Fenix TX

Did You Know?

• The single 'All My Fault' reached No. 21 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.
• After the 2002 breakup, members split into two bands: Denver Harbor and Sing the Body Electric.

History

The band that would become Fenix TX was formed in late 1995 in Houston, Texas under the name Riverfenix by guitarists Damon DeLaPaz and Will Salazar, drummer Donnie Reyes, and vocalist Carl Lockstedt. The quartet played extensively on the Texas pop punk scene at venues such as Fitzgerald's, alongside bands like 30 Foot Fall, Good Riddance, and Goldfinger. In 1996, they released their debut EP G.B.O.H. on Fuzzgun Records and later played the Mullets Across America Tour with Home Grown, Cousin Oliver, and The Hippos. Mojo Records showed interest but did not sign them; however, interns Richard and Stefanie Reines, starting Drive-Thru Records, signed Riverfenix as their first band. In December 1997, Drive-Thru released the full-length debut Riverfenix, produced by Jim Barnes, which sold out three print runs of 5,000 copies each. Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, whose sister was dating DeLaPaz, offered the band an opening slot on a Blink-182 tour and became their manager, later passing duties to Rick DeVoe. The song "Speechless" garnered radio airplay, and MCA Records signed the band.

Musical style and critical reception

Early in their career, Fenix TX faced accusations of being a Blink-182 clone, with The Daily Athenaeum calling their 1999 album a very good Blink-182 album. However, the band employed more complex guitar accompaniments due to dual guitars, and integrated instruments like trombone and trumpet, as well as unconventional vocal techniques, touching on ska punk and hip hop in songs such as "Skinhead Jessie" and "Apple Pie Cowboy Toothpaste". The latter includes a rap from the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds. Their sound is typically distortion-driven with fast-paced melodic vocals, and lyrics cover political, personal, and comedic topics. For the 2001 album Lechuza, the band split songwriting between Salazar and the duo of Lewis and DeLaPaz. Salazar's songs remained in the vein of earlier material, while Lewis and DeLaPaz contributed more metal and hardcore-influenced tracks with gang vocals and aggressive lyrics, as heard in "Beating a Dead Horse", the only Fenix TX song primarily sung by Adam Lewis.