Fangirls World Tour had the opportunity to interview and feature the three-piece band, Foxglove. If you have been following Fangirls World Tour for a while, you would recognize this band, as we have interviewed them before! However, a year has passed, and Foxglove has grow. Over the year, opinions, goals, etc., have changed. We sat down with the three members and caught up.
If you need to learn about of who Foxglove are, they are an Alt-rock band from Southern California. The last time we interviewed them, they had recently released “Inflections,” but now are on an all-time high after releasing their newest single, “Save Yourself.”
“Save Yourself” is on all streaming platforms, and the song dives in on who Foxglove truly is.
This interview got personal quickly. We cracked down on what was important; personal feelings, anxiety, the writing process; a little bit of everything! Each member had added their personal touch. Everyone has their quirks.
At the beginning of the interview, I (Brooklynn) started by asking the basics, such as what encourages them to write. The singer Jayden Carbajal started, “For me, I’ve always used writing as a coping mechanism. Sometimes I feel like I feel a certain way, but I’m not able to articulate it and, sometimes I have to write about it to understand how I’m feeling and why. It’s pretty common that I think I’m writing about one thing, then when it’s done, I take a step back and look at the song as a whole, and I go, “Ohhh, so THAT’S what this is about”.
“Wanting to create,” Alex Rippeon added, “I think I have things to say and a way to say them that nobody else would. Not to say it’s better or worse than anyone else, but my story and thoughts are my own, and I always love hearing others’ perspectives. I want to create things that I would love and find people who also love those things even if they interpret what I’m saying in a different way than I intended. People’s minds are so interesting, and everyone’s is different.”
“My bandmates usually help push me into where I want to create. As a perfectionist, it can be a bit frustrating to start something new, as you’re making lots of mistakes within the creation process. However, writing new things is great for your growth, and it feels so rewarding to finally get a new song to a place you’re happy with,” drummer Tristen Biszantz lastly said.
Hearing other people’s reasons to write or create something is always so interesting. Their very own art that they can call their own.
Everyone has a different reason why they want to become an artist. Whether it’s because they loved music ever since they were a little kid, like Carbajal, creating art that can be yours, such as Rippeon’s dream, or lastly, spreading happiness with yourself and others just by playing music like Biszantz.
“I’ve always loved music ever since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until later that I saw old videos of random bands playing live like KISS or Linkin Park, and I just couldn’t believe that you could make a living from making and playing music. I decided early on that that was what I wanted to do,” Jayden mentioned.
Rippeon added, “Reading, seeing, or hearing someone else’s art that is so beautiful or visceral that it stays in my mind for days on end is what I want to do.”
“I was always drumming on all sorts of things as a kid and always thought it was so cool to play the drums. During the shows, I also witnessed how happy the music made people, and I wanted to do the same with my music. I also want to travel the world, and I can’t think of a better mix; traveling the world and making people happy through music,” Biszantz said.
Someone can relate to this, even if it’s not with music. Some people might have grown up in that scene, and others want to spread their happiness to the world. It doesn’t matter why you want to do what you want to do, and all that matters is never to stop being an inspiration. Never stop being yourself!
“In a way, I’m sure that it has,” the lead singer started on when I asked if his childhood had influenced him, “Most of the songs that I write for Foxglove have been about love and heartbreak, but some have been self-reflections and critical of who I am and the things that I do. I’m sure a therapist could really unpack that and trace it back to my childhood somewhere, haha,” Carbajal joked.
Rippeon agreed, “Childhood helped me realize what I liked and didn’t in every aspect of life. It’s like a trial period where you don’t have to worry about the responsibilities of life, and the experiences you have mold who you will become in the future when I feel the personality truly blossoms with little restriction, and that’s how it should be. Nobody should be scared to be who they want.”
I loved how Rippeon described what childhood is. It’s so true about it being a trial period in your life, from learning basics like your favorite color or how to walk, to dealing with heartbreak. It’s all know and go.
Biszantz had a different answer when it came to how his childhood influenced him. He says, “As a kid, I listened to a lot of 90s grunge music, as that’s what my dad listened to. I learned a lot from the way those bands played drums, and I think a lot of my beats draw inspiration from that era. I also started listening to more blues/blues rock as a teenager, and I love the way the drums sound in that genre, always keeping the pocket tight and serving the song first.”
With Biszantz mentioning him playing drums and what encouraged him to do so, it made me curious. What other hobbies and talents do these guys have?
