We haven't updated recently, frankly because there's not much to be said at this point in time. We'll be releasing many new pieces, videos, and random pieces of art in the near future. We're building our website right now and are currently putting together content for it.
Here's a peek into one of the projects we're working on, a 3-song folk EP. If you've noticed a trend with us regarding recording and releasing songs in the winter, you're right. Also, we did it in Wisconsin again. We seem to like it there.
Last night we stepped into new territory as Brian and I took to the stage at The Bottom Lounge here in Chicago and performed a duo set. Our stripped down set, uncomfortably nestled in the middle of three straight-up rock bands, seemed out of place but felt natural. Here's Brian in the green room learning all about alien abductions and the Mayan prophecies.
As we alluded to earlier, we're doing a piece called "The Quiet City" that will be available with videos and pictures hopefully by January. We're in the process right now of gathering ideas, from the Skydeck of the Willis (it's still the Sears Tower to me) to the Museum Campus along the lake (where we got that beautiful picture above) at 5 AM.
I recently was inspired by my very routine Monday afternoon, spent in a library on Michigan Avenue here in Chicago. I spend these afternoons in a big open space, a newly acquired room by said library that not many people know about yet. It's a very large room with chairs scattered about and great views of Michigan Avenue and Grant Park, which lies directly on the other side of the street. About thirty feet into the Park is a Metra train station with a consistent, blurred, stream of neatly painted blues and reds.
It's one of the quietest places I've found in Chicago, which contrasts perfectly with what's happening just outside these tired glass panes.
Here's what's new: We are starting a new venture that combines what we do musically with what others do visually. We're calling it Flights AV. We're no longer a band.
We'll keep you updated on the many musical happenings of the other members of the band (Pau, CatamarAn(tarp)tonio-Gates-Holmes, Dykey Mike, Navigator, Masturbate, New Yorkie).
If you're interested in more details, keep checking back to this blog (notice address change, flightsav.blogspot.com) and follow us at our new Twitter location (@FlightsAV).
Three shows in and we have learned a few things. First being, practice makes perfect. Secondly, that no matter what, we should always play our music the way we intend to play it. And thirdly, that we are only yet beginning to explore and create the sound that is truly our own. That being said I am very excited for the new material we are writing and the evolution that we have gone through in the past month. A lot has changed since we first began this and we've only just begun.
(b)
The world is a big place, full of ideas and ideals. I think we're nearing the stage where we know what that means referring to Flights. We have a lot to update you on, and I apologize for not doing so earlier, but we've been extremely busy. We're taking time to write, but in the midst of that is everything else that needs to get done as an independent band. It's hard to work with big ambitions as a start-up business.
We have big ambitions.
With that said, we have a few things to update you on.
1.) Our Facebook page has been updated. Also, there's an event page going around about... 2.) Our most recent show is at Beat Kitchen this coming Wednesday! 21+, 8:00pm doors. 3.) Follow us on Twitter if you have one. We don't just promote ourselves, I promise. We like to expose to the world what we love through Twitter - which is generally incredible architecture, some random performances of bands we admire, and random blogs/people we follow. Check it if you're interested in finding out about some pretty nice things on the internets. 4.) Our Flickr is full of photos from recent shows. Take a look and come back to it often - we'll be adding photos whenever we take them. 5.) Keep checking this blog! (flightsmusic.blogspot.com) I realize we haven't posted in a while but I promise that will change. 6.) We have more updates to tell you about. Please come back.
So, lately my schedule has been looking an awful lot like a dream I had years ago.
-Work on score for beautiful short film -Prepare for big Chicago show -Plan for wedding
It's as if someone looked into my mind during high school graduation and pulled out a perfect situation.
Preparing for the show tomorrow has been a long and difficult task. The thought of performing these songs live to an audience at one time seemed impossible but we knew we could do it if we found the right people to join us. In came my longtime friend, Kate. We met at Berklee and she has become an invaluable key to unlocking our live sound. I decided, since this will be an entirely new experience for us and all of you, that I would let you in on what you expect to hear tomorrow night. So here it is, in no particular order, our set list.
