The Fox Hunt

Here it is. My favorite album this year is by a band from West Virginia, The Fox Hunt. I know what you’re thinking…Another blogger trying to find some obscure album to call the best so he can look cool and elite and make himself feel important. For all of those reasons, I almost made this my #5 pick but in the end I decided to go with honesty and let the pieces fall where they may. Here are the facts though:

Nowhere Bound has managed to find it’s way into and onto every piece of equipment I listen to music on. My personal iPod, the wife’s iPod, our iPod shuffle, it’s on all three computers and my work computer, it’s in my car and in the wife’s car. No other cd released this year has managed to replicate itself into every place where I might listen to music and I continually find myself queing it up when I need a break from listening to new bands. Point is, obscure or not, this is my favorite album of the year…it is what it is:


Somewhere on the highway between Drag the River and Lucero, there is an exit with a dive bar. The Fox Hunt, out of Martinsburg, West Virginia, is that bar’s house band. If I was required to cull the essential listening list down today and produce a list of the top 5 cd’s of the first half of 2007, “Nowhere Bound” would be on that list without a doubt.

Can you tell I like these guys? I’m not trying to say they produced a perfect cd. Nobody does. A few of the songs need maturity, and time will pull their dive bar further and further away from the DTR/Lucero exit, but for a debut these guys have most definitely released something to be proud of. Besides, drinking music ain’t about perfection. Leave that crap to the club kids. This is front porch brown bottle music.

The Fox Hunt is John R. Miller (Vocals, guitar, bass), Matt Kline (Vocals, guitar, bass), Matt Metz (Mandolin, harmonies) and Ben Townsend (Fiddle, banjo, harmonies). Their debut cd “Nowhere Bound” is available on Skull City Records. If you have been sitting around wondering what was gonna fill the hole left by the Drag the River implosion, then I advise you to take a look at these guys. They don’t focus on drinking with the macro lens like DTR did, but they are a fine damn band nonetheless. - ninebullets.com

I came across some really good bluegrass music from some guys from West Virginia who go by the name The Fox Hunt. First glimpse of the band would probably give you the idea that these guys are a rock group, influenced by 90’s alternative rock, but that isn’t exactly the case. Especially when you hear the bass, fiddles, banjos, mandolins, and bluegrass vocal harmonies. All the guys in the band range from the early to mid twenties, but don’t let their young age fool you. The bluegrass sounds coming from the band are quite mature, and appeal to country music and bluegrass fans of all ages. Their 10 track debut album “Nowhere Bound” was released back in April of this year on Skull City records. Members of The Fox Hunt include John R. Miller on guitar, bass, and vocals; Matt Metz on mandolin and vocals; Matt Kline on vocals, guitar, and bass; and Ben Townsend on fiddle, banjo, and vocal harmonies. - Independent and Major Label Artist Music Promotion

Bluegrass was and is a major part of my life. I've been going to bluegrass festivals since I was very young. I remember well meeting Bill Monroe, "the father of bluegrass music", at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival many years ago.
Yes, I partied with the best of them - the Johnson Mountain Boys, Lewis Family, and The Seldom Scene. The members of my stepfather's bluegrass band, Route 15 Express, came to the house every weekend during the summer- setting up on the porch, practicing for hours on end. Sometimes a small audience would gather in the grass and I'd often fall asleep listening to them play.

When I was contacted by Matt Kline, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, for the band The Fox Hunt, I knew I had to review their new album "Nowhere Bound".

Looking at their picture you may get the impression that they are from a rock band, but they aren't...they are a bluegrass/country band that's bringing the age-old music to younger groups of listeners.

The Fox Hunt released their 10-track, home-recorded original album back in April with Skull City Records.

Matt Kline, 23, of Harpers Ferry and John Miller, 21, of Martinsburg, both write songs, sing, and play the guitar. Ben Townsend, 24, of Romney, plays fiddle and banjo and Matt Metz, 25, of Harpers Ferry, plays the mandolin and the banjo.

"Our music kind of mixes the bluegrass we're surrounded by and our rock
n' roll influences," said Kline.

