FOXTRAX on finding success: “Go out there and give it 110 percent”

It’s a sunny day in Santa Monica, California, and FOXTRAX are promoting their new EP by playing pop-up shows just one day before the premiere of their new single, “Nothing Lasts Forever.” Hailing from the hustle of New York City, the California dwellers are now feeling their hard work and dedication paying off with the release of their song, “Grey Morning.”

“If you expect to be a successful person in life in general, but particularly in music, you have to be willing to go out there and give it 110 percent,” singer and guitarist Ben Schneid says.

The band’s rocky start was difficult before and after moving to Los Angeles, but worth it, according to Schneid. Similar to their alternative, indie rock track with pop sensibility, “Grey Morning” shows fans that the group are just getting started with the follow up to their debut record, The Cabin. Cool, calm and collected, the track is an introspective look at the gloom-ridden days.

“It applies to the bad too, nothing bad lasts forever,” Schneid says. “It comes back to being a young artist when you’re out here struggling and it’s not all flowers and [glee].”

Taking influences from Coldplay, The Beatles, U2, Kings Of Leon and The Killers, FOXTRAX “means inspiration” and going after your dreams. But, don’t be fooled; the band are not sound emulators, they’re more interested in finding out what makes them unique. Schneid says the band’s upcoming album will be released in January, and for now, the group are busy keeping their noses to the grindstone in the music scene.

“I think as a young artist it’s really hard to find your place in the world,” Schneid says. “The whole EP has that as a theme to it. I think it can be really daunting at times. I think grey mornings were like very odd days; days that never began. You wake up and it’s already over. That’s how I felt [when] writing the song.”

While the band haven’t been in the scene long—two years to be exact—Schneid says “it feels like a lifetime” because the group “[have] had so many experiences and done so many weird things.” Not to mention, their nationwide tour with Barns Courtney and clocking in hundreds of thousands of plays on their Spotify tracks.

“We were following our fox tracks that we had seen in the snow in North Carolina,” Schneid says. “It takes a lot of courage to do what you want to do in life. My goal as a music player and as a member of Foxtrax is to inspire other people to not care as much about what other people think and do what you [want]. Whatever is your flavor, just go all in.”

*A version of this interview first ran in the current print issue of Substream Magazine, on stands now and available through our online store!