Foss was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in El Paso, Texas in the early 1990s. It is known for former members

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for which h ...

, who found success in the music industry as the singer for the rock bands

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drum ...

and the Mars Volta, as well as

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate i ...

, who later was a U.S. Representative and candidate for U.S. Senator, U.S. President, and Governor of Texas. Typically described as a post-hardcore band, Foss's sound incorporated elements of punk rock,

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

, and indie rock styles of the period. The members of Foss espoused the DIY ("Do-It-Yourself") ethic and were influenced by the independent label

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release '' Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles ...

and punk zines like ''

Maximumrocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily featur ...

''. The band released a handful of recordings and embarked on two tours spanning parts of the United States and Canada. Foss appeared on ''Let's Get Real With Bill Lowrey'', an evangelical show on El Paso

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was crea ...

, after tricking the show's producers into believing they were a

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...

band. Video of the chaotic performance later resurfaced on YouTube. The DIY ethos adopted by Foss informed some of O'Rourke's later political decisions, such as his Senate campaign's pledge not to accept financial contributions from

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramil ...

s (political action committees). During the campaign, the press often remarked on Foss and O'Rourke's connection to Bixler-Zavala, who was by then a well-known musician. Political commentators noted that O'Rourke's past membership in a punk band likely boosted his credibility, image, and political appeal, particularly among younger voters. The

Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for govern ...

mockingly tweeted the cover of Foss's record ''The El Paso Pussycats'', which depicts O'Rourke wearing a dress.

Background

Born and raised in El Paso,

felt alienated from the city as an adolescent in the 1980s. He told ''

The Texas Observer ''The Texas Observer'' (also known as the ''Observer'') is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. The ''Observer'' is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3) He was exposed to rock music at a young age and soon became an avid fan of punk rock. In a profile of O'Rourke for '' The Washington Post'', Ben Terris wrote that the young O'Rourke "wanted nothing more than to get out of town", and that the band Foss was formed "with the hopes of traveling the world". El Paso's punk scene, though small, helped O'Rourke find a sense of community in the city. O'Rourke left

El Paso High School El Paso High School is the oldest operating high school in El Paso, Texas, and is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It serves the west-central section of the city, roughly south and west of the Franklin Mountains and north of Inter ...

and began attending

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 405. Students come from 28 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbi ...

, an all-male

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in Virginia. During school breaks he returned to El Paso and continued immersing himself in its punk scene. He frequented DIY shows at the local venue Campus Queen, where shows were organized by Ed Ivey of the punk band

Rhythm Pigs The Rhythm Pigs were an American punk band, originally from El Paso, Texas, United States, later relocated to San Francisco. Their first two albums were among the first to be released by the influential independent Mordam Records label. Their fi ...

. O'Rourke met

when the latter played a show at the Campus Queen in a Misfits cover band. Bixler-Zavala later said " ing with 'Rourkeis what turned me into the kind of musician I am today" and " e way I make art, I learned it from Beto. He was learning as he went along, too, but he was sort of my older brother/mentor." O'Rourke joined his first band, called Swipe, after he left El Paso to attend Columbia University in New York. Swipe played shows at bars and clubs in New York and once opened for the Olympia, Washington-based punk band Fitz of Depression.

History

At the Drive-In Lollapalooza (cropped on Bixler-Zavala)

O'Rourke and Bixler-Zavala formed Foss along with Mike Stevens and Arlo Klahr. They took the name "Foss" from the Icelandic word for "waterfall". The members of Foss formed their own label, Western Breed Records, and issued a 7-inch record, titled ''The El Paso Pussycats''. Reportedly titled after a failed

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dist ...

about crime-fighting women, ''The El Paso Pussycats'' shows O'Rourke wearing a floral-pattern dress on its cover. The dress belonged to Maggie Asfahani, O'Rourke's girlfriend at the time, who later said "There's nothing particularly complicated about it—we were all hanging out, and someone thought it would be funny if we switched clothes, the girls and guys. That was all, just being different." Other Foss recordings included a self-titled

