The Fobs — 20 February 2019 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour

A Litter of Trash Kittens

The Fobs joined host Tom Proctor on ‘Rocket Shop‘, Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9FM The Radiator. Catch up with her at facebook.com/lefobs

The Fobs were an absolute blast to have on Rocket Shop last week. Eight of the members came down to BHW, but the band can get as big as 11 members. The Fobs consist of Ethan and Ben on “guit fiddle”, Addie on “someone else’s keyboard”, Jonny on the “slam cans”, Mitch on bass, Lydia on the sparkly cow jawbone, and Henry, Joe Ian, Navah, and Derek on the tambourine (because four tambourines wasn’t enough). Everyone in the band contributes to the vocals, but Ethan is the main vocalist. The group describes their musical genre as a “trash kitten orchestra.” Ethan went into detail with, “We’re all really cute and nice, but we’re also people of the trash. We are filthy trash animals, but we’re adorable.” The Fobs really did create a new genre here, because their sound is so unique and special. Someone without knowing what a trash kitten orchestra is might describe their sound as exuberant garage music.

The energy that The Fobs have during their performance is out of this world. Every member of the band is always groovin’ in some way or another, whether it be jumping up and down, shaking side to side, or just letting out a passionate “Oh yeah!!” into the mic. As an audience member, it is impossible to watch the Fobs live without moving to the music. Everyone in the room was tapping their feet, dancing, and having just as much fun as the band was. The noise and excitement that The Fobs bring to a room reverberates even after the music ends; after the band left BHW, the smiles remained on our faces, and you could hear choirs of “wow, that was fun” throughout the studio.

So how does a band this big and with so much sound compose its trash kitten symphonies? Essentially, Ethan makes songs on garageband, starting with drums and adding in lyrics last, and brings it to the group. After the rest of the band members add their personal touches, the original sound usually changes completely, “but it’s great” says Ethan. When asked what advice they would give to aspiring musicians, guit-fiddlist Ben said that “It’s not that hard! Just have fun and everyone will have fun watching you have fun.” Ethan chimed in that all you have to do is “let everyone join. Let all of your friends participate, no matter what their musical ability is.” This tactic has clearly worked with flying colors (literally) for the Fobs!

To hear more of The Fobs, check out some of their social media below! You can also catch them playing at The Hive during the first week of April, and at Waking Windows, a sensational music festival in Winooski from May 3-5.

Text by Marisa Iannitto

Check out their release ‘Golden Thread’ on Bandcamp.

Photo by James Lockridge.