Local band Fly Points are working like mad men
After the euphoria of their CD Release party last weekend, local band Fly Points are gearing back up for a show tonight at McNally’s.
(The release show) went really great,” enthuses drummer Robby Vancise. “We put a lot of people in the Riddell Centre multipurpose room, filling it up with about 400 people, so it turned really well and I think a lot of people had fun. It was a master’s degree show that was the completion of everything (related to the album),” he explains, “so it kind of brought things full circle. The boys were pretty excited and it was a really neat feeling to finally have that moment of closure with the release. It was a long process, starting back in February, so to finally play the CD release was like getting a big weight removed from our shoulders. It was a good weight — it wasn’t a burden or anything — but it made it more fun.”
Their debut album, Mad Man, is available on iTunes, Amazon and at HMV locations.
Recorded locally, the 11 songs are stronger than a freshman effort would imply, with masterful melodies and plenty of hooks.
“The album turned out great and we’re all really happy with it,” Vancise exclaims.
“We recorded it at Studio One Saskatchewan, which is the old CBC Studio One, and Jason Plumb runs it. Jason was our producer and he was great working with us, and had added a great touch on the album by giving us an outside ear.
“We did about a year’s worth of writing with this particular group of guys and everyone worked really hard and put a lot of time into it. We wrote quite a bit so had to make a conscious decision of what we wanted to put on the record, so it was a total collaboration. It was a lot of work but it turned out really great and we’re really happy with it.”
Vancise, who drums with brother Billy on guitar, Danny Goertz on lead vocals/guitar, Julien Johnson on keyboards/vocals, and Graeme Watson on bass, admits the quintet all learned quite a bit from their time with Plumb.
“Having a guy like Jason in the studio with us helped us learn lots about the whole process. He taught us a lot about the writing for the studio because you write things as a band a lot of times for the live performances and then you come into the studio and you end up chopping off part of a bridge, or bringing different parts to the front.
“You tend to work more on arrangements in the studio because live it’s fine to extend a bridge for a minute to give a good buildup but on a record it doesn’t have the same effect. You have to learn to change your arrangements somewhat for the record so it was a different process and a lot of new information that we had to grasp. It was a really great experience.”
Intending to expand their fan base by venturing outside the city limits with a new record in tow, Fly Points will also be performing at The Gateway Festival in Bengough and the Sasktel Summer Invasion festival.
Acknowledging that building their name outside the Queen City will be a bit of a process, and that they are using the experience from recording their first album while writing their latest songs, Vancise is hoping to see a big crowd out tonight.
“For those that haven’t seen us,” he advises, “we’re an energetic pop rock band with an element of folk so our shows are a lot of fun and people tend to enjoy them. If you like coming out and dancing it’s a great time.”