Flight
by G.J. Lau
The Internet has mostly been about people who had something to say or something to sell. Now, the third wave has arrived, and its name is music. One survey projects a 5-fold increase in music sales on the Internet, from 6 million in 1998 to 33 million in 2003.
This month, *spark-online interviews Flight, a British group that is part of this new wave of musicians who are plugging their amps straight into the Internet. We talked with Bill Davies, the group’s bass player and lyricist.
What is Flight’s background?
The group started in back in 1982. We were, and still are influenced by the people we listened to back then: Ultravox, Gary Numan, Punk and Joy Division.We started out as a typical bedroom band, y’know the sort: One guitar with 4 strings only and no idea what to do or how to sound. All we knew was that we had to do something other than sit back and watch others. We all met after I went to college with Dave Algeo (the singer) and he was already in a dying band called EFEX with Paul Jones. We got together, and it just clicked. I know that sounds like a cliche, but it is a fact. We are all first and foremost the best of friends. . . .That is the essence of Flight, that is the essence of us as people. I love the two of them as friends, as brothers, no matter what may happen. To understand this is to begin to understand Flight.
Where would you like to be musically in 1 year? 5 years?
That’s the $64,000 question isn’t it? Who knows where we will be, but we will still be the same people we always have been. We will still be friends. Musically, I would like people to recognize that we have a talent for what we do. I don’t want (and never have wanted) pots of money, fame and the “sickness” that goes with it. I just want Flight to be recognized and respected. I want people to buy our records - sure, to say anything else is to deny why you get involved in rock n roll in the first place. But I want recognition of this band as musicians and people above “celebrity”. . . .I would like people to understand what we tried to say about ourselves and the world in general. To make people think is my goal, not to purely take people’s money .
Which is more satisfying: writing lyrics, finding the notes to go with the words, or making the track in the studio?
For me, as a lyricist the lyrics are more important. They usually come first actually. Certainly most of “Thoughts Trapped Inside” was written that way. So far, “5 Days In Astrakhan” has been totally about lyrics first. Moods and emotions, certainly within my private life at present, have maybe dictated this to some degree. But if a good tune comes along during the writing process we will start from that point. We have no structure in that sense. We write always as the mood and the circumstances dictate. To me, that is what makes our music real, alive and certainly 100% honest. You may not like what is in there - but you can’t take it away from us or call it false. Studio wise - we have our own studio (Shabby Road) and so we have no time constraints other than what we impose ourselves. No rules, no pressure.
You sing a lot about the darker side of life - why is this?
That, to be honest mainly stems from our experiences on this earth. Life is not what you always think it is. There is fear and loathing and hatred and pain and misery. There is a whole spectrum of emotion that tend to be generally ignored. I see things everyday and I think - why? Life is not just TV and game shows and happy smiling faces. For every “white” there is a “black.” I think we tend to focus on the black better than the white.
There’s a new survey out that says MP3 has surpassed sex as the most popular search word on the Internet. What does that say to you about the future role of the Internet in the music business? How has the Internet affected the business side of being a musician?
Flight: I do not see music as a “business” first and foremost, so I can’t comment on the business aspect to much. To me it is about conveying emotions, seeing what I see and saying what I feel. As for MP3 being typed more than “sex” - there are some strange people out there (laughs). Seriously, MP3 has done a lot to promote unsigned bands and to push the boundaries of musical appreciation further than 90% of record companies ever will. I have respect for them. They do what they do, making some profit along the way I am sure, but they do it with their hearts in the right place. The Internet has a big role to play in the future of music. It is a tool for worldwide communication and so it will and should, help bands to be heard all over the globe. There are a number of Internet Radio Stations that are springing up - we are currently on the play list of Pogo Radio in Denver, USA. These people are trying to break the stranglehold of wishy-washy pop music by playing more “cutting edge” stuff . . . .More importantly though is to use it as a vehicle for understanding different people and cultures. If through music on the Internet a greater understanding can be reached then I am 100% behind it. Record companies are now using it to scout for bands and that is good. The danger is if bands loose the art of “playing live” through just using technology. I still believe there is nothing better than a good night out watching a great live band. We still have to keep sight of the fundamentals of rock n roll in the midst of this stunning revolution taking place.
How did Flight’s web site evolve? All it takes is one look at the web site to see that there is a lot going on and it is not just the music.
The web-site was something we have thought about for a long time now. It is all the brainchild and hard work of Paul, who has spent many a night and day in pursuit of perfection. We wanted somewhere that maybe is a “starting point” for trying to understand what it is we are all about. We also wanted a place to let our thoughts and ideas that don’t for some reason manifest themselves as songs take shape. I guess the thoughts you don’t express in song are equally as valid as the thoughts you do express. It is a place for us also to show that we are not just people who play music. We are creative individuals in other areas as well. We wanted to inform and hopefully entertain at the same time. Naturally, there is the “advertising” aspect of it all: y’know, the self promotion of our music, and hopefully people will listen and then buy the records etc.
If there was just one thing about Flight that you would like our readers to remember, what is it?
That we as a band have something to say and will say it. We are an honest band who wear our hearts on our sleeves because you have to give in order to receive. We give of our emotions, we give of our feelings - all we ask is you give some time and listen to what we have to say. If you don’t like it or don’t agree - that is your prerogative. If you do like it then that also is your prerogative - and we thank you for it (laughs). To all the people who have taken an interest, who have bought the album or helped along the way - You know who you are and we thank you all. If music is nothing without musicians - it is even less without people prepared to listen.
Flight:
David Algeo (voice and percussion)
Bill Davies (bass player and lyricist)
Paul F. Jones (guitar, and keyboard)
Visit Flight’s web site at: http://www.btinternet.com/~flight.site/index.htm
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