I had since moved on from the Underground, as had Zox, and had the pleasure to catch up with Zox on Wednesday, November 6th at Harper's Ferry. They had undergone a lineup change, had rehearsed and polished their sound, had just finished a brand new CD, and had moved out of the Underground and into bigger and more prominent rooms. I was excited to see how the band had progressed in the several years since I last heard them during those nights in the Underground.

Zox's two major personnel changes were to put Eli Batalion on the bass, and Spencer Swain on violin. Founding members Eli Miller (guitarist, primary vocalist, and songwriter) and John Zox (drummer) rounded out the lineup. The first thing that grabbed me was the improved vocal arrangements to the quartet. All members, save Zox on drums, assumed singing duties and built quality pop harmonies where there was once only Miller. This ingredient, added to the already catchy songwriting, caused Zox melodies to stick to the insides of your ears long after the band stopped playing. Part of their secret is that they manage to balance the distortion and energetic noise of a hard-rock bar band with the melodic and harmonic qualities of trained and accomplished musicians.

Their set contained some old tunes that I remembered from the Underground, and featured new compositions as well. Their new CD, "Take Me Home," still features some of the oldies: their signature treatment of Pachlbel's "Canon in D," (which closed their set) and the songwriting achievement "The Squid," by all rights the band's first single. Many of their newer tunes, such as "Starry Night" and "Ghostown," borrow from reggae much more than they do rock, resulting in a much more controlled, deliberate, polished sound. Even Miller's vocals, that at one time left him hoarse after many Saturday nights, were clear, smooth, and precise. The band as a whole cut back on distortion as well; Miller only flipped on the overdrive a couple of times during the set, Batalion's bass offered a very clean tone, and Swain played his violin without effects. Zox had achieved a balance to their sound, and from the bar, evidently were able to listen to each other much better. This allowed them to expand their repertoire into genres beyond rock and reggae. The result of this polished and controlled sound was a highly listenable, prevailingly appealing band suitable for commercial airplay. Zox had indeed grown up.

The Gods of Gigging Bands were unfortunately not smiling down on Zox that evening at Harper's Ferry, as their set was plagued with sound problems throughout. Aside from the standard sonic issues that Harper's as a venue has yet to resolve (speaker placement resulting in a very unbalanced vocal mix up front), the high end of the guitar and violin were turned down a little too much such that when the band wanted to lift things, through no fault of their own, they were generally stifled. Even more unfortunately, Swain's violin amp decided to give up the ghost in the middle of their set, sadly leaving "The Squid" a bit empty. While he and the Harper's sound guy grappled with the violin's predicament (they eventually ran it direct), the remaining trio reached deep into their repertoire and came out with one of the band's first tunes played sans violin, a rocker called "Something about Going Home to California." Miller and Batalion covered by engaging the crowd in a wry and personable banter that showed genuine gratitude, humor, and humility. After Swain's bad luck continued in the breaking of one of his violin strings (does that EVER happen?), the band offered a very adept version of Sublime's "Badfish," which the crowd immediately recognized and loved. By the end of Canon in D to close their set, the crowd, without storming the dance floor, had all taken in something that they knew they liked.

In their new tendency towards the more subtle and melodic qualities of reggae, Zox sacrifices some of the all out ass-kicking head-thrashing energy that I remember from their shows at the Underground. The shows of old often built up into a high pressure cocktail of sweat, distortion, and beer which was, arguably, less musical, but one hell of a good time. With the addition of the new bassist Batalion, a much more frenetic player than Zox's old bassist, and a decidedly post-college crowd, Zox's sound has matured, and much like a fine spirit, mellowed out a bit. Some aspects of the band, however, have tended towards the chaotic fun I remember. Batalion is capable of letting loose a cache of notes on the bass characteristically reserved for either speed metal or jazz soloing. This pushes things a bit on stage, but is decidedly un-reggae. And on the drums, Zox has greatly improved his hand speed. This has similar effects on the overall sound as the denser bass lines, and because of Zox's new propensity to blend effectively, makes Zox's drumming musically possible.

Zox has come a long way in developing and polishing their trademark sound. Its current manifestation is an excellent blended amalgam of vocals, melodic instrumentation, and superb songwriting. But in the packaging of their sound for the willing masses, Zox has also tamed themselves a bit. Their sets no longer contain the songs that borrowed more from punk than from rock or reggae. Their show is more scripted than it once was, which does not leave much room to extend and push jams to the aural equivalent of agent orange as they once did. Miller no longer breaks strings on a regular basis and complains of dancing-induced neck pains, drenched with sweat, after marathon sets at the Underground. But perhaps this is not a bad thing. Perhaps this is the logical progression of things with Zox.

But make no mistake: Zox Still Rocks. They will make you dance and smile. (Drinking is optional.) And as they grow in prominence in the Northeast, look for them to bend the genres of rock and reggae to their own fun and unique ends at a bar, club, or campus near you some time soon.

-David Taus