The Total Foxes at the Carousel Lounge & Ars Ipsa Gallery

The Total Foxes

with

O'Doyle Rules
Dover Drive

August 2, 2005
The Carousel Lounge
1110 E. 52nd Street

(Out of 5, because it would've been better with a friend.)

also with

Arab League

and a special appearance by

Texas Roller Girls

August 6, 2005
Ars Ipsa Gallery
503 San Jacinto
Austin, TX

(Out of 5, because it was a darn good show.)


I made sure I got to The Carousel Lounge early to interview frontman/huitarist Jerm Pollet. There is a little bit of idol worship involved in this blog that must be explained. When I was a co-ed Gal's Panic was all the local rage. Punk Ska was hot in the mid 90s, and although they captured this sound, their songwriting was original. Even the atypical cover songs in "I Think We Need Helicopters" won me over. The Carpenters. Twice. Fast forward 10 years and a lot has changed. Jerm Pollet the artist and the man has matured in some ways, yet retained his youtful spark. This fine balance comes across in his live performances. Jerm insists on a party-like atmosphere wherever he performs, and his bandmates Stacy Hoobler (drums) and Gary Newcombe (bass) seem to thrive in it. Tonight The Total Foxes is short one fox. Gary is out sick. But the show must go on! And they still rock the party! Frontman and guitarist Jerm has made the Carousel his signature event, with a witty, laidback charm that encourages audience participation. He's the host of the entire musical carnival, plus he fills in for Mr. Richard Dawson with a round of Family Feud at the end of the night. Following The Total Foxes was the hard rock/punk sounds of Dover Drive. I noted a lot of t-shirts, and a nice tour following. There were a few fans turned away and pissed off by the no one under 21 allowed policy, but the host. It's not exactly my style of music to party to, but I loved the energy and dynamics between these band members who were on the final stop of their national tour. I was more impressed with O'Doyle Rules, although they claimed it was a weak set. The lead vocalist Scott (a former member of another Jerm Pollet band, Missile Command) was wearing a Beatles shirt, and for more notalgia, they played a remarkable cover of the Violent Femmes mega-hit song "Blister in the Sun" (b.k.a. "Big Hands"). This less than stellar performance still proved why they received a Houston Press Award for Best Indie Pop/Punk upon their return home. Congratulations...

A friend of mine got word first about The Total Foxes performing again, this to benefit a local art gallery, Ars Ipsa. He wanted to see the band Tuesday night with me, but his radio show had recently moved to a drive time slot, and he wasn't sure he'd have the energy to stay up so late. I assumed Jerm was performing solo - a performance art type event from what I read - but was pleasantly surprised to see all three foxes ready to rock. For an art gallery with no seating arrangements, there was a nice turnout, and the missing member from the last Carousel ride, Gary, impressed me with his melodic bass lines. A band was practicing above, but the quirky & catchy punk pop of The Total Foxes drowned them out. THey made room for a hip hop group called Arab League. My friend was not impressed, and declared it was racist for them to dress like Arabs, fake beards included. He compared it to blackface. I found it to be shocking at first, and could see from his p.o.v. But I tried to keep an open mind and listen to the music, the lyrics. My good friend is not a hip hop fan, so he was more interested in talking with one of the roller derby queens of the awesome Texas Roller Girls league (and who could find fault with that?). But I was impressed with the message and heart behind the lyrics - even the politically incorrect ones. For an ultra-liberal who watched Bill Maher's "Politically Incorrect" religiously, my companion surprised me by not paying much attention to the words. Yes, some of the music and beats were a bit routine. And "HipHopistan"? (Come on...) but overall, I liked Arab League's willingness to be critical of our country's Middle Eastern policy and war of terror. Please note the exchange of pronouns. War = violence. Violence is terror, no matter who's on the receiving end.

But enough about politics. I liked the second show and thought it was for a good cause - promoting art in Austin.

~ diy-danna

Listen to these bands @ MySpace (or e-mail a complaint to):
The Total Foxes - myspace.com/thetotalfoxes
O'Doyle Rules - myspace.com/odr
Dover Drive - myspace.com/doverdrive
Arab League - not found

UPDATE: The Total Foxes are on a tour of Austin! ;-) They have a new bass player too, Boy Cory. Hear him at The Carousel Tuesday, August 16, or visit thetotalfoxes.com or their myspace page for other "tour" dates. Check out the new CD, "Retirement Community" available at fine record stores like Waterloo, Cheapos and End of an Ear.