Not that kind of country

People are generally surprised when local singer-songwriter Erik Hanson tells them his band the Foxtails play country. Hanson isn’t exactly sporting a 10-gallon hat or wearing a rhinestone belt buckle. He looks more like he’d be in a slacker indie-rock band such as the Shins or Modest Mouse.

Then, of course, Hanson feels compelled to explain what kind of country the Foxtails play.

“None of us listen to new country. We like Gram Parsons. We like Hank Williams. We like Buck Owens and Johnny Cash—that kind of country,” Hanson says.

As much as the members are directly influenced by the older country greats—and they do boast a mean pedal-steel guitar—their rootsy, twangy sound actually comes off a bit dreamy and melancholy. Furthermore, the band members all profess an interest in ’80s and ’90s shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver, and Hanson sings like a gentle Elliott Smith.

Joe Carlson, the band’s pedal-steel player and guitarist, explains it this way: “We’re not historical recreationalists. I really enjoy that, but I think we’re bringing contemporary stuff to the table, too.”

The Foxtails formed four years ago out of the remnants of Hanson’s old band, the Cassidys. Carlson also played steel guitar and guitar in that band, and current Foxtails drummer Tom Proulx was its bassist. Now, to round out the current band, the Foxtails added Joe Gray on bass.

The Foxtails play a melancholy, dreamy country that’s similar to the Cassidys’ sound—it’s just how Hanson writes—but now Gray joins Hanson on the vocals. The result is thicker vocals and a band that rocks just a little harder.

“I don’t feel like we’re totally low-key. I feel like when we’re into it, we’re cooking,” Carlson says. “It’s a slower song, and it’s quieter, but I think there’s still that fire and intensity.”

In addition to new songs, the Foxtails also play some old Cassidys tunes, ones that tend to center on girls and drinking. That band started off with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek approach, but soon, its members realized the songs were actually pretty good and started to take the music more seriously. And, despite the seemingly country clichés heard in those songs, Hanson says that, at the time, drinking and girls were an honest expression of his life.

Now, although he no longer drinks, Hanson says he feels comfortable playing those old tunes because they’re rooted in honest, painful emotions—a place he continues to write from.

“Whenever you’re going through the hardest point in your life, that’s when you write your best shit. That’s true. It happens to me. Whenever I hit some wall, some obstacle that seems like I can’t overcome, I’ll just write this really cool song. They make for good country songs,” Hanson says.

What matters most, he adds, is that the band feels what they are playing, even if it was written years earlier. They strive to bring that sense of earnestness to shows.

“It’s never half-assed. I give it 100 percent every time. If anything, the audience is going to get an honest song out of the Foxtails from personal experience,” says Hanson.

The one thing the Foxtails don’t put a ton of effort into is all the usual band-promotion activities. Yes, they get together and make music, but they don’t worry about sending out press packs or getting airplay.

“Sometimes you go see a band, and there’s a sense of desperation. They’re working so hard at it. It’s almost exhausting,” Carlson says. “Man, music’s not supposed to be like that. It’s like, I’m 40 years old. I got two kids. I got a mortgage—what am I doing playing in a bar at 2 a.m.? It’s ’cause I have to [play]. Life without it would not be as good.”