The singer was so excited to answer this question. ” I (Jayden) love to bartend and make cocktails. I also love to visit different bars to try their unique drinks, go to restaurants (I’m a huge foodie), and go out to see live music/dance. Besides that, I am also mildly into fitness and like to go to the gym and run. I’ve been aspiring to pick up another hobby when I get the time, but I’m currently on the fence between boxing and surfing (two completely different hobbies, I know!)”
Both Biszantz and Rippeon had more simple answers when it came to this question.
“I like to play video games, usually with my little brother. It helps me stay connected with him, as we don’t live together anymore. I also like to cook, especially with/for my friends!” Biszantz casually said.
“I enjoy reading, writing, very rarely sketching, working out, and every once in a while, picking up a video game, usually fantasy games. Elden Ring had me hooked for a few months,” Rippeon mentioned.
We started diving deeper into who Foxglove is and what makes them who they are. We got on more serious topics, such as what they truly wanted to achieve in the music industry. The music industry can be harsh and a difficult job to achieve. But this does not stop the members of Foxglove from flying high with their goals!
I asked them, what they truly wanted to achieve out of being in the music industry and being a musician. Carbajal was the first to answer. His response was very detailed and inspirational!
“I hope to make my mark as an artist enough that I can start to collaborate with a bunch of other musicians and producers. I want to be the person that people need in the room to fill in for an instrument, to help the writing process, and help with production. I want to be known as the guy that everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you’re making a record? You should hit up Jayden [Carbajal]; he’d love to work on it with you.’ I don’t necessarily want to be HUGE in the industry, but I want to be known as genuine, and that is good enough for me.”
Rippeon was next, “Reaching an audience that can relate to us in a way that we help them. I know my musical heroes are people and not saints, but they tell their stories and what’s going on in their minds. I hope people can listen to our music and hear the joy we had making it, along with the thoughts that go into it that rack our minds. Hopefully, it can touch some people that I’d love to have conversations with.”
“I (Tristen) hope to travel a lot and play music around the world. The idea of playing shows with my friends every night sounds so rewarding, and it would be amazing to make a living off of our art.”
That said, you have to have someone or something to influence you to encourage you to climb to the very top and achieve those dreams.
“For me (Jayden), I find inspiration everywhere. Lyrically a lot of is from my friends, partners, ex-partners, or whoever. Musically other musicians have a hand in what I’m into or what I want to sound like at the moment. It’s very often that I hear a song I’ve never heard before and go, ‘Now I wanna write a song like THAT!’ The challenge with that, of course, is not letting things sound TOO much like your inspiration, haha.”
“People who have vivid minds that don’t hold back,” Rippeon said, “Some people in the industry that I’ve been influenced by are Corey Taylor, Kurt Cobain, Matty Healy, Brakence, Laura Les, and Dylan Brady. They’re all just normal people with a distinct style, matching up with their lyrics. They tell their individual stories in their own way.”
Maybe one day, a future musician will mention that Foxglove is their influence!
Biszantz followed up, “I think it’s a mix of everything! My family is super supportive of what I do, which is amazing. In the band, we are always pushing each other to new limits and constantly evaluating what we can do to make ourselves better. With such a strong support system, it’s hard not to be inspired to constantly create and evolve into a better musician. I also love to watch other musicians, and I’m always learning from what they do, while simultaneously being inspired to play more!”
We can all relate to one of the responses one way or another!
If you’re a musician, 9/10 you have a dream venue to play at. These guys do too! For Cabajal, it’s The Observatory in Santa Ana, California, where his favorite artists played at. He thinks it would be so cool to experience seeing the crowd on stage instead of the other way around. Besides that one, he would also love to perform at the Troubadour in LA.
“… just because of how intimate the venue [the Troubadour] feels and all the history attached to it. That venue has a mojo attached to it that you can feel in the room!” Jayden explains.
Now for Alex, it’s The Greek in LA.
“That place is awesome!” Alex exclaims.
Lastly, Tristen’s dream venue, or venues, are The Forum and The Observatory, just like his bandmate, Jayden!
“If we’re talking big, I would love to play at The Forum. I’ve just seen so many amazing acts there. Jayden took me to see the Foo Fighters there in high school, and that was something that really inspired me to play in a band. On the smaller side, I would love to play at The Observatory in Santa Ana. Same deal, I grew up seeing so many shows there, and I always pictured myself on that stage!” Tristen states.
We hope to see Foxglove play at least one of these venues in the near future!
“SO many people I would love to collaborate with! I (Jayden) feel like I’m at a stage in my musical life that I wanna play with everybody and anybody that wants to, especially for Foxglove. I’m a big fan of the whole, hang out with someone for a day, write and record a tune, and call it a single.”
