“GARAGE ROCK GOLD” (PANDORA) OF THE STONE FOXES HITTING THE ROAD, PLAYING HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS AMID 21-DATE NATIONAL TOUR

The Stone Foxes – the all-out rock & roll band that’s opened for the Black Keys and surpassed five million track streams on Spotify – will play a 21-date national tour that includes hometown festival Hardly Strictly Bluegrass as well as stops in NYC, Chicago, DC, and Atlanta. American Songwriter is streaming the entire new album ‘Twelve Spells,’ calling it the band’s “next step”: http://www.americansongwriter.com/2015/09/stream-stone-foxes-new-album-twelve-spells/

SF Weekly wrote about frontman Shannon Koehler’s 11 open heart surgeries and how it affects him as a musician: http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/the-stone-foxes-great-american-music-hall-gamh/Content?oid=3680413

Here’s what we’re reading elsewhere:

“Perfect back-to-basics rock”
- Eric Renner Brown, Entertainment Weekly, April 2, 2015

"Garage rock gold... the sound of a band hitting their stride.”
- Eric Shea, Pandora, September 15, 2015

“A distinct joy.”
- Ben Kaye, Consequence of Sound, May 1, 2015

“The San Francisco sextet dishes out the manic, expertly calibrated and disciplined orchestral guitar landscape you might associate with Television or Sleater-Kinney.”
- Paul de Barros, Seattle Times, July 2, 2015

“Darker, moodier sound borrowing from Ennio Morricone spaghetti western soundtracks [from a band] known for rousing live performances wherein instruments get swapped, stages serve as diving platforms, and general troublemaking is had.”
- Matt Saincome, SF Weekly, June 3, 2015

“It’s a pure shot of energy — nothing fancy – just rock… We could not love it more.”
- Hannah Angst, The Wild Honey Pie, July 2, 2015

“Loose, spontaneous and all about the moment. Most importantly, the group is hellbent on keeping their music and performances as soulful as possible… the Stone Foxes are on their way to big things.”
- Neil Ferguson, Glide Mag, May 6, 2015

“An explosion of pounding drums, powerful rhythms, and psychedelic hooks.”
- Elmore Magazine, June 11, 2015

The Stone Foxes ‘Twelve Spells’ Tour Dates

9/26 Reno, NV/Cargo
10/4 San Francisco, CA/Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
10/23 Chico, CA/Lost on Main
10/26 Aspen, CO/Belly Up
10/27 Ft. Collins, CO/Downtown Artery
10/29 Chicago, IL/Schubas
10/31 Ferndale, MI/Magic Bag
11/1 Cleveland, OH/Beachland Tavern
11/3 Rochester, NY/Flower City Station
11/4 Syracuse, NY/Westcott Theater
11/5 Somerville, MA/Thunder Road
11/6 New York, NY/Mercury Lounge
11/7 Rehoboth Beach, DE/Dogfish
11/8 Vienna, VA/Jammin Java
11/10 Philadelphia, PA/Milkboy
11/13 Charlotte, NC/Visulite Theater
11/14 Asheville, NC/New Mountain Theatre
11/15 Atlanta, GA/Smith's Olde Bar
11/19 Conroe, TX/Dosey Doe Music Café
11/20 Austin, TX/Lamberts
12/4 Sebastopol, CA/755 After Dark

NEW INSTRUMENT RESULTED IN NEW IDEAS FOR SEAN HAYES IN WRITING 'BEFORE WE TURN TO DUST' (SEPT. 11), MARRYING HIP HOP BEATS TO FOLK MUSIC

San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Sean Hayes turned to a new instrument, the piano, in order to find new ideas in writing 'Before We Turn To Dust,' out September 11.  He says, "It was like being a beginner at something you had done before. Writing on the piano I am a complete novice, yet I do have a sense of music."

The instrument also helped Sean approach his vocal melodies differently.  He elaborates, "The way the voice resonates with the piano is much bigger then the guitar.   Like singing in a cave versus singing in a field."

In songs like "Bam Bam," rhythms derived from R&B and hip hop pulse via the rhythm section, right beneath those foundational piano chords and Hayes' amazing, warbling vocals. Ultimately, Eric Khun (Silian Rail) played piano on the album. "Drop Down" achieves a contemplative, head-nodding effect with drums, bass and Wurlitzer, in addition to grand piano.  Other tracks found Hayes' harmonic ideas appearing in the form effects-drenched horns or heavily filtered backing vocals.

Click here for a music video for "Miss Her When I'm Gone."

'Before We Turn To Dust' has already received early airplay on KCRW and WFUV. SF Weekly stated, "Take him anywhere, play him for anyone, and the response is always the same: People want more. They'll write down the name if they don't know it already…"

READY-TO-BREAK ARTIST SEAN HAYES MARRIES FOLK AND R&B ON 'BEFORE TURN TO DUST,' OUT SEPT. 4

SPECTACULAR SINGING VOICE TO PLAY AT OUTSIDE LANDS MUSIC FESTIVAL

HBO'S BORED TO DEATH HAS FEATURED SONG BY ITUNES #1 ARTIST

Sean Hayes marries folk sounds with R&B grooves on 'Before We Turn To Dust,' out September 4th in partnership with the Orchard, all capped off with his stunning vibrato-laden vocals. 'Before We Turn To Dust' was written and recorded in the same year Hayes became a father. The album has a way of capturing the notions of birth, mortality, love, and struggle that echo throughout the album while the rhythms cause one's hips to sway, almost involuntarily, to the beat.

NPR and San Francisco press have raved about Hayes, who is poised to break out following tours supporting Cold War Kids, Ani DiFranco, and Jolie Holland; airplay on KCRW & WFUV; a duet on Aimee Mann’s last record; a second appearance at the Outside Lands Festival alongside Sharon Van Etten, Norah Jones, Sigur Ros, Andrew Bird, Regina Spektor and others; and a song in HBO's "Bored to Death." He has also scored multiple #1 slots on the iTunes Store's singer-songwriter chart.

NPR has called him "a young man with an old soul." SF Weekly stated, "Take him anywhere, play him for anyone, and the response is always the same: People want more. They'll write down the name if they don't know it already… You can keep your Joanna Newsoms and your Devendra Banharts. When it comes to folk music, Sean Hayes is the man [and] what sets him apart is his voice." Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle called him "extraordinary."

A San Francisco Bay area artist, Hayes is accompanied by veterans Andrew Borger (Tom Waits, Norah Jones) on drums, Devin Hoff (Nels Cline Singers) on bass and relative newcomers Ezra Lipp (Thao Nguyen) on drums and multi-instrumentalist Eric Khun (Silian Rail) on keys, drums and percussion. The record was mixed by Eli Crews (Tuneyards) at New, Improved Recording in Oakland, CA.