His voice is soft and clear and articulate.

There is a definite, deliberate mousiness to his diction—a noticeable softness, not to the extreme of Michael Jackson, but most definitely not the hardy-har-har that comes with a lot of rock vocalists. It’s most likely part of his performance art. I noticed it when watching Youtube videos and realized it was toned down when having a one-on-one conversation with me.

Understated. (Photo | Smalls and Raskind)

Don’t get me wrong. Eric Sean Nally, lead singer and, well, lead performance artist, for Cincinnati’s Foxy Shazam, wails on stage or CD—you wouldn’t even believe it’s the same voice. He can squall like Alanis Morissette and Sebastian Bach’s love child—but in a new-millennium kind of way.

What the press almost unanimously say is the best way to listen to Foxy Shazam is to do so live. ShockHound even said “If there was ever a band that you needed to see in a live setting to fully appreciate, it’s Foxy Shazam. As splendid as their self-titled new album is, it doesn’t let you experience the impressive visual chaos that explodes whenever these Cincinnati boys hit the stage.” Judging from Youtube, I preliminarily agree. I also think fans of Roadside Graves or arena rock will dig this.

He and his bandmates are opening for Hole tonight at the NorVa and he was kind enough to take some time out to chat.

Hey, thanks for talking to me. How’s it going?

It’s going great!

Where are you guys right now? On the road?

Yeah…New Jersey. I don’t remember the city, actually…[Someone whispers to him]. Montclair. Montclair, New Jersey, yeah.

Cool. I know that place. Not far from the city.

Yeah.

So, getting straight down to business. I’ve read you don’t like to compare yourself to anyone else, and you’re often compared to Freddy Mercury or Queen…what about influence? Who/what influences you and your songwriting and stage presence?

I’m really influenced by different things other than music. Things like foods, scenery, the way my dad smelled after cutting the grass… weird smells, I don’t know… things like that influence me. Things outside of what I’m doing to bring different elements to the music—smells and tastes.

FYI: I’ll throw what you remind me of into the hat: Phil Wynot of Thin Lizzie. I mean that as a compliment. [It started with appearance but Nally's definitely got some of his swagger.]

Awesome! Cool Thanks!

Interesting that two of the comparisons were Meat Loaf and The Darkness—as you worked with Justin Hawkins recently on writing songs for Meat Loaf’s new album. How awesome was that? How did it come about?

Yeah, it was really awesome. Our management said, “ I think you’d be great.” I was definitely attracted to his rich history, I love that. Rob Cavallo, who produced one song for us, set it up. I stayed one week and wrote/collaborated with Justin on two songs. It was awesome.

“Oh Lord” has over 150,000 Youtube hits. Are you stoked?

I didn’t even know that! That’s awesome. Where are you guys again?

Virginia. Norfolk, VA. Have you been here before?

Yeah, but not that club. What’s the club we’re playing?

The NorVa

Hello boys. (Photo | Small and Raskind)

Yeah! That place is awesome. They’ve got the hot tub upstairs. It’s awesome.

Yeah, we’re really proud of our venue here.

You should be. It’s a great place. I remember being there.

Who did you play with last time?

The Sounds.

Yeah, I think I remember that show now that you mention it… So, art work and imagery are important to Foxy Shazam—both with this video, the stage outfits and aesthetic, and album artwork. Are any of you artists outside of music? And in what mediums?

What’s cool about Warner Brothers, which is our first major label release… and you hear horror stories about majors, but not at all in our case. They give me complete freedom visually and artistically. All you see comes from my head, all the merchandise, art and videos. It’s easy to keep it cohesive because it all comes from my head. This band, I always had a vision since I was a little kid. I always had this vision and I know exactly where to take it.

I have, like, all I do artistically, I try to do through the band. I don’t do it separately, I incorporate it. Everything we do visually, our costumes, our videos….It’s a lot easier to hear a sound if you know what it looks like.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I grew up with album or CD covers and when I see that art now, I immediately know the sound. It’s different in today’s mp3 world. Kudos to you for bringing the art back.

Thank you.

Foxy Shazam means cool shoes. What kind of shoes are you wearing?

I’m wearing—my wife ordered them offline. They’re a French company [he tries to pronounce the name, but can't]. They’re dressy gym shoes. They are a gym shoe rubber soles that look like dress shoes. They’re really comfortable to dance onstage and without them falling apart. I used to wear real dress shoes that would fall apart or hurt my back.

Your album was released in April and now you’re touring with Hole to promote it… and gonna be playing Lalapalooza soon… How’s all the promo, etc. going? What’s planned after that?

Word.

It’s going excellent. We’re definitely trying to get a good supporting tour, support bigger bands, or maybe a headlining tour. We’re going to some festivals in Europe, we’re going to Reading and Leeds, so we’ll probably do a little tour there.

Have you been to Europe before?

We’ve been twice. Once with Hole. And we were in London and did a little headlining tour through there. They’ve got so many clubs.

I used to live there. It’s great to be able to go find live music every night.

Definitely. I love London.

How do you like playing with Hole?

I love it. It’s great. Like I said before, I love to be attached to something with a rich history, which Hole has.

Yeah. I was a girl growing up in the 90s and thought Courtney Love was the shit!

Haha, yeah.

You’ve said your characters on stage are a sort of Jekyll/Hyde situation and the band members are nothing like their stage personas at home. What kinds of things do you guys do at home or during downtime on the road?

On the road, we’ll watch TV or computers or play poker and stuff. It’s fun. I love touring because you get to see all major cities, but all the other stuff along the way—all the nooks and crannies you otherwise can’t visit… some corner of the world, someplace you would have never saw. I look forward to that on tour.

Eric Clapton had this cool quote, like “songs wait for you in certain rooms and in certain corners.” I like to walk around and write in different places—go off and find someplace cozy.

Got an example?

Yeah… inspiration… you get a wave. Writing songs is a habit for us now. There’s been so many it’s hard to keep track.

You live in Cincinnati, a place I’ve hung out a few times. Like Norfolk, I wouldn’t say it’s particularly known for its music scene, as much as some locals try, pray, etc. for it to be so. What’s your experience being an up-and-coming signed band from a place like that? Any advice for local bands here feeling the lack of scene or creativity?

I’m proud to be from someplace that’s never—nothing stands for Cincinnati. If we were from LA or New York, so many things are already there. A small city is cooler because I kind of want to put it on the map—to stand for something.

I wouldn’t suggest moving. Stay there and bring a lot of your city to them.

Reviews are amazing about your stage show. What can we expect tonight?

Expect the unexpected. Haha. To be honest, I don’t even know what to expect. I always snap out of it, so I don’t plan anything but… natural born entertainers is what we were born to do and we’ll do it well for you guys. I promise.

For info on the show and such check out the NorVa’s website.