AFTER 18 years, Limerick alt-Limrockers Fox Jaw (ex Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters) have announced their breakup. They will celebrate their final moments with one last show this Saturday October 19 at Dolan’s Kasbah joined by special guests Static Vision and Van Panther. The quintet, Ronan Mitchell, Morgan Nolan, Shane Serrano, Kieran J. Sims, and Manolis Pates, Fox Jaw built a reputation creating quality output with a distinct dark sound and strong pop melodies.
Fox Jaw is no more. but not quite, the band is closing a chapter to make way for a new project, but more about that in 2025!.
There is a band in the UK called Phoxjaw which was formed in 2016, which has garnered a lot of publicity in recent years and the Limerick band have made the decision to step away from the Fox Jaw moniker completely to avoid confusion and controversy.
The live show on Saturday will be the final time they will perform their extensive back catalogue live.
Chatting to drummer Shane Serrano this week, we looked back over some of the highlights of the band’s adventures.
One ambition that Fox Jaw realised was getting to perform at Other Voices in Dingle. A bucket list moment for many Irish musicians. The band made their Other Voices debut with their performance of ‘Kerosene’ as part of OV 19 broadcast in 2021.
The album ‘Ghost’s Parade’ was released in 2014. Shane recalls that this recording was a rewarding and creative experience, where the band took time to record and experiment with their sound and learned a lot from working with Dave ‘Skippy’ Christophers, who produced Josh Ritter, Whipping Boy and Mundy.
The first single from that album was ‘Kerosene’ which remains Fox Jaw’s most popular song on Spotify. The brooding buildup of Kerosene is one of their finest moments with singer Ronan Mitchell alternating from a sweet croon to a tortured howl.
Fox Jaw has also been well represented on screen thanks to Shane. The cinematographer / musician created stunning videos for the band – Kerosene starred Richard Lynch as a raging psychopath alongside Kevin Kiely Jnr.
The idea for the video came from a chance meeting with Richard Lynch in Dolans – Shane remembers he was wearing a pair of glasses that made him, “look like a serial killer.”
With some additional ideas from Blindboy Boatclub on how the story could be told, Shane directed the video and Lynch and Kiely give huge performances. Much of Fox Jaw’s music would be a perfect fit for a Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino movie and ‘Kerosene’ remains a brilliant celebration of Limerick creative talent.
In 2020, they released their third studio album, Breathe In The Strange, produced by Mike Gavin and mastered by Richard Dowling.
However, the pandemic prevented them from touring to promote it. During the lockdown, the band stayed active, releasing 10 weeks of “Covid Covers,” where each member recorded in isolation, covering artists like Tom Waits and Amy Winehouse.
These covers gained significant attention, with airplay on 2FM and recognition from the Library of Congress. The final lockdown covers video was ‘Baby I Love You’ by The Ronettes and made famous all over again by The Ramones. The band celebrated all that is great in friendship and music by inviting some of their friends from across Ireland and beyond to sing a line or play a part.
The song features Valerie Gunning (University of Limerick Orchestra), Maria Ryan (Strung), Post Punk Podge, Robbie Costelloe (Toucan), Emma Langford, Maeve Molly (Vulpynes), Barry Murphy (Hermitage Green) and Johnny B (The 2 Johnnies) to name just a few.
Hear all the singles and more from Fox Jaw one last time this Saturday 19 at Dolans Kasbah followed by an After Show Party on Dolans Upper Deck playing alternative/indie/disco.
MusicLimerick Playlist