“Matt Healy,” Alex eagerly told us, “Nobody on this planet can make music like he [Healy] and George [Daniel] do. The detail of each of their songs and references to pop culture and his own mind are some of the most beautiful and honest things I’ve heard. Whether you hate him or love him, he is genius in his own way.”
Tristen couldn’t agree more with both of his bandmates.
“At this point in our career, I am down to collaborate with as many musicians as I can,” he said, “Of course I have idols that I would love to meet and work with, but mostly I would want to talk with them about their journey in the music industry! It would be so cool to listen to pros talk about their upbringing, and what they think our band could do at our stage. There are just so many amazing musicians out there, and we can learn something from each and every one of them.”
When it comes to preforming, wither to a small crowd or a huge one, some musician get anxiety. Its hard to cope with or even over come especially when playing music live is a dream of yours. I decided to ask a more personal question; Do you or do you not get anxiety when preforming? With foxglove, the anxiety is definitely there, but each member has their own way of coping and they wanted to share!
“I used to get it really bad! Now with our live set we have so many other components/hardware/software, there’s a lot of things that could potentially go wrong and it used to really freak me out and worry me. I think that what I do now to combat performance anxiety is remind myself that it’s just live music, and if I mess up or something goes wrong on stage it’s really not that big of a deal. It’s not life or death, and nobody is going to remember that we had a trip up anyways. Also, playing live music is supposed to be fun first and foremost, and if you don’t remember that it’s easy to tell yourself that being good and impressive is more important than you and the audience having fun,” Jayden light heartedly explained.
Alex had a completely different answer…
“Have a couple swigs of whiskey before going on. Clears up the throat and loosens the muscles!”
Maybe he can learn a few things from Jayden about serving and bartending drinks!
Tristen had a more detailed explanation. “I usually get anxiety before the show and during the first couple of songs. I often feel like my throat is so dry, which makes it a bit difficult to sing! I mentioned before that I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I think that’s where the anxiety stems from, as I just want everything to end up right. However, I just have to remember that we create music because it’s fun! Having my two best friends on stage with me definitely helps me relax, and I also have to think about how much we practiced these songs. I just have to remember to have faith in myself that we’ve practiced enough, and everything will turn out great. “
Thanks Foxglove for sharing that personal aspect of your life! With that being said, lets change the focus to Foxglove and THEIR creations when it comes to music. Every artist has their own unique sound. Everyone is different. For Foxglove, if you never have listened to them before (what’s holding you back? Do it now!) each member described what they think Foxglove sounds like.
For Jayden, it’s a melting pot of different genres. ” I would call it a melting pot of indie rock and alternative with strong pop elements. I think that we’ve really gotten good at writing uplifting, dance-y music with brooding and moody lyrics, but you’d never be able to tell unless you REALLY listened in.”
Alex found it difficult to pin point how they sound, “This is always a hard one for me. I think we take too many things from too many influences and outlandish ideas we might have to pinpoint any certain sound or concept. I guess I’d say alternative.”
Tristen agrees with both of his bandmates, “I would say that we love writing music that you want to dance to, but if you listen closely to the lyrics, you might start feeling a bit emo. We are also very proud of the instrumentation we create, so give the songs a few listens, and you might hear some things you didn’t the first time!”
If you haven’t listened to any of their songs, you really do need too! With this interview coming to an end, I had to ask what we could expect with their upcoming art! The guys were so excited to tell us about what’s coming up soon!
Jayden gave us all of the details, “We have pretty much a whole record in the pipeline. Expect a lot of fun indie dance tracks with explosive choruses and driving rhythms, but also songs that have a lot of dynamic variety. I really feel like there is something here for everybody, more so than I ever have!”
Tristen believes that this next EP has a whole new sound compared to their last one.
“These new songs will be much more upbeat than our last EP,” the bandmate said, “These songs still very much sound like us, but they’re a little more modern. We’re very excited about the upcoming songs, and we’re having a hard time choosing what we want to release to the world first!”
Finally, Alex believes that’s this EP, and newer songs, contains more chaotic energy than the last.
“You can expect some songs that range from chaotic to melodious. Both about thoughts that race through my mind that I typically have to get out before they disappear. We have a way of writing that comes to us in times of emotion that we can’t really tap into but when it happens we take advantage.”
Foxglove appreciates everyone who gave a little bit of their time and attention towards their music. The Fangirls World Tour appreciate them for taking the time and talking to us! Big things are coming to the band Foxglove; this is only the beginning. If you have a chance, see them live. The guys would love to connect with their audience more!
For more of Foxglove, as always, check out their socials down below.
