Have you ever thought of country music and grunge sharing the same space? Ryan Fox from Dexter and the Moonrocks sure has.
The drummer and vocalist from the ‘”y’allternative band” recently joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast and discussed all the work that goes into social media for modern day artists and groups, why fans always think their music is from a different time, how Dexter and the Moonrocks always split songwriting credits, and their fanbase being as diverse as they come.
Fox also touched on how Dexter and the Moonrocks got their name (no one in the group is named Dexter) after originally starting as a country band, their song “Freaking Out” going viral, why they believe the Turnpike Troubadours should be the biggest act in the world, and how country and grunge are more similar than you think.
Though it seems a bit odd to say that, Fox made a convincving argument during our conversation. And he even reheated a very hot take that he’s thrown out into the world wide web on a number of occasions:
“Naturally, if you listen to grunge and if you listen to country, they talk about the same things. They talk about addiction, they talk about mental health, they talk about love and loss. I think ‘Nutshell’ by Alice In Chains is a country song. I’ll die on that hill. I really will.
I know that Jerry Cantrell was very heavily influenced by country music. And then vice versa, ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash is an excellent example of this. That was a Nine Inch Nails, heavy song and he turned it into one of best country ballads ever.”
I guess he’s got a point, eh? Those are two rock solid examples of the two genres playing very well with and off one another. One could even make an argument that Stephen Wilson Jr. has sort of brought the combo – country grunge – to the forefront of the genre.
Speaking of genres got Ryan Fox talking on another point: the waves that the music industry rides. Instead of seeking out authenticity all the time – like the country and grunge genres often do – the “machine” likes to feed on what’s hot, and what can make money:
“The genres are only labels. I think they are labels because of what the industry does. You kind of have this… you had 90’s country with Toby Keith, and it was very successful. The industry went, ‘Wow, this is super successful. We need to make money off of this.’
Then you get that 2005 arena and bro country where it’s like, ‘This is fun,’ but it doesn’t evoke any emotion. People get tired of that, and then you have the genre of rock n’ roll in the 2000s, where you get Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys. Fans are like, ‘Oh this is genuine and feels authentic.’”
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Fox went on to point out that even that cycle ends, and pointed a finger at bands like Fallout Boy and Imagine Dragons for hitting the reset button (not in a good way).
At the end of the day, all fans want to listen to is music that feels genuine, and created because it’s art, not because it’s seeking to make money. The Dexter and the Moonrocks drummer sees one of the latest waves of country artists emerging because of the inauthentic rock music that arrived in the late 2010s:
“Then we went through that same thing where people were like, ‘We don’t like this for rock music,’ and then you get Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Colter Wall. Then country music is genuine again. Now I think we are getting to that tail end of the cycle… everyone’s like, ‘Country is the biggest thing, we need to make money off of that.’”
Here’s to hoping whatever comes next in the cycle keeps doesn’t effect the boom of authentic country music that fans have been gifted with in the late 2010s and 2020s.
You can hear more from Ryan Fox by checking out the interview on YouTube or making sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here.
We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.
Cheers, y’all.