Gators, swamp rock, and a few good ‘ol boys dealing with devilish minions of hell. Sounds like a fun talk with Keith Foster.
Full Devil Jacket, or FDJ for short, is Josh Brown (Vocals), Keith Foster (Drums), Moose Douglass (Bass), and Paul Varnick (Guitar). This four piece from the Jackson, TN area have been through quite a bit. After a successful crowd funding project, the new album, that was done with producer Justin Rimer of 12 Stones and Breaking Point experience, will be out sometime this spring.
NRR: Give me how you see your style and how it got that way?
Keith Foster: We see our style as swamp metal, like a mixture of Pantera and Black Sabbath. We all cut our teeth on music from the late 90s, [like] Alice in Chains, Sound Garden and Pantera. When we first started out Mike had a huge influence on bringing out that Black Sabbath sound.
NRR: Is the writing process a group effort or does one or two people write the main parts and then the rest help to polish it off?
Keith Foster: Josh is our main writer. Most of the time he will present us with an idea and then we run with it as a group. Sometimes we just get in a room and hash out each other’s ideas and Josh will then put lyrics to it.
NRR: Tell me about the new album. What would you want a new fan to take away from the album more then anything else after the first listen?
Keith Foster: The new album, [Valley of Bones], seems to be us picking up where we left off years ago. We have all grown as musicians and all have had different influences since then. It’s a great take on the FDJ sound with new influences mixed in. All we want as a band is, for everyone who hears it, to fall in love with it. We want everyone to be able to relate to each and every song. I think we have done that.
NRR: If band x’s manager calls you up as a group and says, “Hey, the group wants you to open a US tour with them,” who is the one band off the top of your heads you’d drop everything for to see it happen?
Keith Foster: Easy! The Foo Fighters. Each of us are huge fans. Plus they have two of my favorite drummers. BAM!
NRR: It may be in the grips of old man winter right now, but summer festival season isn’t too far away. A lot like the last question, which festival would you love to be on a stage with or what festival do you think would be the best for the band and be fun to do as well?
Keith Foster: It’s been a dream of mine for the past few years to play Rock am Ring. I caught 30 Sec to Mars playing it a few years ago on Palladia. Unbelievable!
NRR: You’ve been together since 1997 from your bio, and seen some hard moments and spells of not being together. Give me the best Spinal Tap moment or other experience that still makes you laugh or shake your head when it gets brought up.
Keith Foster: Man! That’s a hard one. Every tour has tons of those moments. Every story seems to start out with this one time when I was really, really drunk! We had been on tour for about nine months and were heading home for Thanksgiving. At the time we were in a van and trailer and had just done a show with Bush in Miami. We were almost to Orlando and two of the guys had to pee so we stopped on the side of the interstate (no bathrooms in site). Both of the guys got back in the van, but didn’t realize they had brought in hundreds of fire ants on their shoes. We all were getting the shit bit out of us. That van had never been so clean after that. A close second would be running out of gas on Alligator Alley in Florida surrounded by hundreds of gaters in the middle of the night. All else is hush hush. (Laughing)
NRR: How important are the bandcamp’s, Facebook’s, and YouTube’s of the world, not only to get the music out there but also to stay in touch with your fans?
Keith Foster: It’s so strange to me how big social media is these days but without it a band is dead in the water. It’s so important. I’m just now trying to get a grip on Twitter. Given the state of rock radio with the changing of formats it’s crucial for bands to use social media to get out in front of the masses and share their music.
NRR: Tell me about the crowd funding experience for the album and how that came about?
Keith Foster: We decided from the get go that we were going to use kick starter. We saw the success of other bands and decided to give it a shot. We were shocked at the turnout. If it wasn’t for the fans who contributed we wouldn’t be having this conversation now. They totally believe in us and stand beside us all the way. It’s incredible to me to watch how crowd funding projects have really taken over. Labels aren’t signing rock bands like they use to, so crowd funding is the perfect way for a band to make a record happen.
NRR: Do you feel that if Mike were still alive but just in another band, that he would be happy the FDJ brand is still going and about to release new material?
Keith Foster: I truly believe he would want nothing more than to see FDJ carry on. He told me back when he was sick that no matter what happen to him he wanted to see us go forward. Kevin and Jon couldn’t do the project but I believe they stand behind what we are doing. We still have a great relationship with both…they are our brothers.
NRR: Any plans for video support of the new LP, and if so when do you think fans can expect to taste the new sounds?
Keith Foster: Yes. Not exactly sure when we will do a video but it’s being talked about. The first single goes to radio very soon and the album is slated to be released this spring. I’m sure the first video will be released around the same time.
A few shows coming up for the guys are listed below. Stop by and give them a listen. If you do, feel free to let us know what you thought.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQp5qytr8NA&w=620&h=352]
Feb 21, 2015 Empire Springfield, VA
Mar 27, 2015 Scout Bar Houston, TX
Full Devil Jacket
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Empire
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