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The obvious starting place would have to be with ‘My Last Gamble’ winning best Americana/Folk/Acoustic award at the Hollywood Music In Media Awards late last year. Congratulations! That must have been a huge buzz for Flight Of Fire? “Thank you so much! We are still in awe and kind of surprised that we actually managed to take home an HMMA for ‘My Last Gamble’! We were absolutely stoked about our win, and not expecting it at all! The whole ceremony was so upscale and fancy – it made us feel like stars. Our win created so much buzz and excitement from our beloved fans and supporters, even some of our long lost friends came out of the woodwork to share in our excitement. We always express our gratitude to our fans whenever we win an award because we would be nowhere without them, so it really felt like everyone in our entire Rock Flock were winners that night!” Is it the recognition that an award brings which makes it worthwhile? The fact that all the hard work has been recognized and someone is paying attention? “Knowing that someone out there, or even a group of people, was moved enough by something we created to give us recognition in the form of an award, gives us that exciting butterfly feeling in our stomachs. We are constantly working ourselves to the bone, day in and day out, to reach our dream, and occasionally we lose track of how far we have come. Awards and other forms of recognition can serve as place markers on our road to success. Whenever we feel we aren’t going anywhere, we look back at our awards, our interviews, our big shows, and realize that we are making headway every day, and we remember that at one point, someone did pay attention to us. They noticed our hard work and recognized us for all our efforts. It can give the dreary musician a much needed reminder that everything’s gonna be fine if you keep working towards your dream.” ‘My Last Gamble’ is just one of the many sides to Flight Of Fire. Why do you think that particular track resonates so well with people? “We’ve often wondered about this ourselves! The working theory among the band is that this song is much simpler and more repetitive than our other songs, creating easily relatable lyrics and contagious hooks that just won’t leave your brain, no matter how hard you try. Though the song harbours a minimalist intention, the recording is loaded with little soundbites of all kinds throughout the tune, creating a very engaging atmosphere for the listener. We also feel that there is this kind of familiar sound in this song reminiscent of historical folk tunes that might make the listener feel connected to humanity’s roots… but those are just our theories!” It is of course taken from the most recent album ‘Path Of The Phoenix’, which is perhaps one of the most professional sounding albums by an unsigned band that I have heard in a long time. With everything costing so much money, was it a conscious decision to make it sound so strong? “Thank you for the compliment! Our goal with ‘Path Of The Phoenix’, aside from releasing new music and sharing our story, was to produce an album that was label quality. We raised all the funds through a successful Kickstarter campaign, and cut no corners. We felt that the only way to get label attention or radio play was to get our material sounding like it was recorded and produced by a label. Sadly, that’s what it takes in this industry to get ahead. We are very lucky, and so grateful that our fans came through so well for us with our Kickstarter campaign, or none of this would have been possible.” ‘Path Of The Phoenix’ is a concept album, but a Rock concept album free of dungeons & dragons! It also has a very personal feel to it. What is the concept, and was it a difficult decision to make it seem so personal? “Path Of The Phoenix’ is a concept album about the treacherous journey of doing whatever it takes to follow your own truth. We had a very negative experience in the music industry a couple years ago that fueled the story for this album. We wanted to use our talents to tell this tale in an epic and compelling way so that ‘Path Of The Phoenix’ could be an understanding companion, a tool of inspiration or a testimony for anyone who is going through any kind of struggle. It always feels vulnerable to release something so close to the heart, but we have always felt that you shouldn’t have to face these trials alone, and therefore we choose to give our hearts to those who need it.” ‘In Spite Of You’ is particularly emotional. That must have taken a lot out of you to sing that, Maverick? “I’m glad you can tell from the recording alone that that song takes a lot out of me! I left that song to the very end of our recording sessions for ‘Path Of The Phoenix’ – I kept putting it off, and when it finally came down to it, I got very private in the studio! The engineers at Soundscape Boston were so good to me – they made me a isolation booth out of rolling sound baffle walls so that I could record in the large room but be totally hidden from the control room (I knew I was going to do embarrassing things while recording, and I didn’t want anyone to be able to see me). And I took my shoes off and stood on a soft carpet to help ground me. I wanted to feel as free as possible to put tons of real emotion in the recording. One effect of that is that since the editing, mixing and mastering process was completed, I haven’t listened to it! It’s a bit too much. But I’m extremely proud of how it came out. It’s touched a lot of people, and that’s what I hoped for!” If someone checks out the ‘My Last Gamble’ video, then moves onto the album, they might get a surprise with the fact that the album is quite heavy. There are lots of classic metal influences throughout. What do you put the diversity on the album down to? “As a band, we are hugely inspired by a variety of bands