-Dead Bodies -The Resting House -Mountaintop -Winter 1 -Ghosts
Our apartment just lost many many square feet, but for a good cause.
As you can see, music equipment is slowly growing in our place. Some good rehearsals have taken place here, all in regards to our show at Empty Bottle coming up on September 2nd. Everyday we're learning how to clearly represent our songs to you live. What started as a daunting task, to play the songs on Living Bodies live, (one that I seriously considered not tackling, rather bringing up the idea of writing other versions) has resulted in solutions upon solutions for every problem we find. It's going to be one of my most fulfilling and satisfying nights after our show on the 2nd, just knowing we figured it out and are playing the songs how they should be played.
With that said, a few announcements:
1.)
Color Radio (www.myspace.com/colorradio) Metavari (www.myspace.com/metavari) Flights (www.myspace.com/flightsmusic) Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 - The Empty Bottle 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago IL Doors open at 8:30PM. Show starts at 9:30PM 21+ $6 day of show BUY ADVANCED TICKETS FOR $3
3.) On Facebook, we posted our video for Old Wings. While you're there, become a fan of the page and you'll receive other goodies for being a friend of ours.
Color Radio (www.myspace.com/colorradio) Metavari (www.myspace.com/metavari) Flights (www.myspace.com/flightsmusic) Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 - The Empty Bottle 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago IL Doors open at 8:30PM. Show starts at 9:30PM 21+ $6 day of show BUY ADVANCED TICKETS FOR $3
The time is here for us to start playing out again. The last two weeks we've been dedicating a lot of our time focusing on how to actually play our music live. Eric added instruments upon instruments building the ambient sound found in most of our new songs. I also recorded three guitars in a few songs (at the end of the Winter 1 and Dead Bodies, for example - listen closely and you might hear them). We never want to play with tracks (For those unfamiliar with what I mean: Tracks are parts in the songs that cannot be played live due to not enough members and/or equipment. A lot of bands play with string tracks - Coldplay. Let it be known that I'm a fan of Coldplay). We want to have a live show be a unique experience, as it should be.
So we've been building our live shows from scratch with keyboards, loop pedals, and finding people to play with us. Our first show will be chaotic for us, once again, as it should be. I like seeing shows where the band is never in complete control of every aspect of their set. That there's always room to add something, leave something out, or (although I dread this word because of jam bands) improvise.
Click any of the pictures to be directed to our Flickr page with more pictures of what we're doing.
Schedule: Color Radio (www.myspace.com/colorradio) Metavari (www.myspace.com/metavari) Flights (www.myspace.com/flightsmusic) September 2nd, 2009 - The Empty Bottle 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago IL Doors open at 8:30PM. Show starts at 9:30PM 21+ $6 day of show BUY ADVANCED TICKETS FOR $3
We're releasing our second Package today. If you don't know what I mean, we'll be releasing what we're calling Packages from time to time exclusively for mailing list members. These will include new music, videos, photos, and various forms of other media. Again, these are only available to people who sign up for the list.
If you've been following our blog, you'll know that we filmed a performance video at my brother's place here in Chicago for our song Old Wings. We just wrapped up putting it all together and will be sending it out via email to all of you mailing list members. Check your inbox this afternoon!
Credits for the video production and editing goes to our good friend Mitch Buss.
Just wanted to let everyone know, if you haven't already been made aware from our frequent Twitter/Facebook blasts, that we're up for Artist of the Month at The Deli, Chicago! The Deli is a great place to find new artists and read some locally produced music-related articles.
They recently gave Living Bodies a great review and now have included Flights into their monthly poll decided by the readers.
Please help us win this - polls close on August 16th. We will receive 4 hours of studio time and it'll really help us out in solidifying Chicago for us. It's very easy to do. Just click on this link: www.thedelimagazine.com/chicago, click "Vote" and then click "Flights". I believe you can vote up to once everyday, so we'd appreciate any and all help.
