway” EP (Jagjaguwar, 2012). As luck would have it, the duo would end up handing their hot-off-the-press CD-R to famed musician/producer Richard Swift at a Mynabirds show in New York after one of his performances.

Eight months and more than a few well-deserved praises later, Foxygen embarked on a week-long recording session at Swift’s legendary National Freedom Studio creating their breakout and follow-up record “We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic” (Jagjaguwar, 2013). Singles like mellow psych-jam “Shuggie” and Syd Barrett-inspired bliss pop track “San Francisco” appealed to 60s rock and roll era fans and critics alike. Foxygen eventually found their home in LA’s valley at their own studio called Dream Star where they managed to spread their wings harnessing a more psychedelic punk tinge for their next record.

Foxygen released a jam-packed double album in Oct. 2014 titled “…And Star Power” which proved that they had the unparalleled characteristic of being able to host an eclectic number of rock and roll sub genres within their own sound and often even within a single song . Foxygen have now expanded to a 9-piece array of talented musicians who are currently touring in support of their self-described “cinematic auditory adventure” of an album.

Their live shows are often highlighted by France’s sometimes antagonistic and always entertaining antics on stage, one that led to him falling off the stage during the first song of a set and breaking his leg. Foxygen’s ever-expanding and experimental sound will make any music connoisseur excited for what is to come from this oddball rock and roll band.

Foxygen will be performing with Canadian singer/songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. at The Roxy on Friday, Jan. 2 and Saturday, Jan. 3. Tickets for the Friday show can be purchased here. Tickets for the Saturday show can be purchased here.