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ON THE COUCH WITH: Flyleaf

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Access All Areas.net.au: You must be pretty excited to be releasing your debut album in Australia!
Flyleaf (Pat): Yes! It’s very cool!

Access All Areas.net.au: This is the first time Australia has heard of Flyleaf, can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Flyleaf (Pat): Well we are from Texas and we're a five piece, we have a female lead singer and we're basically a hard rock grunge influenced band and I don’t know, we feel like we have something to say pretty much I guess.

Access All Areas.net.au: Originally you had called yourselves Passerby but it was trademarked by another artist, so you selected Flyleaf, how did the name come about?
Flyleaf (Pat): We found the word Flyleaf and wrote it off a list somewhere and someone we worked with liked the name and it kind of stuck and then we found the meaning of the word and it is the first and last page of a book so we thought it was kind of symbolic like before birth and after death and for me personally it was to the eternal. It's where you you're your dedication and it was a moment of clarity as well but I guess there are many meanings one can draw from it.

Access All Areas.net.au: Your debut album is self titled, can you tell us a bit about the album?
Flyleaf (Pat): I guess it's pretty straight forward rock. Some songs we’ve had since the beginning of the band and some of the songs are characterised by Lacy because she's a very strong prominent and we found a side from that that there’s signature guitar work, I don't know... it's pretty straight forward and we like to play hard and it's not really metal I guess but we try to reflect our influences in the band and use the music as a launching pad to put out a message for what we're saying.

Access All Areas.net.au: Having heard your songs and read the lyrics, your songwriting styles seem to differ from other bands where by you confront your past experiences head on in your lyrics instead of writing about your experiences, why have you opted to write in this way?
Flyleaf (Pat): I don’t know, I guess we didn’t really plan for it to be that way but Lacey is the main lyricist and then myself and I don't know... life experience is the strongest means of communication and it's what she drew from her own past and what she learnt from it and how she thought others could benefit from it.

Access All Areas.net.au: What sort of past trauma's surfaced in the recording of your debut album?
Flyleaf (Pat): I guess most of the trauma's are from Lacey's childhood and kind of speaking from a lot of her experiences. A couple of songs are about relationships going wrong and things like that I guess whatever hardships we encounter we try and find the positive in it but still not denying that life is hard and things aren't easy but that problems can be lived through and I guess that's kind of general but...

Access All Areas.net.au: A lot of your songwriting it seems has helped you get through some tough times you experienced whilst growing up, do you hope that others can learn from your experiences through your music?
Flyleaf (Pat): Most definitely! I don't know that the songs have helped us move on but they are more of a record of what has happened and I think that our fate drives us and I hope that people pick up on that and pick up on not staying in the same bad place.

Access All Areas.net.au: What would you say was your big break for Flyleaf?
Flyleaf (Pat): We had a series of small breaks but I guess the pivitol point was at the South By South West music festival in Austin, March 2003. Some people from a record label there and a women who became our lawyer saw our band play in that festival and we were signed from it so I guess that marked the beginning of a professional band instead of a local band.

Access All Areas.net.au: When a fan goes to a Flyleaf show what is it that they can expect to see?
Flyleaf (Pat): You expect to see five people playing their hardest to communicate something, I don’t think that we're the greatest band in the world but I hope that people get something good from coming to our of our shows and if they don't I'm sorry! [laughs].

Access All Areas.net.au: I know there's the saying what goes on tour stays on tour, but c'mon is there any touring stories you can tell us?
Flyleaf (Pat): [laughs] Whenever I get asked that question I always go blank... there's been lots of crazy stories, I don't know... one time our sound man broke his leg when he tripped and fell off the stage, bus drivers going crazy… we have a lot of fun too but I guess it's the tragic moments that stick out the most.

Access All Areas.net.au: So whats in store for the future of Flyleaf?
Flyleaf (Pat): We plan on going on the Family Values tour with Korn and the Deftones in late July, that's in the States and then I think we have a festival in Japan but we're definitely trying to get some overseas tours and personally I hope we can get to Australia very soon!

