MUSIC: Petaluma’s Julia Fox sings out

Teenage singer to host debut album-release concert|

“Words, whether sung or spoken, have always been important to me,” says Petaluma singer Julia Fox, 19, a Casa Grande grad who is about to release her first CD. Fox has travelled the world and learned to speak Spanish and Russian, and hopes to eventually become a lawyer - and still sing on the side.

“I’m going to do both,” she laughs, adding, “I totally think it’s possible to practice law and still sing in a band and record albums. That’s what I want to do, so I’m going to figure out how to do it.”

Well argued. And … sustained.

Like we said, Fox really has always been good with words.

Fox, while still in middle school, once wrote an impassioned essay about how writing a novel as part of the annual Nanowrimo novel-writing challenge taught her as much about English and composition as she’d learned from whole textbooks. Always a singer, though generally in private, Fox says she began to take it more seriously in high school, joining the school chorus, gradually allowing others to hear her perform favorite songs.

“My parents always encouraged me to sign more,” she allows, “but for a long time I thought it was just something they said to be nice.” After setting up an Instagram account under the name J Fox Sings, she began to build a following of fans, and the feedback she received from her self-made music videos eventually landed her with her first recording contract, with the Martinez-based label Blue Tree Records.

Working at Harvest Moon studio in Martinez three days a week, she recorded an album of cover songs, tackling a wide range of styles, performing tunes from Adele, the Beatles, and Madonna. There is even a song in Spanish.

“I got to choose all of the songs,” she says. “I just picked things I like, and that I have fun singing.”

With the self-titled new album, “Julia Fox,” now complete, she’s ready for her big local debut. On Friday, Nov. 17, she’ll be singing songs from the CD with a band, and celebrating the official release of the album.

“In the future,” she says, “I want to write my own songs. It’s something I haven’t done, but I want to. I’m pretty sure I can, if I just set my mind to it.”

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.