The Stone Foxes love their country. The beloved San Francisco rock band carries the legacy of classic rockers that have come before them and the values of the city itself as a bastion of freedom and inclusivity for all people. With vocalist and drummer Shannon Koehler at the helm, The Stone Foxes stand for protesting in the streets as the greatest form of patriotism. Koehler and his crew believe in an America where distorted guitars are turned up loud, and people speak truths for the betterment of everyone. On their latest double single Patriots (Release Date: Friday, October 16, 2020), The Stone Foxes release two piercing new tracks "Animal" as a reflection of a corrupt POTUS, and an anthem against systemic racism in the police force with "Here Come The Cops."
The fuzzed-out guitar rifts of brother Spence Koehler on "Animal" began down in the small town of Visalia along the Central Valley of California when The Stone Foxes camped out on the front lawn of a house filled with vintage gear, and no curfew. The year was 2016; before the election when Trump didn't seem to stand a chance of winning. His platform was filled with blatant racism, and his rhetoric spawned white nationalism violence. Fast forward three years into his presidency, Shannon cut the final vocal track cascading with layers of anger and frustration. With the approaching 2020 election, The Stone Foxes felt it was finally time to release "Animal."
"Trump made it very clear from the start that he doesn't care about immigrants, women, or minorities," says Shannon Koehler. "The first issue he ever championed was birtherism. He called Mexican's criminals and rapists in his first speech announcing his candidacy. He's used the military against peaceful protesters, and suppressed information on COVID-19 that could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. I tried to fit my biting anger into each line. More than anything, I wanted the lyrics to strip him of his pompous attitude and pontificating, so that we can see his heart for what it is...inhumane."
"Here Come The Cops" has been workshopped for years and initially came into focus following the killing of Eric Garner in 2014. The devastation surrounding the death of George Floyd ultimately brought Shannon to capture in his lyrics what happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks when the police were called. Shannon blatantly speaks out against systemic racism in American law enforcement, and the need to vote to bring better people into power, both locally and nationally, to lead us with substantial changes for a more just police system.
"The outrage at the Oakland protests following the killing of George Floyd that I attended were a huge opportunity for me as a white man playing in a band with white members to really evaluate how much we have to learn. My friend Cava Menzies, a director at the Oakland School of The Arts, was especially instrumental along with other black artists in bringing perspective on how best I could learn from all these alarming killings and channel it into our music. I needed to be very direct with my statement, and have the lyrics focus on each case," comments Shannon.
Though the music for "Here Come The Cops" was recorded in 2015, Shannon cut the vocals in summer 2020. "Here Come The Cops" and "Animal" features Spence Koehler on electric guitar, Vince Dewald on bass, Elliott Peltzman on keyboards, and Shannon on drums and vocals ("Animal" features Brian Bakalian on drums).
The Stone Foxes release "Animal" and "Here Come The Cops" on all major digital retail platforms and streaming services on Friday, October 16, 2020. To pre-save Patriots, please visit: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/thestonefoxes/patriots
