A Taste:

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Arthur Brown, The Tramps

Bigelf make timeless hard rock. Blending a pronounced theatricality with bombastic riffs and balls-to-the-wall vocals, they conjure an ungodly rock n’ roll thunder on their latest album, Cheat the Gallows.

Frontman Damon Fox spoke to us for this exclusive playlist feature. He opened up his iTunes for us, and it’s no surprise that he’s been blaring a whole lot of classic rock! Check out Damon’s playlist below!

Damon Fox’s Playlist:

1. The Clash — “This is Radio Clash”

“I always dig a song with the band name in the title. The Clash proves you can be cool and be political. I remember wearing army jackets in the early ’80s because of them, but then again, camo is always in.”

2. The James Gang — “Funk 49″

“Joe Walsh is completely underrated as a guitarist. Whenever I want to just let it hang loose, James Gang is the only way.”

3. Arthur Brown — “Fire”

“Arthur Brown the originator! No Alice, no Kiss, no shock in rock without him. Having Vincent Crane as your organist doesn’t suck either.”

4. The Beatles — “Hey Jude”

“My trusty iPod always delivers this song. It inspires me to always try to write a better, better, better song. YEAAAAAH! Simply untouchable, best outro EVER!”

5. Ozzy Osbourne — “Suicide Solution”

“I grew up with this album. The ‘Behind The Music’ clip always kills me. ‘Get the gun, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.’ Yeah right, whatever. Ozzy’s finest solo material about Bon Scott.”

6. The Beatles — “Piggies”

“It’s a Beatlefest on my iPod. When I hear this I want to put more harpsichord in Bigelf songs. Too bad Charles Manson historically attached himself to this little gem. Cool bridge.”

7. The Rolling Stones — “It’s Only Rock & Roll”

“This has got to be one of the greatest lines in rock history! ‘I know it’s only rock and roll, but I like it?????’ I’ll never come up with something so genius. Maybe I need a sailor outfit?”

8. Sweet — “Medussa”

“I always listen to Sweet, another criminally underrated band. They were so original, metal, yet pop and glam as well. ‘Medussa’ is a cool track, and it’s only on the import of Desolation Blvd.”

9. The Tramps — “Disco Inferno”

“Ah yes, disco—so trashed and frowned upon at the time. But I love disco. Amazing production, catchy songs (bad lyrics though, I mean how long can you talk about wanting to boogie?) and something most people forget about… phenomenal musicianship! Something that’s seriously lacking in the modern dance music scene today.”

10. The Move — “Do Ya”

“Bigelf covered this in the mid-90’s. What a chorus!”

11. Queen — “Brighton Rock”

“Queen has had a big impact on me throughout my life. They proved you can take chances and get away with it(well, maybe not “Hot Space”). Freddie Mercury is definitely a special, unique artist, I wish he was still alive. He’s definitely one of my idols.”

—Rick Florino
04.29.09