Erica Fox is and always has been a storyteller. The evidence is in her own songwriting, in her interpretation of a song she might cover with her own phrasing, or in an acting role on film or on stage.
The ability to hold one’s attention while presenting a tale might have begun on Tuesdays when she was a little girl. This was when her very own storyteller, her father, picked her up to hang out at the local record store together, where each week they chose one of the latest records to hit the store. Fox says, “Those moments with my father allowed me to not only dream about one day being a musician, but to understand that to make things happen it takes hard work.”
I wanted a place that honored our ancestors, that took into consideration our heritage and that showed off our rich culture.
Her own story began right out of high school. She left for Hollywood in pursuit of her dreams. Once in Los Angeles, she worked her way up the ranks. She worked at Capitol Records and was signed as a singer-songwriter to MCA/Universal Records. Later, Master P of No Limit signed her to one of the top record labels for popular rappers at the time.
After marriage and having two children, Fox returned to Louisiana with her first stop in New Orleans. “I valued my time on the West Coast, but my heart was in Louisiana,” says Fox.
It wasn’t long before her role in the National World War II Museum’s production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” was recognized by the Gambit Weekly when they presented the cast with the 2018 Big Easy Award for “Best Ensemble.” Not one to ever sit on her laurels, she has shown Lafayette a quality of musicianship and professionalism that comes with experience.
Since returning home, she has recorded a breadth of material which also happens to pay homage to our region. She recorded “Creole Woman” to honor the great Carol Fran. She recorded “Crying in the Chapel” after Hurricane Laura slammed into our Southeast Coast. Fox recorded a remake of the Lucinda Williams classic, “Lake Charles,” and after a devastating year of COVID-19 and a nation on the brink, she also recorded a full album of her own music called, “This is 2020.”
All of this while in the past two years, Fox was a radio talk show host for established and upcoming songwriters at KBON in Eunice, La. She had a starring role in one of the last plays produced before COVID at Cité des Arts called, “American Songbook.” She closed out Downtown Alive with a powerful performance at Acadiana Center for the Arts while on lockdown.
One could very well ask, “Is there time for anything else?” Well, that’s the beauty of an artist who makes her dreams count. She also throws herself into the causes she is passionate about. Fox is a member of the Lafayette Commission on the Needs of Women, a Commissioner for the Evangeline Thruway Redevelopment Team and a past Commissioner for the Bayou Vermilion District. In addition, Fox is a certified real estate developer and has owned her own property management company for 15 years.
The latest endeavor for Fox has been the recent grand opening of her very own gift shop, Attakapas Collective. “I wanted a place that honored our ancestors, that took into consideration our heritage, and that showed off our rich culture,” says Fox. She and her business partner took time to meet with artisans in the Lafayette area, and she wanted to create an inclusive, sacred space for all people to come and sell the wares of their trade. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Fox, told stories about her vision and what each artist brought to the table — always the storyteller, still making a difference with each tale along the way.
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