Songs to save

Homecoming weekend was a true success as a whopping $1500 was raised for Habitat for Humanity that will help with the reconstruction of the Gulf Region. On October 16 in the HUB’s courtroom, Plymouth State University welcomed Junction 18 and Zox to the stage for a benefit concert in a relief effort for Hurricane Katrina. Junction 18, a five-piece band from Boston, started off the night with music some would compare to Weezer or Saves the Day. Their debut release, This Vicious Cycle, came alive on the courtroom stage in a promising spectacle of life and enthusiasm. Junction 18 toured twice in the States twice as well as had a successful Canadian tour, and several trips up and down the east coast. Watch out for their EP released this fall called Heroes From the Future.Zox took the stage next with a performance, amazingly enough, more satisfying to its audience than their last visit here. With a new album, new artwork by their very own violinist, Spencer Swain, as well as a new and more evolved sound, the audience was thrilled and captivated once again after a long time since having seen them last. For a Sunday evening, the crowd was pretty substantial and lively. Ecstatic with the visit from what seems to be a band we all know very well; the audience danced and sang along with the older songs from Take Me Home as well as the welcomed new and very audibly gratifying songs from their new album The Wait.After the show, I got to sit down with Eli Miller, lead singer and guitarist, and talk a bit about how things are going for Zox currently, and where they are heading in the near future. As we sat on the edge of the stage while it was being broken down behind us and the energetic vibes mellowed out, Eli talked a bit about the band’s new, more evolved, almost aquatic sound. “The venue impacts our sound a lot. Obviously whether it’s an indoor venue or an outdoor venue can change the vibe we have as a band. Our sound evolves in not necessarily a conscious way. Through the years there has been a lot of evolvement into an almost darker, not necessarily mature sound, but we’re growing.”Zox’s new album, The Wait, was released August 23 and has done amazingly well. With a larger audience that is still growing, and a great amount of radio play, it’s really no surprise that it’s selling so well. Having just been flown out to Los Angeles to play, as well as getting some good industry attention, Zox making their mark on the world of music. Up next for Zox are shows in Keene, NH and Orono, ME and a tour of the Midwest in support for their new release. Though most fans are stoked to see them off and hope they have the adventure of their lives, I think Plymouth hopes to see them back again soon. Good luck out there guys!