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

and a full-length album, ''Fewel Street'' (sometimes spelled ''Fewell'' or ''St.''). The label Western Breed later issued some of the earliest releases by Bixler-Zavala's band

. Foss embarked on two

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metrop ...

of North America during O'Rourke's summer breaks following his sophomore and junior years in college. O'Rourke and Klahr organized the tours with the help of ''Book Your Own Fucking Life'', a DIY guide published by ''Maximumrocknroll'' that provided resources and contacts for touring bands. On one of the tours, O'Rourke booked a gig as an opening act at a venue in San Francisco by calling, pretending to be a founder of Sub Pop, and claiming the band was about to be signed; the plan worked, but Foss was ejected after playing only two songs. While on tour, Foss met Feist, who was later a member of

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the oth ...

and solo artist. In 1994, an El Paso

show, ''Let's Get Real With Bill Lowrey'', broadcast a Foss performance and interview. Because it was an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual exper ...

program, Foss told the producers they played gospel and

in order to get on the show. The band quickly wrote a new song for their television debut. The host, Lowrey, later told '' The Washington Post'': "Oh yeah, they kind of pulled a fast one on me. But we enjoyed it. Mostly I can't believe he grew up to be a functioning member of society." Clips of Foss's performance on ''Let's Get Real'' later surfaced on YouTube. Matt Miller of '' Esquire'' described Foss' performance as "absolute chaos with the band hopping around and people screaming—you can imagine elderly '90s Texans turning this on and being absolutely terrified". Matthew Adams of '' The Dallas Morning News'' called the performance "complete chaos" and said that, based on O'Rourke's musical performances on his 2018 Senate campaign, his musical skills seemed to have improved since the 1990s.

Musical style and influences

Andy Cush of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' described Foss as a post-hardcore band. Foss has also been labeled " emo-punk", as first-wave emo was a significant influence on the band's sound. O'Rourke, a fan of bands on Dischord Records like

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson (musician), Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Br ...

and

Rites of Spring Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark ( Soft Skul ...

, took inspiration from the label's independence and commitment to the DIY ethic, as he told Cush in 2017: Bixler-Zavala recalled that O'Rourke introduced him to punk and indie bands like Rites of Spring and Dinosaur Jr., which shifted him away from his earlier musical interest in dub and rock bands like the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, a ...

, The Black Crowes, and

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

. Klahr, a fan of punk and indie music from Australia and New Zealand, introduced his Foss bandmates to bands like The Saints,

The Clean The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound".Schmidt, And ...

, and

The Scientists The Scientists is a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydne ...

. '' Rolling Stone'' posted the Foss song "Rise"—courtesy of O'Rourke—in 2018, making the band's music widely available for the first time. ''Rolling Stone''s Tessa Stuart said the song was "

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

slacker rock" stylistically indebted to

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-t ...

and Guided by Voices. According to Eric Grubbs of the '' Dallas Observer'', "Rise" was akin to "'' 13 Songs''-era Fugazi by way of Pavement's lo-fi masterpiece '' Slanted and Enchanted''". Eduardo Cepeda of ''Remezcla'' detected the influence of Rites of Spring and

Government Issue Government Issue was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. active from 1980 to 1989. The band experienced many changes in membership during its nine-year existence, with singer John Stabb as the only consistent member in an ever- ...

. Michael Roffman at ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'' said "Rise" was a "chalky slice of

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercia ...

that wouldn't be out of place on a compilation album alongside

Sunny Day Real Estate Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo/indie rock band from Seattle, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar), Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Suran (gu ...