Access All Areas.net.au: Any plans for an Australian tour?
Flyleaf (Pat): It is definitely something that's been mentioned but nothing confirmed but I really want it as a priority to get to Australia!

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Heavy music and pained lyrics go together like cake and ice cream, and Belton, Texas quintet, Flyleaf, aren't about to break with tradition. But while many loud rockers reopen old wounds by singing about their broken homes and broken hearts, Flyleaf confront past traumas to heal old scars and prove in the process that hope shines brighter than despair.

"I used to be in a really negative band, and that seemed to almost fuel my emptiness because that's what the songs were about," says charismatic singer Lacey Mosley. "That's why I think what we're doing is important because there needs to be something heavy out there that has a positive message so people see that it's possible to get through the worst situations."

Flyleaf's self titled debut album echoes with songs about abuse, neglect, addiction and dysfunction, and messages about overcoming adversity. And the band's wide array of brooding beats, atmospheric textures and lunging riffs compliment Mosley's emotionally revealing lyrics, which range from breathy and beautiful to scathing and aggressive.

"I'm So Sick," starts with a moody bass line throbbing over a haunting ethereal vocal before guitars crash in like a rock through a plate glass window. The track see saws between rage and reflection, guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann providing textural flourishes and atmospheric touches that bridge the emotional shifts. "Cassie" layers stop start guitars atop an urgent backbeat and builds to an exultant chorus. "All Around You" augments a wall of power chords with evocative jazzy licks and "Fully Alive" is a cinematic number with angry muted riffs that segue into another glorious refrain.

Flyleaf's infectiously heavy positivism is all the more surprising considering Mosley's struggles while growing up. "My mom was a young single mother of six," she explains. "We didn't have money and things were hard for all of us. We moved whenever we couldn't make ends meet in one place, and that happened pretty often so there was a lot of struggling, suffering and character building.

"It's easy to get depressed when you're dealing with that kind of stress," she continues, "especially when it looks like things will never get better. There was nothing constant in my life, and nothing to believe in. I got into some really bad stuff that I thought would make me feel more loved, or maybe just numb, but it cost me everything that was important to me, and literally almost took my life."

When you take a dive, sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you can swim your way back to the top. For Mosley, writing songs about survival helped her reach the surface and breathe again. "I had to lose everything to look up and see that there is a truly constant hope of a happy ending and that's what we make music for,” she says. "If my music helps one person, than it's worth having been through what I've experienced."

Five years ago, Mosley started playing music with drummer James Culpepper. The two joined up with Bhattacharya and Hartmann, who were in a local band that had just split up. "Our first practice together was awesome," Mosley says. "Sameer and Jared are really experimental with melodies and pedals, and we all had different influences that were all blending together with the same passionate and hopeful heart, and that brought out this beautiful feeling. It was magical.” Bassist Pat Seals joined in 2002. "The doors were open and I just happened to walk through at the right time," Seals says.

Flyleaf played anywhere they could slowly but consistently increased their fan base with local bands and national acts like Riddlin Kids, Bowling for Soup, Fishbone, and Evanescence. Eventually they landed a show at Austin's legendary annual music convention South by Southwest in 2003.

Although their set started at the un-rock n' roll time of 5 p.m., they rocked the house, which lead to a showcase for various labels. After many meetings and much deliberation, Flyleaf signed with Octone.

Then in early 2005 the band's self-titled debut EP - produced by Rick Parasher (Pearl Jam, Blind Melon) and Brad Cook (Foo Fighters, Queens of The Stone Age) - was released and listeners got a taste of the band's poignant song craft through tracks like "Breathe Today", "Cassie" and "I'm Sorry" which also appear on Flyleaf's full length. To support the EP, Flyleaf toured with Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, STAIND and Trust Company, though many of the audiences at these shows had no idea who Flyleaf were when they started playing, every night their spirited performances earned them new fans. To launch the LP, Flyleaf is touring with Cold, STAIND, POD and Taproot.

