The Story Behind Foxboro Hot Tubs
With a sound straight out of the 1960s, Foxoboro Hot Tubs has put Green Day fans into a frenzy with speculations about the new side band project.
Foxboro Hot Tubs has made quite the splash in the Green Day community since their debut appearance online in October of 2007 when they created their MySpace account. Their garage rock sound and funky lyrics have grabbed the attention of many fans, however very little is known about the origins or intentions of the band. Nevertheless, we do have a bit of information to share with you.
Music
Foxboro Hot Tubs' EP Stop Drop and Roll was made available for download on December 8, 2007. The downloads for the songs were free of charge and available to anyone on the official Foxboro Hot Tubs website. However, since their initial debut they have been periodically removed from the site and replaced with a clock.
The Track Listing:
Side one
- "Stop Drop and Roll" - 2:25
- "Mother Mary" - 2:46
- "Ruby Room" - 2:01
Side two
- "Red Tide" - 3:06
- "Highway 1" - 2:36
- "She's a Saint, Not a Celebrity" - 2:35
The songs had a definitive 1960s sound, and were reminiscent of the Smiths and Iggy Pop. Something else unique about the Foxboro Hot Tubs tracks are their use of samples to promote the classic theme. You will find at the beginning of many of the tracks on the LP an excerpt from a classical movie. The song Ruby Room is initiated with a clip from the classical cult film, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
The song Mother Mary has frequented many radio airwaves and so far been the most popular song from the band. It's even achieved the status of number 16 on Billboard Modern Rock Charts.
Name Meaning
The meaning behind the name of the band is not officially know yet, but that hasn't stopped fans from speculating. One of the most prominent suggestions is that the name makes references to local bay area monuments significant to Mike and Billie's childhood. Foxboro Heights is a subdivision in Rodeo, California near where Billie and Mike grew up. A more developed speculation claims that Foxboro is a townhouse community close to where Billie and Mike lived, and when they were younger they would sneak in to use the hot tubs. Another theory says the name is a reference to Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the Patriots football team. Needless to say these are only theories and have no been confirmed by anyone of significance.
Green Day Parallels
To begin with, the multiple East Bay references are quite common in Green Day music. Their record label is listed as Jingletown Records on their MySpace, a term you're probably familiar with if you've listened to American Idiot. (We're back in Barrio/But to you and me/that's jingle town- Homecoming) Not to mention that jingle town is a nickname for the Oakland area.
Aside from curious names, the actual music produced by Foxboro Hot Tubs shares some common traits with Green Day. The track "Ruby Room" has an extremely similar beat and melody to that of Hitchin' a Ride. The song "Shes a Saint, Not a Celebrity" has opening riffs reminiscent of those in the song "Right Hand-a-Rama" from the Network.
Another reference to the Network can be seen in the logo featured on the back of the Stop Drop and Roll EP in the upper right corner. This bull head in a martini glass is nothing new, it also happens to be the logo for the Church of Lushotology, a religion that the Network are quite active in.