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Boomfox

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Hometown	Athens, GA
Genres	Alt. Rock, Indie Rock
Band Members	Hannah Zale; Christian Gerner-Smidt; Derek Terry; Matt... » more
Achievements
Upcoming Shows	None

Contact Information:	Manager Jordan Edelstein bi3p.athens.@gmail.com (404) 402-3060 Booking Meghan Moran bi3p.athens@gmail.com (770) 316-0137
# Years Experience Performing Live:	2
# Live Perfomances Past Six-months:	10
Market Draw:	Athens: 76-100
Venue History:	The Earl - Atlanta, GA 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA Silver Dollar - Athens, GA Caledonia Lounge - Athens, GA Legion Field - Athens, GA The Melting Point - Athens, GA
Opener Experience:	Herra Terra; Connor Pledger; Street, Rhythm, and Rhyme
Discography:	Taste The Words EP—2012

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About the Artist

Originally starting out as “the Sunlight Alchemists”, Hannah Zale and Boomfox are an eclectic recipe of new, old, and mixed genres thrown into a pot and poured out across the Athens music scene. It’s that 90s alt rock you loved from yesteryear with all...

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‘Everything else that’s good rock ‘n’ roll' by Jason Axelrod
The Sunlight Alchemists sound like it fell out of the ’90s.“ Contemporary grunge with a hint of everything else that’s good rock ‘n’ roll,” said guitarist Christian Gerner-Smidt of the band’s sound. Formed a year ago, The Sunlight Alchemists rose out of the ashes of an Atlanta-based band called Revo. “[Derek Terry], the bass player, and I had been playing in a band over the summer and when we got back to Athens, we figured we wanted to continue this,” Gerner-Smidt said. “Joe [Shanoltz] our drummer was in a learning community with us and we jammed with him. We met Hannah through one of Derek’s friends, and we just started playing music together.” The band credits Shanoltz and a fascination with the word “alchemy” with conjuring up the band name. “He was reading one of his chemistry textbooks and liked the concept of turning things into gold, so we turned sunlight into gold,” said Hannah Zale Toland, the band’s lead singer. When it comes to songwriting, however, the band takes a collaborative approach. “Usually it’ll either be me or Derek doing the music and Hannah will write lyrics and compose vocals over it,” Gerner-Smidt said. “Derek will also write lyrics every once in a while. Lately, I’ve been doing most of the music stuff.” Toland’s lyrics cover a wide array of topics. “Recently my writing’s gotten a lot darker, like less poppy-love stuff and more mature type scenes,” she said. “Love is always an inspiration, as well as loss.” In its relatively short existence, the band has already played a few venues in Athens and one venue in Atlanta. “We’ve played a lot at Rye Bar and Caledonia, those are the two venues we’ve had a following at,” Toland said. “We’ve also played at Little 5 Points in Atlanta at The Earl. Our goal is to play the 40 Watt by the end of the year.” Caledonia in particular has helped The Sunlight Alchemists gain recognition in Athens. “It really feels like you’re getting a concert vibe there,” Toland said. “They also have a really cool outdoors area where a lot of people hang out.” The group’s ambition has not slowed down in the least since its formation. “We’re hoping to play a lot more,” Toland said. “We have a lot more songs now than we did last year, so we are ready to roll this year.” In terms of inspiration, Gerner-Smidt said he plays music because of its ability for self-expression. “It’s a way for me to say how I feel when I don’t know how to say it otherwise,” he said. And for Toland, there exists no better feeling than the one she feels when she first takes the stage for a show. “I actually live for that feeling,” she said. “Excitement, a little bit of nerves, I just feel ready to rock.”

Boomfox brings back sounds of grunge era by Jamie Gottlieb
From the music boom of the ’90s came a fox — Boomfox. The ’90s resurgent grunge band came together earlier this year as The Sunlight Alchemists. But as time passed and a new member was added, Boomfox was born. “It’s become kind of this holistic alter ego that we all use for performing,” said Hannah Zale, the band’s lead singer. “We’ve become one unit more instead of these individual players.” Zale said the band — which also consists of bassist Derek Terry, guitarist Christian Gerner-Smidt and drummer Matt Martin — found itself a specific niche within the giant world of rock ‘n’ roll. It’s just pop enough to be catchy and indie enough to be interesting. “We have a really unique sound because of our stompy drums and really heavy guitar with my classically-trained voice on top of it,” Zale said. “We have so many different levels for people to find themselves in.” She’s even found a part of herself she never expected. “I’ve definitely had to put myself in the rock star mode because that’s not who I am on a daily basis,” Zale said. “I just tell myself ‘I’m the biggest badass there is out there.’” As the bandmates grow more comfortable together — they’ve only been a group for about a year — their mentality to approaching the music world has shifted. The band has started to play bigger gigs, signed with a booking management label, recorded a full-band rock EP, “Taste the Words,” began filming a series of music videos and recording an unplugged, acoustic EP. Zale is just trying to spread the Boomfox love. “I want to work,” she said. “It’s in my reach, and I want it so badly, and I always have my entire life. It’s a burning fire that’s not going to go away.”

Style Star: Hannah Zale by Dana Balch
This isn't the first time Hannah's been on the blog. After seeing her crazy teal jumpsuit we had to cover her for a week and see what else she had in store! Favorite places to shop? Anthropologie, Agora, Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, Cherry Bomb (Five Points ATL), Dynamite, Forever 21 and H&M. Favorite article of clothing/accessory? My black studded BOOTS!!! I often start building an outfit based on a badass pair of boots. It changes the way I walk and feel. My head is held high and I am so ready to stomp out whatever craziness comes my way. And I love random unmatching earrings! So fun and unexpected. Which artist's wardrobe would you love to raid? I would love to raid Joan Jett's closet for my rocker gig wear. I love the black, the leather, the bodysuits, and especially the "I don't care what you think" swag. I would like to raid Rhianna's closet for my day wear. She has some funky vintage pieces that are super rock inspired and I love that she is never afraid to think outside the box when mixing and matching. Any weird or funny stories from shows? When we were trying out new band names after the addition of our current drummer, we played a show in Atlanta under the name "Violet Lane". The sound guy kept screaming "Violet! Violet!" at me and I was not responding as he had planned. He then got on the mic from the audio booth and continued to scream "Violet! Violet!" It wasn't until the 14th time I heard him scream the color that I realized he was talking to me. He thought my name was Violet Lane and that I just hadn't heard him saying it for the last 20 minutes. Because I didn't respond to his calls, he also thought that I was the best deaf singer he'd ever heard. What are your plans for the future? My future plans are to continue writing and performing with Boomfox as well as record a solo album. I am also looking to tour nationally and grow my fan base. I want to be on stage, singing my songs and sharing the love. I cannot imagine spending my life any other way. It's more than a dream for me, it's a calling.

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