Jon Macey

Guitarist, bassist and founding member of Fox Pass Jon Macey doesn’t even flinch when talking about his formative days as a musician. “I used to play accordion,” he says. “I once played in an accordion orchestra. All accordions, like 20 of them. We were around 10 or 11 years old. We were doing stuff like ‘Sentimental Journey’ and ‘Harbor Lights.’“

FOX PASS

Macey, who was born in upstate New York, grew up in Arlington and now lives in Waltham, formed Fox Pass in 1972, while still in high school. After he made the switch from accordion to bass and singing, he met guitarist Mike Roy. Both were big Modern Lovers fans, and people who saw the duo performing at the Cambridge Common Concerts quickly picked up on that. Their original tunes also took some influence from Frank Zappa, resulting in a kind of sardonic, satirical folkie sound.

Macy switched to guitar when Roy’s brother John came in on bass and Ricci LaCentra joined on drums. The band’s name was another Zappa influence, as it’s a play on words (and an intentional mispronunciation) of “faux pas.” The personnel went though some changes, with John Jules and Dave Godbey coming in as the rhythm section, and the band’s sound moved into the realms of power pop. The recorded the single “I Believed,” which because a local hit, but did not result in a record deal.

TOM DICKIE & THE DESIRES, OTHER BANDS, RECENT ACTIVITY

In the late 1970s, Macey and Mike Roy moved to New York City to join Tom Dickie & The Desires, with Macey returning to bass. That resulted in a couple of records on Mercury and opening on tours with Cheap Trick and Humble Pie, but it was Dickie’s band and Macey was relegated to backup vocals. “At the end of it all, we had no money, but I was plenty happy with that situation at the time it was happening,” he says. “It was great to be in the big time while it lasted.” Macey went on to form The Score, battled a heroin addiction, then cleaned up his act to start Macey’s Parade, going back to guitar and recalling his folkie roots. That group lasted until 1994, after which Macey formed The Bittersweets with Sal Baglio, Steve Gilligan and Lenny Shea of The Stompers.

These days, Macey heads up the newest Fox Pass lineup of Mike Roy, Gilligan, and Shea, and he goes out from time to time in an acoustic duo with Gilligan. His new solo album is Intention, which he calls “folk rock without the rock, but with a rock attitude.” He’s also working in Adam & Eve with Linda Viens, Lynn Shipley and Rich Lamphear, and is thinking of picking up the accordion that’s been sitting around his house.

(by Ed Symkus)