So without further ado...we present to you our sweat and toil of the last 6 months. Living Bodies. Late last night I sat, once again with my head down on the table, a speaker at each ear and a smile on my face. I knew that it was done and ready for anyone who would open their ears to listen. It feels good to finally complete this project and be able to move on to the next stages of our life as Flights. I couldn't be happier with these songs and I truly hope that you enjoy them/hate them/love them/feel them/make them your own. Along with Brian's now 4 jobs and two internships and my new film on the way our lives have never been busier, but I know that I can say for the both of us that the music we are creating here makes us feel more truly alive than anything else we produce. And really, isn't that the point of living, to truly feel alive.
----
(b)
It's finally done. The four songs we recorded in Winter are here, for your consumption as well, not just ours anymore. We wouldn't have it any other way, after hearing, manipulating, and slaving over these songs the past 6 months. I know we've said it or at least hinted at the fact the songs were finished. This time it's a reality.
So, I'll let you in on what we're going to be doing as Flights. We're going to be releasing Packages to our mailing list members. These packages will include any of the following: songs, films, stories, art in various ways, and other forms of media that we create. It's exciting for us and shortly we're going to ask you all to participate with us (more details to come).
To receive Packages, all you need to do is sign up for the mailing list. Anyone who signs up will receive the first package - "Living Bodies". This includes our 4 new songs and lyric sheets. In the coming days, you'll receive another package - "Old Wings". This will have photos and the performance video we did for our song, Old Wings.
Here's the mailing list you need to sign up for. We promise never to spam you or send you anything that isn't worthy of taking up a spot in your email inbox.
I decided to go back to Milwaukee this past weekend to spend some time with my girlfriend, Kate Loehrer. She's a photographer from that area - does really good stuff on her own. Clicking on her name will direct you to her photo journal. Support more artists!
Anyways, we were sitting around one night and didn't have the luxury of turning to Conan (it was Sunday) for entertainment. As one might expect being in such a desperate position as we were, we started to turn the big wheels in our brains. She's a crafty person. I'm not. Her "Want to help me decoupage!?!" was met with a half-hearted "...Yes!". She knows me too well at this point. Idea scratched.
What started as "hey, let me take a picture of you" turned into playing around with lamps. Much to her dismay, I wanted to bring the lamps to life. After my thought of having them become a family was erased from our imaginary board of ideas, we decided to give them all their own traits, without much of a story.
For people who like stats (me, remember the previous post about job applications?), it took us about 2 and a half hours, and required 159 pictures. I should also mention that the music is Tenuousness by Andrew Bird.
So here is the end product, our first go at producing a stop-motion film, our one-minute piece, "Lamps".
Every time you create something and it sits complete in front of you, you ask yourself the question "Is this perfect to me?" This is the question that I was faced with when I sat, my head down on the table, a Bose speaker at each ear, listening to "Living Bodies" complete for the first time. The answer I came up with was "No". Because of this I scrapped most of the melody and lyrics to "Dead Bodies" and started fresh...again. To say that I am being very picky with this song is an understatement but I know from experience that a small feeling of dissatisfaction can soon turn into a giant feeling of regret and disappointment. From the beginning I wanted these songs to be the best music we have ever made and I feel, with just a little more creation and a little more work, that they will be soon. One song that we were very happy with was "Old Wings". This song is now up exclusively on this blog and we couldn't be happier. I promise, soon, all four songs will be complete and in your hands. Until then, I will keep my pen writing and my voice moving. I hope you enjoy "Old Wings".
