FREE FIRST FRIDAY: Colby Holmes of Status Foe

Colby Holmes (vocals, guitar, bass, piano)
Larry Anderson (guitar)
Harrison Spenser ( guitar, bass, backing vocals)
Chad Prifogle (drums)

Status Foe was founded in 2015 by Colby Holmes. After leaving a job in corporate sales, Colby became inspired to start the new band.  A handful of demos led to the first full length album  Propagated Sounds (2019), which received contributions from 7 different members:

• Colby Holmes (vocals, guitar, bass piano, co-producer)
• Ryan Koch (drums, co-producer, engineer)
• Larry Anderson (guitar)
• Derek Kendall (guitar)
• Warren Kost (pedal steel)
• Mark Ortwein (electric bassoon, saxophone)
• Jason Mcculley (guitar, co-producer, mixing)

After releasing Propagated Sounds in October 2019, the band solidified into a 4-piece lineup of Colby, Larry, Warren, and new veteran drummer Chad Prifogle. The debut show which was scheduled for April 2020 got delayed and then ultimately canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  As a result, the group began refining and rehearsing songs for a 2nd album as restrictions started to ease mid 2020.  In June of 2021, Status Foe recorded and self- produced their 2nd album Falling Awake at Placebo Amigo Studios and hired Jason Mcculley to mix.  On April 20, 2022, Status Foe released Falling Awake and began playing shows regionally.  On September 16, 2022 the band tragically lost thier bandmate and brother Warren, who passed away in his sleep.

For the rest of 2022, the remaining 3 members continued to grieve and canceled all remaining shows. Around the new year of 2023, Colby by chance ran into an old classmate from high school who was looking for a new project to be involved in. Over the next few weeks, Harrison Spencer started learning Status Foe songs on bass and guitar. After a few rehearsal auditions, the group decided Harrison was a great fit and he officially joined the band in spring of 2023.

In the summer of 2023, Status Foe resumed playing shows regionally and surpassed 250,000 total views on their YouTube channel. On September 2, 2023 Status Foe opened for Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche at Watseka Theater. New fans from the show described Status Foe’s sound as “eclectic and refreshing.” Status Foe is currently in the studio recording their 3rd album and have regional shows scheduled through the spring of 2024.