"We think about where we started and where we are and realize, 'wow, we are playing in front of 1000 people tonight.' And then we just can't be thankful enough to those bands who gave us a chance to play with them, even though we are sort of nobodies."

In spring 2005, Flyleaf recorded their full-length debut with acclaimed producer Howard Benson, who has previously worked with Papa Roach, My Chemical Romance, POD and All American Rejects. Flyleaf stayed in Los Angeles for two months and worked on more than 20 songs with Benson at Bay 7 Studios. Together they decided on 12 of them to arrange, fine tune and shape so they best reflected the group's powerful messages and experiences.

"He really took an interest in what we had to say and helped put all the parts in the right places," Mosley says. "We were so used to recording with our friends and finishing whole EPs in a few hours. So it was great to spend 2 months with Howard having this surreal professional experience in every part of the process."

Flyleaf originally called itself Passerby, but another artist trademarked the name before they had the chance. Ultimately the group decided to change its name to something far more befitting of their personal, confessional songs.

"A flyleaf is the blank page at the front of a book," explains Mosley. "It's the dedication page, the place you write a message to someone you're giving a book to. And, that's kind of what our songs are -- personal messages that provide a few moments of clarity before the story begins."

With their tight knit chemistry, compassionate approach and songs that haunt the mind hours after they've stopped playing, Flyleaf are turning heads and leaving crowds wanting more. Indeed, their story has just begun.

www.flyleafmusic.com

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MY FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

Mental As Anything
It's a pretty horrible one actually. On the Australian Made Tour in, it was about 87' - 88'. There was us, there was Barnsey (Jimmy Barnes), The Models, The Divinyls. You know it was a really fun tour actually, and we were sharing a brass section with The Models and the guy... One of the brass players he was fairly frail, he was quite young and he had a pacemaker and he actually collapsed and died during our set which was rather disturbing. It would be the most memorable but, only because it was so unpleasant. I would have to say that one sticks out for me.

What's your ideal festival line-up?
Gee, that's a hard one. It's pretty good these day's they have guys like Neil Young coming out, and it's good. It shouldn't be a real generational thing. There are still a lot of good musicians that have inspired a lot of the younger bands and I think that it's nice that they put these guys on the bill. It's an economic thing, obviously a lot of people want to see them but, I think it's also good for the younger people to see where a lot of this kinda stuff came from in the first place. I think the bills are pretty good actually.

Also, with the older bands and artists playing at shows it's a big thing for the younger ones because they have been inspired by that performer and seeing them play and being able to play along aside them is a big kick.
Yeah, I think it's great and as long as they can still cut the mustard, I've heard that on some occasions they have been a bit disappointing but, they really have got there acts together these guys if they are still doing it. It's pretty obvious when they aren't. I sort of jokingly say "I'm getting the hang of it now", because I sort of am really, It's taken awhile but, you kinda have to be a bit more professional as you get older about doing it because, you need to be. It's amusing to see the 20yr old guys staggering around drunk on stage, that's kinda entertaining. But, when you get older it's not such a good look. You need to start thinking about being a bit more professional and getting your act together a bit.

The fall of the aging rock star.
Haha Yeah, that's your job. If you want to keep doing it you need to stay reasonably healthy. I swim, I try and swim some laps everyday. That's how I occupy myself on tour. I've got to find out where the pool is otherwise I get a bit twitchy if I don't get to do my laps every day. You start to realize if you don't have your health you don't have anything. It's true of anybody but, particularly for entertainers if you let yourself go, your in trouble.

What's your most favourite artist you have seen at a festival?
I would have to say Roy Orbison. I saw him only a couple of year's before he died. I couldn't believe it. He had already had the open heart surgery and, he had a shocking life the poor guy. He's always been a hero of mine. I actually got to see him, which was a big thrill.

What are your tips for attending a festival?
I don't know. My kids are going to them kind of regularly and they seem to have a good time. I think the main thing is you need to get in early if you want to get ticket's to these things, because they seem to sell out really fast. They are really popular and just enjoy them.