Fleet Foxes Tickets : Their Growing Profile Enabled The Band To Make Televised Appearances

Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends.Pecknold and Skjelset bonded over a mutual appreciation of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and began making music together.

Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on Skjelset's mother Peggi was a keen listener of both Bob Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father Greg was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group. The two were interested in the achievements of Dylan and Brian Wilson and realized the importance of practicing music from a young age.

Originally going by the name "Pineapple", a name clash with another local band prompted a change and Pecknold decided upon "Fleet Foxes", suggesting that it was "evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting".Pecknold took up the role of principal songwriter, both singing and playing guitar, while Skjelset played lead guitar.

Pecknold's late-sixties pop style caught the attention of Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes EP. Ek was impressed with the band's songwriting, and upon hearing Pecknold for the first time, noted "it was obvious he had talent coming out of his ass." By late 2006 the Seattle press began to take notice of the band; Tom Scanlon of the Seattle Times stated that he was impressed with the band's lyrics and musical maturity.

With growing popularity on the local circuit, the band set about making their first album in early 2007, spending time in the studio with producer Ek in addition to recording material at home. However, funds for recording were tight, so the band members cobbled together what funds they had, which limited the time they had in the studio, and so the majority of the tracks were recorded in various band members' apartments, other spaces, or the basement of Pecknold's parents' house.

At the end of 2008, Fleet Foxes was rated album of the year by Billboard's Critic's Choice and in Metacritic's end of year best album round-up it appeared in 17 lists, topping six of them.Furthermore, it had sold over 408,000 copies in North America and over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom, making it the first gold certificate record for UK label Bella Union.

Their growing profile enabled the band to make televised appearances, playing on Vincent Moon's "La Blogotheque" in December 2008 and on Saturday Night Live the following January. In 2009, they toured in Europe to favorable reviews; Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant said their show in Paradiso induced goosebumps.

Throughout 2008-9 the band played globally ending the tour in September with a final European leg. Fleet Foxes played at the Bridge School Benefit curated by Neil Young on October 24 and 25, 2009 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. This is the second time they supported Young after a summer bill in Hyde Park, London. Fleet Foxes will make a return to the music festival Way Out West (at which they first performed in 2008), held in Gothenburg between August 11-13th, 2011.

They are also scheduled to play the following month at the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur on September 11, 2011. The band have been chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he will curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.