The Red Huxley story so far: This three-piece hard rock/blues band from Cape Town manages to contact Dave Catching, the lead guitarist of Eagles of Death Metal, while they are touring South Africa.
Catching owns the famous Rancho de la Sol where heroes like Queens of the Stone Age record. Catching likes the Capetonians’ music and says if they get the money together Red Huxley should fly out to California and record and produce their debut album.
The enterprising band then embark on a campaign to raise $25 000 on Kickstarter (crowd-funding platform), and through tenacity and determination raise the money. They fly to the desert, record the album with Catching and the result is Nothing More, a great and exciting debut album from a young South African band with huge potential.
They stay in a cabin and cara- van just 200m from the studio with showers outside.
Red Huxley comprise Dylan Jones on guitar and vocals, Matthew Pullen on bass and vocals and Murray Stephenson on drums. The three of them say after recording they would have a few whiskies with the great Catching and he would relate stories about the legendary bands who had recorded at Rancho de la Luna.
“It was bonding time for us,” say the musicians.
Jones says he would wake up earlier than the other two and take in the sights and sounds of the desert.
“I would watch these weird road-runner animals,” he laughs.
Comments Pullen: “The heat would wake me up. I always felt really content during that time. Because I knew that the same thing as yesterday was going to happen today and tomorrow. It’s been three years since we’ve been together making music and trying to figure out what we want to be like.”
Their sound mixes old school rock with grunge angst, a strong spoonful or two of blues and straight up, wholesome rock ’n’ roll.
The album’s title track, Nothing More, is blues with clear Queens- influenced guitaring.
“This is the second song I ever wrote,” explains Jones.
“It’s about being absolutely content and having an epiphany about being very happy. I wrote it in my second year at varisty and was thinking that my life is so great. The verses are chilled and the chorus is heavy. Dave really enjoyed that song and played keyboards on it.”
Says Pullen: “Yeah, he said it’s one of the best-sounding songs to come out of Rancho.”
Up In Smoke has a cool bass riff and is heavier and faster with a great break in which the guitar kicks in before the crazy drums take the lead. The band describe it as a high- energy song and say it is fun to play live. Jones says that lyrically it “fits into that whole raw rock theme of taking a chance”.
“People told me that I should get a real job and not pursue music,” he explains. “But I am living my life.”
He then goes on to quote the line: “Heaven is just a beautiful place in your head. We’re already there and we’re not even dead.”
That Red Huxley have come so far in such a short period of time is remarkable. They’ve emerged from the desert with an international product that can and should take them places.
The potential for this young band to become a major force on the South African rock scene is huge. And with such determination, Red Huxley may just follow in the footsteps of Seether.