Sign Of The Fox

Infobox musical artist
Name = Sign Of The Fox


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Origin = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre = Indie rock
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Years_active = 2002 - Present
Label = The Sound Of Sounds
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URL = [http://www.signofthefox.com www.signofthefox.com]
Current_members = Mark Gracious Dave Georgeff Jack Polick
Past_members = Mike Criddell

Sign Of The Fox is an American indie rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2002. The band consists of Dave Georgeff, Jack Polick, and Mark Gracious. The band released their self-titled debut on February 25, 2003. Sign Of The Fox released their second record, "Your Wake-Up Is Calling", on May 23, 2006. Their third record, "For Anybody Else", was released on April 23, 2008. The band releases music on its own label, The Sound of Sounds.

History

Before Sign Of The Fox

All band members are originally from the Chicago suburbs. Even though the band did not form until 2002, the members have known each other since the late 1980s, meeting at parties and record stores around the Chicago area.

Dave Georgeff (guitars, vocals) is a graduate of the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. He previously played bass guitar with early 1990s Interscope-signed California pop punk band, Wax. Wax gained notoriety for their music videos, directed by Spike Jonze, which received considerable play on MTV in the mid-1990s. Georgeff long-ago adopted the alter-ego "Burdie Cutlass," and veterans of the California punk scene still call him that to this day.

Jack Polick (vocals) was a longtime bartender at the Johnny Depp-owned Viper Room in Los Angeles. Polick is also an actor, and has appeared in movies and television. He has made appearances in at least two Johnny Depp-starring films: ""Blow"" (2001), and "The Brave" (1997). Polick played Deputy Cletus in the big-screen remake of "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005), starring Johnny Knoxville. He reprised that role briefly, in Jessica Simpson's music video for her cover of Nancy Sinatra's classic, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" which Simpson recorded for the film. Polick has also appeared in Knoxville's "" (2002), "Jackass Number Two" (2006), "Jackass 2.5" (2007) and the TV series "Jackass" (2002). Polick is also known around the Hollywood/LA music scene as "Handsome Jack."

Mark Gracious (guitars, vocals, drums) has worked as a music industry executive since moving to Los Angeles in the early 1990s. He previously played with the early 1990s, Los Angeles power-pop combo, Shufflepuck - which was signed by Interscope Records. Later, Gracious also played in Los Angeles-based Brit pop trio, Gloss, which also featured C.J. Buscalgia - a producer and one-time member of Green Jello. Hollywood hipsters have long called Gracious by an alter-ego, "Mearque Mearques."

Mike Criddell (drums) played drums on the band's self-titled debut record. He also wrote and performed "Last Night (Doesn't Matter To Me)" on the record. Cridell left the band in 2004 for personal reasons.

Since Criddell left the band, Mark Gracious has played drums on all studio recordings. The band employs a rotation of different guest drummers for all live shows.

elf-Titled Debut (2003)

The band released their self-titled debut on February 25, 2003. During spring and summer of that year, the band played a succession of shows around California in support of the record. "Sign Of The Fox" included contributions by a number of accomplished recording artists. Punk legend Joey Ramone, of the Ramones, considered recording "(She's My) Sweet Baby" and left the band a voice message inquiring about the song shortly before his death. A portion of that recording appears on Sign Of The Fox's recording of the song. Dave Georgeff's former Wax bandmate, Tom "Soda" Gardocki contributed a backing cello track to "Will Robinson." Another old Wax bandmate and "Jackass" cast member, Loomis Fall, co-wrote "I Won't Complain." Singer/songwriter Brandon Schott played keyboards on "View From Under You," accordian on "Stoli, Are You In?" and piano on "Will Robinson." Jenni McElrath, formerly of Interscope-signed Red 5 performed the duet "Do's & Don'ts" with Jack Polick, and provided backing vocals on "Low-Over Town." Nick LaPointe contributed slide guitar on "I Won't Complain."

"Your Wake-Up Is Calling" (2006)

Sign Of The Fox released their second record, "Your Wake-Up Is Calling", on May 23, 2006. The band played select shows around the Los Angeles following its release. "Your Wake-Up Is Calling" was engineered and recorded by Hollywood sound editor Luis Galdames. He also contributed acoustic guitar on "Drag." "Set It Up" has proven popular with television music supervisors - the song appears in episodes of two different ABC Family Channel series "Kyle XY" (2006) and "Greek" (2008).

"For Anybody Else" (2008)

Sign Of The Fox released their third record, "For Anybody Else", on April 23, 2008. Long-time friend of the band, Johnny Depp has compared the record to, "Squeeze, with a little Clash and The Replacements." Luis Galdames recorded and engineered "For Anybody Else" and played tambourine on "It's So Good." Dave Nicholson of the Scottish power-pop sextet Driveblind (Geffen Records) contributed keyboards on "Don't Whisper."

Live Performances

The band played their first live show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on February 8, 2003, as the opening act for Phantom Planet. "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville - an old friend of the band members - introduced Sign Of The Fox at the El Rey show. In dozens of shows around the Los Angeles area, the band opened for a number of popular acts, including Urge Overkill at The Troubadour, and Kill Hannah at the Viper Room. The band has a notable Hollywood celebrity following. In addition to Johnny Knoxville, Jessica Simpson and Christina Applegate have been spotted at the band's live shows.

Musical Style

The band often draws comparisons to Cheap Trick, The Shins, and The Replacements because of their guitar-based rhythms and quirky lyrics.

Film and Television

Sign Of The Fox has found success contributing music to television and movies. Their song, "How Lucky Am I," from their self-titled debut record, was used in the 2005 Lions Gate motion picture, "Happy Endings", starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, and directed by Don Roos. In the film, Gyllenhaal sings a stylized, slowed down version of the song. The song makes another appearance during the closing credits of the film, performed by Ashleigh Darkbloom. Another Sign Of The Fox composition, "Last Night (Doesn’t Matter To Me)” from the self-titled debut, is also performed by Darkbloom in the film.

In 2005, "Last Night (Doesn’t Matter To Me)” made an appearance in an episode of the TNT series "The Closer", starring Kyra Sedgwick.

The independently-produced, "8 of Diamonds" (2005) starring Eric Roberts, contained six Sign Of The Fox recordings from the self titled debut record, including “Stoli, Are You In?,” “Will Robinson,” "(She's My) Sweet Baby," "I Won't Complain," "Do's & Don'ts," and "Stooge."

"Set It Up" from Sign Of The Fox's "Your Wake-Up is Calling" found its way onto two different ABC Family Channel series. "Kyle XY" used the composition in 2006, during the series first season in an episode entitled, "Memory Serves." The song is also heard during the first season (2008) of "Greek", in an episode entitled, "The Great Cappie."

As well, Dave Georgeff served as a music consultant on "Jackass Number Two", the film sequel to Johnny Knoxville's, "Jackass".

Discography

* "Sign Of The Fox" (February 25, 2003, The Sound of Sounds)

* "You Wake-Up Is Calling" (May 23, 2006, The Sound of Sounds)

* "For Anybody Else" (April 23, 2008, The Sound of Sounds)

Band Members

Current Members

* Mark Gracious (guitars, drums, vocals) 2002 - present

* Dave Georgeff (guitars, vocals) 2002 - present

* Jack Polick (vocals) 2002 - present

Former Members

* Mike Criddell (drums, vocals) 2002 - 2004

References

External links

* [http://www.signofthefox.com Sign Of The Fox Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/signofthefox MySpace]