‘It Feels Like A Calling’: Eli Fox Talks Album Release - Life As A College Musician
From a first glance, Eli Fox might seem like a normal 20-year-old college student at Belmont University. For Fox, though, his college story isn’t one that fits the normal narrative. Not only does Fox have a college school load on his plate, but he balances life in the music industry on top of it, hoping that one day the hard work will translate to a career on stage and in studios.
Listening to Fox’s music, listeners might be refreshingly surprised to discover that his sound isn’t one that falls into an everyday genre heard today on radios and by younger artists. Fox’s passion for music was introduced to him before his teenage years, as he noted the first instrument he picked up was a banjo.
“I started playing banjo when I was 12 and that’s kinda how I got started. I just did that for fun and eventually started a band. We would busk a lot out on the street corners and that got me into performing. A couple years later, I went off on my own and started playing my own songs I had written that I hadn’t really shared.”
From a young kid who first picked up a banjo to now as a 20-year-old musician, Fox has grown quickly in his talents. His music can be found on iTunes and Spotify, with his live performances on Youtube. As far as instruments go, there’s not much that Fox can’t do as it’s noted on his website bio that he “plays at least 10 instruments, including but not limited to: banjo, dobro, pedal steel, guitar, harmonica, fiddle, piano, accordion, mandolin, drums and more.”
When looking towards past and present musicians in the music industry, some of Fox’s inspirations come from names like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Chuck Berry to bands such as The Old Crow Medicine Show, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Creedence Clearwater Revival. His biggest inspiration, however, comes from Woody Guthrie, an influential musician in American folk music. Fox further described what connected him to Guthrie.
“It wasn’t necessarily what he said in his songs, but how he said it really kind of connected with me,” Fox said. “Just the way he would articulate his thoughts was very interesting and it seems outdated to a lot of people, but I think a lot of his ideas are very relative to modern times.”
A dream opportunity came to Fox this summer when he had the opportunity to play at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma. The festival, held every July, honors the life and music of Guthrie. Fox further described the experience of playing at Guthrie’s festival—a festival for the man who inspired him to write songs.
“That’s one of the cooler things I’ve done. I got to play the Woody Guthrie Folk Fest in his hometown and that was really inspiring to do that. Felt right at home,” Fox said.
Not only has Fox had the opportunity to play his music in the hometown of one of his biggest influences, but he’s also been able to be the opening act for another musician who inspires him greatly—singer-songwriter Darrell Scott.
A successful country songwriter, Scott has written songs for big names such as Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Scott is another one of Fox’s biggest influences and for good reason. A Knoxville native, Fox described what it was like to play at the Bijou Theatre as Scott’s opening act.
“The last show I did there (The Bijou) was with Darrell Scott. He’s a great songwriter/musician. It’s quite a cool venue,” Fox said “I look up to him a lot as a writer and musician/performer, so that was cool getting to share the night with him.”
In addition to Scott, Fox has also opened up for Knoxville’s Emily Ann Roberts, country music star and 2015 finalist on NBC’s “The Voice,” as well as another 2015 “The Voice” finalist in country singer-songwriter Zach Seabaugh. Fox opened up a show for both musicians at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum.
Speaking on the opportunities he has been given being an opening act, Fox noted why the experiences are so special.
“Those gigs are really cool because it feels like a real, official gig versus playing down at the Wild Wing or something,” Fox said of venues like The Bijou and Knoxville Auditorium and Coliseum.
Fox is also no stranger to Open Chord Music as he has played there with his band and has played with and opened for Emily Ann Roberts as well. Fox noted that even though they are different musically, they share similarities that make it nice to come and play together.
With his most recent album release being “Or Something Like That,” Fox noted the growth he has had from his first EP to his latest release.
“It’s hard to say really what inspired those songs in the first EP. I think I was just getting a feel for writing stuff that actually sounded like me,” Fox said. “I had written a lot of songs that didn’t really expand genres and those songs finally felt like they were more original. And that was really just the start. I feel like they’ve gotten a lot better since then.”
When talking about his latest album release, Fox is confident that it’s his best work to date. “This one is definitely the best and my favorite so far,” Fox said. “This ones a bit more produced, it has more electric instruments, and it’s a little more formed than the last one and a bit more cohesive. This one’s a little different in the writing too. If you listen to the last record, all of the writing is very similar in the form. This one is a little more free form versus having a standard form in the song.”
As far as the people he wants to reach and the messages he wants to convey, Fox shared a few statements.
“I want my music to reach as many people as possible, Fox said. “I’ve kind of pushed that there really isn’t a message (in my songs). People ask, ‘what’s this and that?’ and I’d said ‘whatever you think it is or want it to be’ because you can read into it but I don’t really like doing that.”
With all of his success so far in music, it might be easy to forget that Fox is, in fact, a college student. At Belmont University, Fox is studying music business, hoping that with his degree, he can have enough knowledge to help manage himself in the future or work independently or with a small group.
“I want to go as far as I can really. I would hope that I will be able to pay rent with it someday because jobs suck and I don’t want a real job,” Fox said laughing. “It’s difficult right now cause I have a busy load with school and I just put this record out and as much as I want to go out and push it, that’s a bit hard to do at the moment. But I’m trying to do a little bit of both.”
Fox’s next performance will be at The Open Chord at 8 p.m. on November 23 when he debuts his newest album release, “Or Something Like That.”
“I think it’ll be fun to play the new songs. The arrangements will be a little different due to the lineup. It’ll be a smaller lineup of people and not the same rotation, but I think it’ll be fun to play songs live,” Fox said of his upcoming performance at Open Chord, noting that he’ll have some help from Knoxville musicians and one of the musicians who played on his album.
When asked about the moment Fox knew he wanted music to be at the forefront of his life, he said it was the moments he played out as a teenager. When he gets discouraged with his music and all the processes that come along with it, Fox reminds himself of the reason he does it—it’s his calling.
“I’ve had some times recently where I’ve wanted to quit or give it up, but then I always come back to it somehow whether I want to or not,” Fox said. “And there’s times I don’t really want to do it, but I feel like I have to. It feels like a calling which is, I think, the only reason anybody should make music.”
As far as what Fox wants the world to know about him and his music, he noted that his most recent release of “Or Something Like That” should speak for him. For Fox, it might not necessarily be about what he says in his most recent songs or the messages that lie underneath, but like Guthrie, it might just be about “how he says it.”
Eli is poised to present his third album “Or Something Like That” in 2019. The album features 11 original songs with Eli backing himself on most of the instrumentation along with appearances by guest musicians. Join him November 23rd at Open Chord Music for his new album release, presented by WDVX.
Rachel Ward // Open Chord Exclusive Interviews // November 18, 2019
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