Stonefox is a garage band in the purest sense of the word — except, perhaps, for the fact that it did most of its recording in living rooms. But they did accomplish the entire recording for their first full-length LP, Dead in the Sun on "barely professional" equipment. After what they dubbed a "discouraging recording experience," vocalist Jordan Asher, guitarist David Barnard, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Rosenthal, and bassist Ross shunned studios and red tape for the boundless expanses of their own collective creativity. (Pardon the smell of patchouli surrounding that last bit. It's just part of the vibe you get from listening to Stonefox.) Raw and emotional, funky, bluesy, and a bit psychedelic, the band's sound is dripping with more 1960s flavor than a magic brownie.
Friday night at City Limits, the group shares the stage with the Pretty Faces, a family band of sorts that draws from a different set of retro influences. Comprised of Jeph Thorslund on vocals and guitar; his wife, Hannah, on guitar and backing vocals; and Jeph's brother Tom on drums, the Boca-based trio kicks some serious ass. Inspired by vintage punk and garage acts like Big Star, the Stooges, the Clash, and the Velvet Underground, they do their role models justice, churning out overdrive-laden power pop worthy of the CBGB of old. The band released its debut album, Lipstick Kiss, to decent underground buzz in 2004, and the follow-up, Another Sound, is slated to drop in early 2009.
