Foxboro Hot Tubs

Infobox musical artist
Name = Foxboro Hot Tubs


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = San Francisco Bay Area/Oakland, California, United States
Genre = Garage rock revival
Years_active = 2007–Present
Label = Jingle Town Records
URL = [http://www.foxborohottubs.com/ www.foxborohottubs.com]
Associated_acts = Green Day
The Network
Current_members = Billie Joe Armstrong
Mike Dirnt
Tré Cool
Jason White
Jason Freese
Kevin Preston
Past_members =

The Foxboro Hot Tubs is an American rock n' roll band. The group made its debut in December 2007 with three songs on their website. Soon after, the Foxboro Hot Tubs were discovered and subsequently made headlines, being heralded as the next secret side project of Green Day, [http://www.nme.com/news/green-day/35558 Green Day side project releases new single] "NME - April 1, 2008] which was later confirmed by the band themselves. [ [http://www.greendayauthority.com/ Green Day Authority, a dedicated fan site.] ] Billie Joe Armstrong told NME magazine: "The only similarity between Green Day and Foxboro Hot Tubs is that we are the same band." [NME, 3rd May 2008] His reasons for starting the band, also told to NME magazine, were that they "love to play music and be spontaneous, and after a few late-night jams and a few too many bottles of wine, we were inspired to record some rockin' eight-track recordings." [NME, 3rd May 2008] In a similar manner to other side project The Network, Billie Joe has adopted an alter ego for Foxboro Hot Tubs - Reverend Strychnine Twitch. [Kerrang! June 7th 2008] "Strychnine Twitch" is also mentioned in the lyrics to the title track, Stop Drop And Roll: "Sixteen and a son of a bitch/got a gun and a strychnine twitch".

Formation

The band consists of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool, Jason White, Jason Freese and Kevin Preston. While the band's history is, as yet, unknown, they are comprised of the members of Green Day [cite web|url=http://www2.kerrang.com/2007/12/new_green_day_music.html|title=New Green Day music?|accessdate=2007-12-10|publisher=Kerrang! magazine] , who are performing "garage" music under a nom de plume. Fans of Foxboro Hot Tubs have noted, on the band's MySpace site, many musical similarities between the band and Green Day. Among the common traits listed are Billie Joe Armstrong's "unmistakable" vocals and guitar playing, and a rhythm section which recalls the sound of Green Day's own Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool. [cite web|url= http://www.myspace.com/foxborohottubs|title=Foxboro Hot Tubs' MySpace|accessdate= 2007-12-08|publisher=Myspace]

On December 8, 2007, Foxboro Hot Tubs' site released the band's debut EP, "Stop Drop and Roll!!!", in streaming and downloadable mp3 formats, free of charge to the listener. Five days later, on December 13, the mp3s were taken off the site, which then displayed just a clock. The mp3s were reinstated on December 16, but were again removed and replaced with the clock; later the website was changed to simply redirect to the band's MySpace.

Soon after, the song "Mother Mary" became a hit on alternative rock radio, hitting #16 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The name "Foxboro Hot Tubs" was explained in an email that was sent to MTV News:"The Foxboro Hot Tubs were a place we used to sneak booze and chicks into late at night. But most of the time it was just 'dude soup'."

"Stop Drop and Roll!!!"

"Stop Drop and Roll!!!" is the first record from the band. The first six tracks of the album were made freely available on [http://www.foxborohottubs.com/ foxborohottubs.com] , beginning on December 8 2007. They have since been removed and replaced with a web site advertising the album. On May 20, 2008, "Stop Drop and Roll!!!" was released on CD and vinyl. The vinyl package contains a hidden copy of the cd in the record sleeve.

Musically, the songs exhibit influences as diverse as Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, The Kinks, The Smiths, The Hi-Fives, and Tommy James and the Shondells. Some have compared the band's sound to more modern acts, such as The Strokes,The White Stripes,Wir sind Helden and The Fratellis who share common influences with Foxboro Hot Tubs. Initial reports described the record as having a "'60s style" sound. [cite web|url=http://www.punknews.org/article/26853|title=Green Day members form Foxboro Hot Tubs|accessdate=2007-12-08|publisher=Punknews.org] .

One thing about the album which is markedly different from most acknowledged Green Day releases is its use of samples. On the initial release of the first six songs, audio clips from various classic films are inserted at the beginning of each track. For example, "Stop Drop and Roll" and "She's a Saint Not a Celebrity" are preceded by samples from the 1966 film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", while "Ruby Room" contains a clip from the 1970 cult classic "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls". Green Day had not made use of samples since "Kerplunk!" in 1992 until the release of an American Idiot outtake, "Favorite Son" which appeared on the 2004 compilation album "Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2".

Some of the album's lyrics seem to be reminiscent of the lyrics from Green Day's 2004 album "American Idiot", most noticeably the use of religious imagery such as a character named "Mother Mary", closely following the naming conventions of "American Idiot" characters "St. Jimmy" and "Jesus of Suburbia". There is also mention of being crucified in the song "She's a Saint Not a Celebrity" (a title itself reminiscent of the "American Idiot" track "She's a Rebel", which included the lyrics "She's a rebel / She's a saint"). Additionally a common phrase from "American Idiot" (appearing repeatedly in both "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming") is "I don't care", with this phrase also being repeated in the Foxboro Hot Tubs song "Mother Mary". The use of the name "Jingle Town" is also a similarity; in "American Idiot", "Jingle Town" is the name of the fictional suburban town in which Jesus of Suburbia lives, while the Foxboro Hot Tubs claims to be signed by the record label "Jingle Town Records". [ [http://www.jingletownrecords.com/ jingletownrecords] - "retrieved" - April 01 2008]

On March 25 2008 six more song titles were revealed and one new song "The Pedestrian" appeared on the band's myspace. The band's site now confirms that "The Pedestrian" will be the album's next single. While a video for "The Pedestrian" was shot in Toronto, Canada on April 15th and directed by Graydon Sheppard, the band since confirmed that it was only a treatment for a video, and was not final or official. The video was put up temporarily on Sheppard's own site as well as YouTube, but was removed shortly after. [ [http://www.foxborohottubsdownload.com/ foxborohottubsdownload] "The Pedestrian download" "retrieved" April 01 2008]

The album was released as an MP3 download on April 7 2008 and the physical CD was released on May 20.

Another song called "Broadway" was temporarily put up on the band's MySpace page and has replaced the track "Highway 1" on the album's A-side.

Band members

*Billie Joe Armstrong - lead vocals
*Mike Dirnt - bass guitar, backing vocals
*Tré Cool - drums, percussion
*Jason White - lead guitar, backing vocals
*Jason Freese - keyboards
*Kevin Preston - rhythm guitar

Discography

Albums

* "Stop Drop and Roll!!!" (2008) #21 US; #37 UK

ingles

* "Mother Mary"
* "The Pedestrian"

Chart positions

References

External links

* [http://www.foxborohottubs.com/ Foxboro Hot Tubs] official site
*MySpace|foxborohottubs|Foxboro Hot Tubs