It's been far too long since we wrote. We've been through one of the worst moves possible (albeit to a great space for us), and some of the most stressful times financially. All of this surrounding us while trying to finish up the songs. The last song we're working on is Dead Bodies. Eric has come up with melodies, recorded them, and in the same day thrown them away...a few times. I promise, it's going to be good. Songs that get worked on this much have momentum behind them. ---- I should update on the move. Here's what happened, in chronological order. Eric came to Chicago from Boston in the middle of May to stay in my apartment through July and then get a place with Alec as well (yep, the band is going to be all in one place). You might have seen the move in a video Eric made of his trip. So the end of June comes and we're just starting to clean and pack up for our move on July 1st. My door, which was never used this way before, startled me with loud clacks. The kind of noise you know doesn't bring good news. We do have a buzzer but I suppose the landlord doesn't give a shit. Anyway, the landlord promptly tells us through a thick Western European accent that we have "to move by tomorrow noon". Needless to say, we were stuck with all of our belongings and no where to put them, or ourselves for that matter, for just a tiny gap in time. 20 hours to be exact.
The plan for us was: A.) sleep next to all of our stuff for the night on the curb or B.) move into my brother's condo for the night (old brick building, tiny elevator with two heavy doors to be held open - much harder than it may sound). We chose the second option, though somehow and at many points during the move to my brother's, the first seemed much more appealing. So the first day was Eric, my Dad and I moving a whole apartment into a condo, knowing the entire time we had to do it again tomorrow (though the next day would be just Eric and I). Next day rolls around, waking up at 7am to move, load, unload, repeat - we finish around 8pm. Finish meaning all of the boxes, mattresses, equipment taking up any and all floorspace in our new living room, hallway and kitchen.
Enough complaining. My conscious is just looking for a pat on the back for all of that good ol' work.
"Financial situation?!? Aren't you in a baaaaand?" Yes, and bands don't make any money. Even ones on "record labels" (what does that even mean to anyone anymore?). So we have to find jobs to pay for places we move in to and inhabit. We should also probably pay some sort of nuisance fee to all other tenants for every noise a band makes (not always musical). Anyways, I'm on my 27th application and I know Eric's tally is up there, though I know he doesn't have a running count. (The fact that I know and keep track is another blog for another time) ---- I also want to let you in on a video we made a while ago at my old place. We came up with the idea for the song the same night we recorded this little video. It was one of those times where it fell into place - Eric had some chords, put them together, and I wrote some melodies over it. For your viewing pleasure:
We'll be using Vimeo from now on to host our film. Why? Because it looks better than YouTube and I'm a sucker for that attribute in websites.
So we've been busy in different ways and places. The upswell of band activity that came when we put up our first couple songs for people has died down a bit. This past week was really an opportunity for us to figure out some personal issues (apartment, job, school, anything that defers creativity...). In between the time we spent with that, we often went to the lake. Below was our stomping ground for the last 4, 5 days.
We're also doing something new. Click on the photo above to be taken to our Flickr page, where we'll be uploading photos on a regular basis. There are three more pictures at the lake, along with a collection from the Old Wings video shoot.
Over the past few days we have been hard at work finishing the only song that is not yet complete, Dead Bodies. Brian has been tracking some extra guitars while I have been recording vocals and laying down harp and extra pianos. I am getting restless as I wait to finish on account of a sore throat. However, once my throat soothes, work can continue and we will very soon complete all four songs. Here are some pictures I took of Brian at his station. Working the gears to his loud machine.
Eric and I both took the past few days to relax and get away, but now we're back in Chicago working on getting everything together again. Eric's currently working on Dead Bodies, production-wise, and I'm completing some image related tasks on my list. For example, here's something we'll be giving away when you sign up for our mailing list to receive the songs - lyric sheets.
That's the lyric sheet for Winter 1, one of the four songs that will have a lyric sheet.
We decided to shoot a performance video for our song Old Wings (which isn't quite done yet - a few days, I promise). We filmed it at my brother's place here in Chicago with our good friend Mitch Buss. Eric and I decided on the sun room because of the train that runs literally inches from the east side of the condo. Take a look in this picture.
We went for an intimate performance feel. I wouldn't call this an official music video, rather just a film we wanted to put together for this specific song. There will also be a time-lapse video of all three of us setting up. Not sure when that will be available, but we'll keep you updated on it.
We're editing the audio and video right now for the performance video. We'll have it available only for folks who sign up for the mailing list (like the 4 songs) - I'll explain this more in depth later.
