Q&A: Foxy Shazam

Foxy Shazam’s Eric Nally has never been shy about stating a goal of becoming the biggest band in the world.

The local rock ‘n’ roll crew seemed to be doing what it could to reach that mark, or something close to it, by releasing its self-titled major-label debut with Warner Bros. Records two years ago.

During a phone call from his home on the East Side, Nally says the band is still on course after parting ways with Warner Bros. and signing with I.R.S. Records. Foxy’s I.R.S. debut, “The Church of Rock and Roll,” arrives on Tuesday, and the band plays a release show Saturday in Covington.

Question: You’re going to open some shows for the Darkness. What’s the strategy in terms of being an opener rather than headlining when it comes to promoting the new record?

Answer: We’re gonna do a headlining run as soon as we get off the Darkness. Those will be our small-club tour for the legit fans that don’t want to pay a lot. The Darkness venues are bigger and the tickets are more expensive. The only reason we did that tour was because they’re really good friends and they asked us to do it. We already did England with them so we didn’t want to pass it up. Plus, we feel that their crowd really understands us. It’s good exposure for us. We get new fans.

Q: How did you go about choosing the bands to open your CD release show?

A: I can remember going to shows to watch Banderas when they were Skin Curtain back in the day. They kind of inspired me to do what I do live, ‘cause it was before I was in a band, and they just blew my mind. The band Automagik that’s playing, the drummer Teddy (Aitkins) is actually a partial owner of that church that Sky (Foxy Shazam keyboardist Sky White) owns in Over-the-Rhine (the First German Reformed Church in the West End). Cadaver Dogs are from Columbus. Their singer does our merch when we go on tour, so he’s always with us.

Q: What’s the story behind the band leaving Warner Bros.?

A: The music business as we know right now is in a critical state. We just got this eerie sense, I don’t know, that the whole thing was crashing and burning as a company, and we were tied to it. Not in terms of what they did for us – that was great. It just seemed like the time we’re in right now, they’re just suffering. With I.R.S., we have the backing of a major label, because it’s a subsidiary of a Capitol, but we don’t have the big company with going through 1,000 people to get things done. I think we’ll get a lot more done a lot faster working with a small group. I don’t know why I didn’t do that in the first place. Schroeder, the high school I went to, always worked in smaller groups, and that’s always how I’ve kind of been running everything I do my whole life.

Q: What does I.R.S. have in store for promoting the new record?

A: For the first time ever we’re gonna go to radio, which is a huge thing. That was the plan at Warner Bros., but they would never do it. This record, we’re going to radio, which should help out with everything. And then we have a lot of touring. We’re gonna do headlining tours a lot and some major festivals. The plan is kind of the same because I want to be the biggest band in the world, but I think it’s gonna be executed better with this label.