After Foss

Foss disbanded in part because O'Rourke realized he "wasn't that good at" playing music. In addition, O'Rourke said, his father pressured him about the

student loans A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest r ...

he had taken out to attend Columbia University. After leaving Foss, O'Rourke performed with several other bands, including Fragile Gang, the Swedes, and the Sheeps. Between 1999 and 2002, O'Rourke ran an

alt-weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting l ...

newspaper, ''Stanton Street'', with his former Foss bandmate Stevens as the managing editor. When O'Rourke was a member of the El Paso City Council, he said his former Foss bandmates had "all gone on to successful musical careers, confirming their talent and my lack thereof". Bixler-Zavala later gained notice as the singer of post-hardcore band

and Grammy Award-winning progressive rock band the Mars Volta, in addition to numerous other musical endeavors. The first published mention of Foss came in a post at the webzine ''

Buddyhead ''Buddyhead'' is a music website and independent record label created by Travis Keller in the summer of 1998, located in Hollywood, California. Buddyhead engaged in criticism of popular culture and the music industry. It's legendary gossip column ...

'', published shortly before the release of At the Drive-In's third album ''

Relationship of Command ''Relationship of Command'' is the third studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on September 12, 2000. The album combines an aggressive edge with a melodic drive, harmonious, emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. Whil ...

''(2000). In the 2005 book ''New Wave of American Heavy Metal'', a guide to hundreds of American and Canadian bands in metal and related genres, the entry for At the Drive-In mentions Foss as "Faus".

Impact on Beto O'Rourke's political career

Beto Rally at the Pan American Neighborhood Park, Austin, TX (44999375704)

In March 2017, when O'Rourke—then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives—announced that he was running in the 2018 US Senate election in Texas, numerous publications commented on O'Rourke's musical past. Music news outlets like ''

'', '' Pitchfork'', ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

'', and ''

'' reported on O'Rourke's campaign by noting his connection with Bixler-Zavala, who had by then become a notable figure in rock music. The news service Reuters described O'Rourke as an "ex-punk rocker" in a headline and detailed his time with Foss. By March 2018, Dan Solomon of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and i ...

'' remarked that O'Rourke "seemingly can't escape a single profile without the words 'punk rock Democrat' appearing in the headline". O'Rourke often highlighted his days with Foss in interviews. Political observers and journalists felt that O'Rourke's punk past became an important element of his image and political outlook. In an op-ed for '' The New York Times'', Mimi Swartz expressed her belief that O'Rourke's former membership in a punk band had likely boosted his appeal with millennials. Foss's records were cited as evidence that O'Rourke had adopted his nickname prior to his political career. O'Rourke's former Foss bandmates supported his Senate campaign. Stevens played with his band 83 Skiddoo for an O'Rourke fundraiser in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sp ...

. Bixler-Zavala expressed his support for O'Rourke several times and, after O'Rourke lost the election, tweeted "I can only hope you run for president". On August 28, 2018, after O'Rourke had declined a debate against the incumbent

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas fro ...

, the

's Twitter account tweeted "Maybe Beto can't debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans", attaching the cover of Foss's record ''The El Paso Pussycats'' with the caption "Sorry, can't debate. We have a gig." Though the tweet mocked O'Rourke, it was widely reported as inadvertently making him look appealing. Others interpreted the tweet as intended, and the Texas GOP briefly responded to the backlash. On March 3, 2020, Cedric Bixler-Zavala denounced O'Rourke for his endorsement of 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden. Bixler-Zavala, a supporter of

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 200 ...

, responded to a follower on Instagram who said O'Rourke's support of Biden “bummed me out bad” to which Bixler-Zavala responded, “me too.”

Personnel

– drums, vocals * Arlo Klahr – guitar, vocals *

– bass guitar, vocals * Mike Stevens – guitar, vocals

Discography

Albums

* ''Fewel Street'' (1995)

EPs

* ''The El Paso Pussycats'' (1993) * ''Foss'' (1993)

Notes

References

External links

*
Foss
at Myspace (defunct
archival link
via the Internet Archive)
Vinyl rip of Foss's ''The El Paso Pussycats''
via

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

, provided to ''Remezcla'' courtesy of Cedric Bixler-Zavala {{DEFAULTSORT:Foss Beto O'Rourke Musical groups from El Paso, Texas Alternative rock groups from Texas Punk rock groups from Texas American post-hardcore musical groups American emo musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 1993 establishments in Texas 1995 disestablishments in Texas DIY culture Politics of Texas Musical quartets