In part, I believe the movie, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" brought bluegrass music to a much wider audience. The Fox Hunt is doing the same locally. Don't let their young ages fool you...I am already an addicted fan.

The songwriting on this album is excellent. "Good Girl", "All Your Roses", and "Lord, We Get High" are a few of my favorite songs. Picking out specific highlights of this album is extremely difficult because there really isn't a bad performance on it - the entire album is a highlight.

The band is superb - totally in sync with one another, which gives the musicians an opening to extend their storytelling talents and instrumental gifts for all to enjoy. "Nowhere Bound" is polished with finely crafted originals. Their artistic vision is strong. They're pretty impressive! As they grow older, they'll perfect their uniqueness and will leave the small gigs behind them.

Kline, Metz, and Townsend previously played in metal rock band called The Red Oranges before forming The Fox Hunt and bringing in Miller.

These four young musicians are getting a lot of attention everywhere they go.

"Nowhere Bound" is a fantastic release. Their creativeness will get them far. - The Pickett

A few weeks ago, October 21, 2007, to be exact, I covered a story on a new local bluegrass band called The Fox Hunt.
As I said in that article, bluegrass was and still is a major part of my life. I've been going to bluegrass festivals since I was very young - 'round 5 years of age.
Those of you who know bluegrass are sure to remember Bill Monroe, "the father of bluegrass music", the Johnson Mountain Boys, Lester Flatt, and The Seldom Scene. More recent and talked about in the younger crowds is Alison Krauss and Claire Lynch. I believe The Fox Hunt will be one of those young bands talked about by all.
Bluegrass music has a way of making you feel good. It travels from your ears all the way to your toes, electrifying every in its path.
On Friday, November 30, 2007, a few members of my family and I went to 43 South Downtown Hagerstown to watch the band perform live. Watching the four gather 'round a microphone, almost a huddled group, reminded me of the days when my stepfather's bluegrass band, Route 15 Express, practiced for hours on our front porch.
Slowly people started to pile in. Passersby stopped and gazed inside the glass front where the band was set up - many turned to come inside. They mingled with the crowd while setting up their equipment. These four young performers did not seem hesitant; they grabbed their instruments and started pickin'. Several songs were from their album "Nowhere Bound", but the group performed several new pieces, which they say will be on their new album next year.
Their music tells the tale of betrayal, hopelessness, and deliverance. Their performance is raw and heartfelt.
Skull City Records said it perfectly, "Themes of defeat, loss, and missed opportunity abound in the apathetic wonderland his (John Miller) songs create, but by championing the underdog and reminding us that we are all human, his songs allow us to go on feeling more self-worth, unified in our shortcomings. Miller's characteristic doom-and-gloom writing style is countered by the band's creative contra positive, Matt Kline. While often times bleak, Kline's characters are optimistic and hopeful, and while he deals with such universally hard-hitting topics as alcoholism and abandonment, he often does so with forgiveness and an insightful tinge of humor. This emotional roller-coaster is bridled by the driving musicianship of Matthew Metz and Ben Townsend, whose musical influences range from string band music of the early 20th century to indie, and from D.I.Y. punk to arena rock." (Skull-City.com)
The Fox Hunt released their 10-track, home-recorded original album back in April with Skull City Records.
Matt Kline, 23, of Harpers Ferry and John Miller, 21, of Martinsburg, both write songs, sing, and play the guitar. Ben Townsend, 24, of Romney, plays fiddle and banjo and Matt Metz, 25, of Harpers Ferry, plays the mandolin and the banjo.
The songwriting on this album is excellent. "Good Girl", "All Your Roses", and "Lord, We Get High" are a few of my favorite songs. Picking out specific highlights of this album is extremely difficult because there really isn't a bad performance on it - the entire album is a highlight.
The band is superb - totally in sync with one another, which gives the musicians an opening to extend their storytelling talents and instrumental gifts for all to enjoy. "Nowhere Bound" is polished with finely crafted originals. Their artistic vision is strong. They're pretty impressive!
These guys travel all over - Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania and all places in between.
These four young musicians are getting a lot of attention everywhere they go.

- The Pickett