Thanks goes to Kevin Holl and Traci Wei for letting us take over their condo for a few hours.
Hours. Days. Months. Almost a year has gone by since the first note of Winter 1 moved through my fingertips onto the keys of my keyboard in a small room in Allston, Massachusetts. Now in Chicago, Illinois I sit at a table in Brian's living room typing this message as the first note of Winter 1 is heard by someone...anyone. My mind moves back to the hours and hours I spent by myself in a small studio tucked away in the back of the 150 building at Berklee. Creation and release. The feeling I have right now can be described as nothing less than pure joy. I hope you enjoy the sounds that we have created. Just know that they were created with hard work, with passion, and most of all with love. Love for the music, for art, and love for you.
(b)
A long time coming for me. In relation to Eric, this has felt like the longest waiting period I've ever had to deal with. He had the songs after we recorded them. He mixed, sent, and I returned with my opinions. All I've had up to this point are my own thoughts. Thoughts about how we got here and what's next. I'm excited about the latter. My task list is deep with creative ideas that involve music, video, stories, photographs. But one thing I'm noticing is that we come up with some of our best ideas together. Video shoots, animations, ideas. They're all coming. They all compliment what the music stands for. I've said it once and I'm going to say it again because there is nothing that evokes my perception of the future better than this phrase: I can't wait for tomorrow.
So there are many things in life that make us happy, one being releasing songs for you all. In the image below, you'll see a bunch of lines, sections, waveforms - all of which don't resemble a song to the eyes of non-musicians.
But let us assure you, this is a song; a song that is in final mixing stages.
Oh, and this how happy we are about finally releasing these songs. (Think going to a baseball game, think about that friend who says "it's time for a picture!!", think about baby showers and bar settings)
Tonight we're going to be filming a bit of a video for the package we're giving away (when you submit your email address - described at our MySpace blog explaining everything). Getting all the goodies together.
After a long battle with software, hardware, and a cold, vocal work has resumed. We laid down the vocals for "The Resting House" yesterday and edited them this morning. Most of the "Winter 1" harmonies are set and "Dead Bodies" is coming along. The winding melody of Old Wings was recorded very late on a quiet night. Big pieces to an even bigger puzzle. As we get closer and closer to the end, or the beginning rather, I feel more and more a sense of accomplishment and pride. But it won't be until these songs reach new ears that I will feel truly fulfilled. After a day of rest, the work continues. This is going to be a good week.
It's now the end of January. Everything bad about winter has exhausted itself, but surely has not gone away.
New music is coming. Last time we showed you a fake version of a new song that is tentatively titled Winter One. The name will change at some point, but right now it's a good working title. Anyways, here's a little bit of the new version, the updated version. It includes guitar, but hasn't been mixed, mastered, EQ'd, nothing. We're not done adding all of the instrumentation either. We're building.
We've spent a few months not knowing what the future meant, in terms of the music we made, and trying to come up with something. The picture only came into focus when we were writing together, recording together, and eventually listening together. The music we were making was for something else and should no longer be constrained to any genre, or notion. It was even hard to tag the music to a specific entity at times.
What came of the week we spent holed up in my parent's basement with a few mics and the cycle of coffee and tea was a general understanding of where we ought to be. As any musician will tell you, if your heart isn't in it anymore, it's better to stop rather than try to be patient and hope that the butterflies come back. This was my take on it anyways.
So with all of that said, expect 4 new songs coming your way. Expect them to be unconventional. We'll be releasing some on February 1st for everyone to enjoy, not just us anymore.
Here's a small little sample of a piece we recorded - this is the very early stage of it.
|artist - album| (b) 1.) The National - High Violet 2.) Beach House Pandora Station 3.) The Dodos - Visiter 4.) Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche 5.) Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
(e) 1.) Baths - Cerulean 2.) Caribou - Swim 3.) Beach House - Teen Dream 4.) Bob Dylan - Another Side of Bob Dylan 5.) The Road (Soundtrack) - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
