Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

August 2, 2012

Making Noise: KahBang is a Maine return for Stone Cold Fox guitarist

Lead vocalist/guitarist Kevin Olken talks about the band, the new EP and upcoming performances in his home state.

By Aimsel Ponti aponti@mainetoday.com
News Assistant

Stone Cold Fox is an indie-rock band based in Brooklyn, N.Y. It just released a five-track EP called "The Young," and is part of next weekend's KahBang Music Festival happening in Bangor.

Lead vocalist/guitarist Kevin Olken Henthorn hails from South Freeport and is a graduate of Freeport High School. The rest of the band consists of Ariel Loh on synth/back-up vocals, Justin Bright on bass/synth, guitarist Graham Stone and drummer Avery Burton.

Henthorn is as pleased as punch to be coming home for KahBang, and was happy to talk about the band, the new EP and the upcoming performances in his home state. 

Let's start with a band history. When did Stone Cold Fox come to be?

Ariel (Loh) and I started working together in fall of 2011 while attending our last year at Purchase College in New York. He was studying at the Music Conservatory, and I was in the Film Conservatory. We starting recording what we thought would be a series of solo acoustic songs, but with Ariel's production, they totally turned into something much larger. We realized we had a legitimate sound, and decided to form Stone Cold Fox.  

When was the EP released?

We officially released "The Young" on May 18. 

How did you land a spot at KahBang, and what does this mean for the band?

We sent our press kit to them, and they decided to book us. We've played a few city festivals in New York and some small college festivals, but this will be our first large outdoor music festival. So we are pretty stoked. 

After KahBang, what's next for the band?

Well, we're gonna take a little break. I'm going to Europe to shoot a film. Ariel and Justin may go to Los Angeles. Our next show is in New York City for an EXFM Showcase on Aug. 30. This fall, we will start work on our first full-length album. We'll be playing a lot of East coast colleges, CMJ, and if things align, we will try to do a little tour this spring to SXSW (South by Southwest). 

How's the local Manhattan music scene?

The NYC scene is competitive. There's some great music out there, though, and it's really exciting when you play a show with great artists, because then you can link up with them and start a little network. 

How do you personally like to describe the sound of the band?

Nostalgic, catchy pop-rock with folk roots. 

Tell us one thing that, above all, you want people who are unfamiliar with Stone Cold Fox to know.

We want people to know that our goal as a band is to create catchy, accessible music that still holds integrity. We don't want to get caught into being just another pop-rock band. We have more to say than "I love you sweetheart," but this is certainly a tough line to follow. We'll do our best.  

How did you come up with the name Stone Cold Fox?

The name Stone Cold Fox was inspired by a certain someone. It's also a great way to say you're foxy. And it just sounded like a band name to me. 

Staff Writer Aimsel Ponti can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:

aponti@pressherald.com

 

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