Mystery is in the ear of the beholder

photo credit: John J Wlaysewski [courtesy of EMI]

Due to heavy rotation of fluffy, teeny-bop pop and over-polished, recorded too many times, watered down, wanna-be rock bands with names as shocking as their lyrics, adults in the age range of 28 and 58 have been keeping a deaf ear to what is considered "mainstream" on the radio. Thriving Classic Rock and Classic Hits stations are at their best, peaking an over-abundance of listeners. A lot could be attributed to this sudden wave of those needing a little depth, meaning and effort to their music.

Rarely will there be a band to capture the essence of an era. Though it can be done: Brian Jonestown Massacre recaptured and revamped the 1960s, quite possibly better than the originals of that time; Supergrass recaptured the atari sound of the 1980s with their album Life on Other Planets. The same could be said for New York's Flying Machines. Listening to their self-titled debut album, one can almost hear the tunes crackling out of an old low-frequency Spectra on public radio programming of the 1970s - imperfect reception and no air checks.

photo credit: John J Wlaysewski [courtesy of EMI]

Flying Machines are a New York based band straight out of the Gatwick Airport. Sounding more British than American: regal, imaginative harmonies in a neo-classical pop style, bringing back classical arrangements [or more commonly known as Classic Rock] seasoned with a Ben Folds Five influence. William Ryan George [vocals/keyboards] descants in a Vauderville voice, uncanny resemblance to Freddie Mercury [Queen] and Dave Coutts [Ten Inch Men/Talk Show], only to be meshed with soars of shredding guitar lines of John Wlaysewski [guitar/vocals] and incredible creativity from Evan Joyce [bass] and Ken Weisbach [drums]. Banded since 2006, Flying Machines know the secrets of making a great band: willingness to do anything for what they love as Joyce did when driving from Boston and sleeping in Central Park before his audition with the band, George writing On A Whim on the streets of New York stooped outside a salon, and later going to a local music store to finish writing lyrics to another song after his piano was stolen whilst being hassled to make a purchase, and Wlaysewski realizing the true beauty in a one-time-take recording technique. The last of the modern-day band - in it purely for the music.

And its not just the classical undertones or the Zeppelin-style guitar ballads that make this band a time-warp from the 1970s! Flying Machines go as far as recruiting Hugh Syme [creator of award-winning covers of Rush, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith] for their debut album cover. Flying Machines' guitarist reflects the purpose behind their decision to hire Syme, "As a kid, I picked out music at the store based on the album cover. Our cover kind of looks like an old Cat Stevens album, or an early Genesis cover with a bit of Alice Through the Looking Glass. Music is mystery and imagination, it's another language, yet everyone understands it -- rhythm and melody are universal. So in the store, I was like, 'which cover made me feel like there was something dangerous or mysterious behind it?'"

Toss out any preconceived notion that this band will just be radio-friendly-only when their new album hits the shelves September 22, Flying Machines prove their theatrical stage presence to be a full-on encore! "Our mission to bring back a real live show. An experience, but without being a jam band," explains Wlaysewski. Which adds to confirmation that this band is quite the ear treat for all when regarding their recent successes of winning 2008 Converse "Get out of the Garage" contest, having exploding number of hits of 500,000 BDS spins in three months with their test run on Yahoo Music's LaunchCast along with becoming #1 most-played song on Yahoo's "Who's Next", and gaining airplay on USA Network's Psych promos.

Open deaf ears to Flying Machines' sonic and inventive cure for the yearning of Classic Rock. Rock with a capital "R" is just a play button away.

For more information on Flying Machines, go to:
Official webpage: www.flyingmachinesmusic.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/flyingmachines

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On a Whim
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