The Do-It-Yourself music scene in the mid-Hudson Valley region of New York has grown exponentially over the last few years. Furnace Creek is responsible for a large portion of this, due to their unceasing determination, passion, and community efforts.
In June of 2016, Elephant Jake had the opportunity to embark on a week long tour with indie-folk band Furnace Creek. Formed by Dan Wixtrom, Mark Hurey, and Ian O'Neil, soulful, charismatic musicians from Warwick, Furnace Creek inspires musicians and audience members in ways unimaginable. I first met Dan, Mark, and Ian at The Elephant Graveyard in Chester, N.Y, in September of 2015 and I was infatuated with their enthusiasm and passion as audience members. After Elephant Jake had played our set, Dan approached me and inquired about Elephant Jake and asked if we would like to play at his basement venue, The Hearth, in December of 2015. We agreed, and played what was one of the most amazing shows of our career so far; ranging from crowd surfing to emotional exclamation of our lyrics. We immediately established a connection and began planning for our weeklong tour.
After months of booking, we embarked on our journey. While we packed our vehicle with equipment, Colin’s dad from Elephant Jake claimed: “now you’re cooking with grease!” We had never heard that before, and thought that he had just exclaimed: “now you’re cooking grease!” The Cooking Grease Tour was born. We were off to Michigan, Virginia, Washington D.C, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. After countless meals at Sheetz, writing our band names in the bathroom at the Electric Maid in D.C, and feeding the homeless in a Taco Bell parking lot, it is safe to say that Furnace Creek is THE band to interact with on any level. Aside from their outstanding releases “Euphoria” and “Dysphoria,” Furnace Creek has a stage presence that is remarkable, ranging from banjo playing crowd surfing to intense audience participation; Furnace Creek is a band that you do not want to miss live. Elephant Jake and Furnace Creek have shared countless meals, sweaty nights, deep conversations, and an unbreakable bond that has inspired Elephant Jake to network and tour as much as we can. Furnace Creek’s networking skills are exemplary, and we have learned a lot about the D.I.Y. music scene from them.
Grab a copy of their releases, listen to them on Spotify, buy their merch, and make sure that you catch them at any upcoming shows. We look forward to “Cooking Grease” with them very soon in the future. Furnace Creek are hometown heroes that have made an impact in my life like no other: they have helped me to learn to persevere through anything.
Bandcamp : http://furnace-creek.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/furnacecreek/?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwixtrom
Instagram: http://picbear.com/furnacecreekny
