“I grew up among the redwoods…”

It’s the opening line on Seabright, Justin Fox’s ninth album, and it’s all true, starting way back in the upper reaches of the Golden State. Justin grew up in Arcata; a college town nestled in the Redwood Forest, where he found little to do but skateboard, play guitar, and write songs. He wanted to be a truck driver when he grew up, but by age 18, he had toured high schools across the nation, singing in a rock band, performing over 500 concerts for half a million teenagers in just ten months!

A few years and a college degree later, 1993, still before the age of the Internet, email, cell phones, or the widespread popularity of “indie music”… Justin began the adventure of his life, touring full-time with just a batch of original songs, a trunk full of cassette tapes, and his acoustic guitar. He was on a brand new road to where music was going, and logging thousands of lonely miles up and down California, at odd hours of the day and night, joining the rushing current of 18 wheelers - it felt like he had finally achieved his childhood dream; of being a truck driver!

It’s been over 30 years since those formative days. With two decades of touring, recording ten albums – yielding several Top 10 singles, and producing a concert DVD, he has in many ways seen it all, yet still has a keen sense of wonder and openness. Fox has sold over 30,000 CDs in all, making him one of the most successful independent artists of the modern era. Stepping off the road to serve as a pastor, coach, and mentor, he's pioneered new mission strategies at Rockharbor Church in Costa Mesa, led small groups, retreats, and spiritual formation initiatives in Richmond, VA, and created new liturgies and leadership development programs at Grace Church in Seal Beach. Now coming full-circle, he’s currently back in his hometown in Northern California serving as Lead Pastor of a new church he and his wife Heidi planted called Branches Humboldt.

Justin Fox's life is a rich tableau of songs and stories. He’s been lost in Bangkok and found at a summer camp, been arrested for trespassing and married the love of his life, spent the night in a Greyhound station in Seattle and a VIP lounge in Hong Kong, sailed a record company president’s yacht and had to run from a burning tour bus, experienced great heartache and intense joy, heard the voice of God and the silence of doubt, felt the crush of singing to 20,000 people and the passion for singing to 20, slid down the massive face of a Honolua Bay set wave and tried to open a can of beans at midnight by the side of the freeway with a pocket-knife.

Although Justin’s enjoying the satisfaction of a colorful rear-view, he’s grateful there’s more road ahead, and keeping his eyes up and heart open for what’s next.