Three Legged Fox is a reggae rock/alternative band mostly based out of the Philadelphia, PA area. They have released three albums so far including IDEAS (2007), Not As Far (2009), and Always Anyway (2011). Their latest album, Always Anyway received great recognition as it hit #2 on the iTunes Reggae Chart. The band has toured extensively along the east coast with major artists like Mike Pinto, Natty Vibes, Fear Nuttin Band, and in May of 2013 they performed at Cali Roots Festival in Monterey, CA.
Three Legged Fox Line Up:
On December 17th, 2013 – Three Legged Fox will release their 4th studio album titled We Are Electric. The album is set to include 12 tracks and was produced at Soundmine Studios. If you’ve been to the Poconos Resort, they are about two hours north from Philadelphia, PA up in the Appalachian Mountains. Pier-Photographer Bill Colbridge and I headed up to Soundmine Studios to the town of East Stroudsburg back in October, to meet up with the boys of 3LF, who were recording in the studio.
Soundmine Studios is owned and operated by producer Dan Malsch and is the same place Mike Pinto recorded his last album Truthful Lies. Along with producer Dan Malsch, was legendary Philly music icon and producer Chuck Treece, who actually played some drums and bass on Pinto’s last album. Along with Dan, they both put in some time behind the boards for Pinto’s latest release.
I was fortunate enough to talk to Mr. Pinto who told me “any musician would be honored to work with these guys. Dan Malsch, the guys got records allover his walls, he qualifies himself.” It was actually through a tour with Pinto in back to back summers that “…we became friends and he was the one that told us about this place,” 3LF bassist Mark Carson says of Pinto.
When we had gotten up to the studio, the guys from 3LF had been up there for two and half weeks, going back home when they needed to, but mostly just staying up there recording their new music. “We’re basically recording until midnight or 1 am every night,” says guitarist Chris Duddy.
When I walked into the control room with Duddy and Mark, keyboardist John Duxbury was in the recording room on keys trying to hammer out this one last part of a song. As he tried to knock it out you could hear each of them giving different directions and trying to make sure this last piece sounded just right.
Now even though I was already a fan of 3LF before I went into the studio, the sounds that I heard that day were something completely fresh & original. It was more than different and better than good, and as I got to talk to Duddy and Mark, it became clear that they were reaching for something “Organic”, as Duddy put it.
“We definitely took a new approach to this album. The quality of sound is going to be better, even more commercial, but that was something we were pushed into. We just wanted to make it sound as good as possible.” Using new instruments, and even some upgrades, the guys added a flute, a lap steel, and a grand piano, just to name a few. “Our sound has evolved, and so have we,” said Mark, “we’ve changed personally and as a functioning band, and you can hear that in our new music.”
Another new approach to this album involved using producer Dan Malsch on the record, “Having another set of ears on the album has been great,” says Duddy “It really gives the album an unbiased approach. When Dan says it sounds good, then we know we’re done and we can move on.”
From this inside perspective, it felt like the band was making a major push forward with this record and it was Mike Pinto who made the similar comment about the talented producer “He’s not a reggae guy, which is great because he captures what you wanna hear, and we didn’t do any bullshit. We just did the record. It’s the best sounding record I’ve done,” Mike said of his Truthful Lies release.
Three Legged Fox was in their element inside Soundmine Studios, and they were not only excited, but proud of all the hard work they had been putting in. The music sounded great and emotions seemed to be at an all time high. What I notice about their music, is how they don’t fixate on one particular genre, their music feels more advance and integrative. “Some of the album has more of a reggae vibe, but the influences and sounds are eclectic,” said Duddy. Lead singer Kyle Wareham continued on this notion, “I guess we’ve always just tried to make music that we like. For better or worse we’ve never narrowed ourselves to fit a particular genre of music.”
“We Are Electric, to me, is yet another exploration of words and music. I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” and from what sneak peeks I was able to snag, on songs like “Satellite” which featured some outstanding vocal work by Kyle, I would have to agree.
Kyle continues on by describing the album as being all over the map with Alternative rock being the driving influence in the name of Kings of Leon, Imagine Dragons, U2 & Young The Giant. “It’s an alternative rock record with a small touch of reggae here and there, as opposed to the other way around. There’s a song called ‘Mercy’ that has kind of a Nashville vibe that was something a little different for us. And a song called ‘Shadows’ that’s a real upbeat almost dance-rock feeling song that I’m excited about. We worked hard to make sure that every song is evocative of the vibe of the overall album. Each one is it’s own musical journey. Fans who’ve been with us for awhile will appreciated songs like ‘Nothing’s Over (All This Time)’ and ‘Colors Come Back’ which are throwbacks to our original reggae rock style”
How often do we get to surround ourselves in a place far off in the woods, where just music and nature collide? Well, it seems to be a rare occurrence, but when it does happen, it is where artists are at their best. Being a bystander to the creation only makes me appreciate the music more.
So make sure you check out We Are Electric on December 17th, and be sure to catch up with Three Legged Fox in 2014.
We Are Electric Track Listing:
1.) We Are Electric
2.) Shadows
3.) Hold On
4.) My Satellite
5.) Mercy
6.) When the Color Comes Back
7.) Trigger*
8.) Falling In
9.) Nothings Over*
10.) Breakdown*
11.) All of the Lights
12.) Save You*
* = working title
Three Legged Fox Links:
3LF Website
3LF Facebook
3LF Youtube
Article By: Andrew McClatchy
Photos By: Bill Colbridge
Watch: Three Legged Fox – “Let you Down”