and artists. We tend to love the bands that have a varied sound – not just one sound that gets tiring after a while. We like to change it up and keep it fresh, similar to Led Zeppelin, Rush, Queensrÿche, Queen, Heart, Avenged Sevenfold, and Halestorm. Our more folk and bluesy influences come from our band’s soft spot for Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, and Adele. We enjoy everything from old blues, to classic rock, to heartfelt folk, all the way into the multi-faceted realms of metal. All these bands and artists have great variety in their sound and in their music, and we find that very stimulating and worth emulating. Plus, we have 3 different songwriters in Flight Of Fire, so we are bound to get some variety!” You have recently recorded a new single with Cherie Currie, ‘She’s A Badass’. You also opened for another Runaway – Lita Ford. What did you gain from both experiences? “First of all, we feel extremely lucky and grateful that we have had the opportunity to meet not just one, but two of the inspiring women of The Runaways. As an all-female band, we owe so much of our success to the badass women that came before us and began paving the way for female musicians. From our experiences with both Cherie and Lita, we learned that you should never let anything get in the way of your dreams, and that no matter how famous you might become, it’s always worth taking the time to talk to those who look up to you.” Flight Of Fire also won a contest to open for Bon Jovi. That must have been surreal walking out there to such a big crowd!? “That whole night was incredible! Stepping up onto that Cadillac-shaped stage at Ford Field in Detroit, one of the biggest football stadiums in the country, and getting ready to play for thousands, was the moment that could have challenged our ambitions, but we took the stage with stride. We felt that we were meant to be there. We got a taste of the dream, and we were absolutely high on the thrill. We were treated like royalty that night, hanging out with the J Geil’s Band backstage [they were also on that tour], enjoying the fancy backstage catering, having our gear moved on and off stage without hesitance, and being driven around in golf carts, because backstage consisted of miles of tunnels throughout the stadium – it was amazing!” With student debt around your neck like a millstone, how do you finance Flight Of Fire when you are not performing? Do you teach? “The debts we have all been faced with is absolutely unreal. Working on the band is quite an expense as well, but it’s our dream, so we do what it takes to raise the money to finance our passion. We all teach on our respective instruments as well as songwriting instruction and band coaching. We also pick up as many odd jobs as we can, including various musical commissions, dog walking, Lyft driving and anything else we can find. Recently we’ve been incredibly lucky to find a few very special people in the local music scene who want to help who choose to sponsor some of our projects on occasion. Nothing makes you feel more like you are doing something right than when someone you met by chance through the music scene connects with your music and chooses to support YOUR dream with their resources.” The video for ‘Rockstar Life’ is one continuous shot, a real DIY guerilla video. How many takes did you have to shoot before you got it in the can, and what was the funniest thing that happened during the shoot? “We were so impressed with the dedication of our fans during the making of this video! We gave everyone roles to play, and some guidelines to follow, and they helped make our vision come to light. Because of their attentiveness, and our several hours of rehearsal with just the band and video crew, we managed to secure 7 fantastic takes, each with their own gems and errors. It was a very entertaining filming process because of the nature of the continuous shot video, but one of the funniest things was at the end of every take, Maverick has to drive the car away from the venue and around the corner as fast as she could. Luckily, she has great reaction time and quick wits, because sometimes cars were heading straight for us and although a symphony of angry car horns and the screams of terrified band members in the back seat bombarded her, she still managed to rip around that corner every time without getting a scratch or missing a beat.” The make-up of Flight Of Fire is quite unique, with Tanya and Tia being identical twin sisters. Do you have Gallagher sized sibling fallouts, or is it the opposite? “Having identical twins in the band has really worked out for us! Luckily, they have a fantastic relationship. Instead of tearing each other down, like some siblings, they work together to create a powerful force. They have played together musically and otherwise for most of their lives and that bond brings a rare tightness and unity to the band.” When will Maddie get her stage name, and what will it be? “A great stage name comes to you when the time is right! In the meantime, Maddie May Scott has a great ring to it!” What will the rest of 2018 hold for Flight Of Fire? “A lot of exciting things are coming for Flight Of Fire this year. On Valentine’s Day we released a single called “Sick In Love” along with a fun lyric video. We are most looking forward to our European Tour that we are currently setting up with Koma-Booking and Management. We have always wanted to tour on your side of the pond, and come June, that’s what we’ll be doing! We would love to stop by and say hello! We also have many other shows coming up, and new songs and music videos in the works that will be released throughout the year. Follow Flight Of Fire on your favourite form of social media, or go to our official website: www.flightoffire.com to stay posted to what’s happening!” You heard the ladies. What are you waiting for? Interview – Dave ]]>
