Zox
If you’re looking for a case study of how a band goes from square one to the cusp of the big time, have we got one for you. ZOX, a quartet from Providence, R.I., not only possesses memorable material and a truly distinctive sound (we wouldn’t even be mentioning them without these prerequisites) but also has all its ducks lined up despite (or perhaps because of) a total absence of “professional” music biz help.
The band took shape on the campus of Brown University in the early ‘00s, playing school parties and gradually developing an unconventional instrumental context for the smart, melodic rock songs of singer/guitarist Eli Miller. The key ingredient was a violin, provided initially by a music major moonlighting from the first chair in the university orchestra. While it was the original violinist who provided the inspiration for Miller and his partner, drummer John Zox, it wasn’t until the arrival of Spencer Swain, along with his amplified violin and a boxful of effects pedals, that the nascent band’s sound was truly forged. Swain approaches the violin like The Edge approaches the electric guitar, intensifying and underscoring the material in a striking way.
ZOX is: Eli Miller, John Zox, Spencer Swain, Dan Edinberg.
As soon as Miller, Zox and bass player Dan Edinburg graduated in 2002, they made fulltime commitments to the band, along with secret weapon Swain, building a following on the Northeast college circuit (a far more effective and lucrative approach than slogging from club to club), while recording their self-made first album, which they released in 2003 on their own label.
Here’s where the story gets fascinating. The programmers at Providence powerhouse WBRU, sensing something special in this group of recent grads, adopted ZOX, building their visibility in the music-crazed Boston-Providence corridor. Seizing the opportunity, the band worked out a consignment deal with Newbury Comics wherein the album was stocked in all 35 stores. Then WEQX in Albany, N.Y., jumped on the album, other retailers picked it up, the band moved gratifying numbers of CDs at its shows, and when all was said and done, ZOX had moved 12,000 units (if you don’t believe it, pull the SoundScan), putting them on the radar even as they shared in a sweet six-figure payoff.
Having upped the ante dramatically, the band headed to North Carolina to cut its second album in Mitch Easter’s studio, with Comerford producing and the indie legend himself mixing (as well as offering his wisdom throughout the project). The album, titled The Wait, reveals dramatic growth, to be sure, but more significantly, it’s a first-listen gem, skillfully hot-wiring artistic achievement and commercial viability. ZOX put it out in late August, with healthy layouts at retail in the region from Bull Moose to Best Buy, and enthusiastic support from ‘BRU (which spun the LP in its entirety the evening before release), WEQX and other stations in the Northeast. In its first full week in the stores, The Wait was the #1 album in Rhode Island while selling more than 2,700 units total. It was also #7 on the Billboard Internet Album chart, right between the Black Eyed Peas and Coldplay.
At this point, things were reaching critical mass. It was all in place: a knockout album, a road-honed tightness resulting from playing 200 shows a year, a mailing list of 15,000, a sheaf of rave reviews, top-quality merch, an active street team and a knack for making thoughtful decisions. Inevitably, ZOX started drawing inquiries some of the more sharp-eyed talent scouts, attorneys, managers and agents, whose curiosity turned to fervor once they’d spent time with the album and checked out the band live.
In early October ZOX was flown out to L.A. to meet with a happening indie label; the band walked out of the meeting with a generous offer. Then they blew away a typically blas
