Flyboys (band)

Last updated

The Flyboys were an American pioneering Californian punk rock band, founded in 1975 before the first wave of American punk. The act was prominent in the Los Angeles punk rock scene around 1976 and 1977. Their second release was the debut output for Frontier Records. The band broke up in 1980.

Contents

History

Formation

The Flyboys were formed in Arcadia, California, United States, in 1975 by guitarist and vocalist John "Jon Boy" Curry, bassist and vocalist David Wilson (aka David Way), and drummer Dennis Walsh (aka Dennis Racket). Scott Lasken (aka Scott Towels) joined on bass soon thereafter, causing Wilson to switch to keyboards. This was the lineup that started to play Hollywood clubs in 1976 but was derailed by Wilson's death in an auto accident in early 1978, shortly following a show at which the band opened for the Go-Go's and the Avengers.

Tim Sincavage (aka Timmy Sinner) was later added to the lineup on guitar, and Curry began splitting his duties between guitar and keyboards, as well as singing the majority of the songs.

Recording history

The Flyboys's first release was a recording released on the band's own record label, recorded in June 1976 and released a month later. [1] The record quickly sold through a first pressing of 1,000 copies. [1]

The band recorded another record which would be the very first for a new label, Lisa Fancher's Frontier Records in early 1980, a seven-song EP titled Flyboys that included proto-type punk tunes such as "I Couldn't Tell" and "Dear John" as well as their "Theme Song", a surf inspired rave up that was covered by Jodie Foster's Army.

Breakup

The group splintered in 1980, Curry spent time in L.A.-based band the Plugz, writing the music for the title track to their second album, Better Luck, although he left the band shortly before the recording of the album to form Choir Invisible with Lasken and Sincavage.

The latter two had submitted a demo with a different singer to Frontier as a possible release but Fancher would only release a record if Curry returned to the fold. She also found drummer, Danny Benair, formally of the Quick and later the drummer in The Three O'Clock, and Choir Invisible was born.

Reunions and later activities

The Flyboys reunited in 2003 for the LA Weekly's 25th anniversary party, and again in 2007 for the release party for Brendan Mullen's book on the seminal punk rock club The Masque.

In 2009, John Curry and Scott Lasken started performing again as The Edwardo Show with Curry singing and playing ukulele, guitar and piano, and Lasken playing acoustic bass. The duo performs Curry's compositions influenced by 1920s and 1930s music but with a decidedly glam punk vibe. The band also sometimes includes percussionist Joe Berardi, formerly of seminal L.A. band the Fibonaccis.

Related Research Articles

Guttermouth American punk rock band

Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Rude Records/Bird Attack Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour. They are infamous for their outrageous lyrics and behavior which are deliberately explicit, offensive and intended to shock, though usually in a humorous and sarcastic manner. This behavior has sometimes resulted in high-profile problems for the band, such as being banned from performing in Canada for eighteen months and leaving the 2004 Warped Tour amidst controversy over their political views and attitudes towards other performers.

The Dictators were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth."

45 Grave American Death/Punk-Rock Band

45 Grave are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band.

Angel is an American rock band from Washington, D.C., United States, formed in the mid-1970s by Punky Meadows and Mickie Jones. They were primarily known for their flamboyant glam stage presence and white satin outfits.

Nomeansno Canadian alternative rock band

Nomeansno was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, as well as numerous EPs and singles. Critic Martin Popoff described their music as "the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of punk and the discipline of heavy metal." Nomeansno's distinct hardcore punk sound, complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics inspired subsequent musicians. They are often considered foundational in the punk jazz and post-hardcore movements, and have been cited as a formative influence on the math rock and emo genres.

The Surf Punks were a pop punk band formed in 1976 by Malibu residents Dennis Dragon (1947-2017) and Drew Steele. Dragon recruited the additional talents of Malibu residents Tony Creed AKA the "Hulk", for lead guitar and blues harp, fellow bodysurfer/frisbeeist John Hunt on the bass, and South Bay resident John Heussenstamm for lead guitar. This was the original core group, produced and engineered by Dragon in his garage studio across the street from Zuma Beach, his favorite body surfing spot. Mark Miller joined them on "Locals Only." Jeff "Ray Ban" Eyrich joined the Surf Punks on bass when John Hunt left the group.

Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released six full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles "Seein' Red" and "Save Me ," both of which entered the top 5 in the US Modern Rock charts. Their latest studio album, Swan, was released in 2011.

<i>Adolescents</i> (album) 1981 studio album by the Adolescents

Adolescents, also known as The Blue Album due to its cover design, is the debut studio album by American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in April 1981 on Frontier Records. Recorded after guitarist Rikk Agnew and drummer Casey Royer joined the band, it features several songs written for their prior group, the Detours, including "Kids of the Black Hole" and "Amoeba", which became two of the Adolescents' most well-known songs. Adolescents was one of the first hardcore punk albums to be widely distributed throughout the United States, and became one of the best-selling California hardcore albums of its time. The band never toured in support of it, and broke up four months after its release. The Blue Album lineup of Agnew, Royer, guitarist Frank Agnew, bassist Steve Soto and singer Tony Brandenburg reunited several times in subsequent years, but only for brief periods.

The Quick were a mid-1970s power pop band based in Los Angeles. The Quick were influenced by 1960s British Invasion bands and 1970s British glam bands, as well as by fellow Angelenos Sparks.

The Nuns was an American rock band in San Francisco and New York City. Best known as one of the founding acts of the early San Francisco punk scene, the band went through a number of hiatuses and periodic reunions, lineup changes, and changes in style. Overall, The Nuns performed and recorded on and off from the mid-1970s into the 2000s. While the band was centered on Jennifer Miro and Jeff Olener through its various incarnations, Alejandro Escovedo, who went on to later success as an Americana and alternative country musician, was also a key member during its years of fame in late 1970s San Francisco.

The Plugz

The Plugz were a Latino punk band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1984. They and The Zeros were among the first Latino punk bands, although several garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them. The Plugz melded the spirit of punk and Latino music.

The Flesh Eaters American punk band

The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins, best known as Chris D. While Desjardins is the group's only continual member, the Flesh Eaters' lineup has drawn from some of the most famous bands of the L.A. punk scene, such as the Plugz, X, the Blasters, and Los Lobos.

Cradle of Thorns band

Cradle of Thorns is a five-piece rock band from Bakersfield, California, United States. The band put out one record as Videodrone on Korn's Elementree Records, as well as three albums under their original name. One was independently released, and the other two were released by Triple X Records. After Videodrone broke up, drummer Kris Kohls went on to join Adema, and frontman Ty Elam performed in a number of Bakersfield bands. In 2006, Ty Elam reformed the band as Cradle of Thorns with a new lineup.

Osees American psychedelic rock band

Osees are an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band currently consists of primary songwriter and core member John Dwyer, Tim Hellman (bass), Dan Rincon (drums), Paul Quattrone (drums) and Tomas Dolas (keyboards). Osees sound incorporates a wide range of rock genres, including 1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock, punk rock, noise rock, art punk, and 1980s post-punk.

Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways.

<i>Beneath the Shadows</i> 1983 studio album by T.S.O.L.

Beneath the Shadows is the second studio album by the American hardcore punk band T.S.O.L., released in 1983 through Alternative Tentacles. With the addition of keyboardist Greg Kuehn to the lineup, the band moved away from punk rock in favor of a gothic rock sound in the vein of later releases by the Damned and Siouxsie and the Banshees songs, alienating much of their hardcore audience in the process. Though the album was critically well received and led to the band being featured in director Penelope Spheeris' film Suburbia, it was largely rejected by their fanbase within the punk scene.

Howard Leese American guitarist, music producer, and musical director

Howard M. Leese is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart as guitarist and keyboardist for 23 years. He continues to record and tour as a solo artist, and as guitarist with The Paul Rodgers Band and Bad Company. He is currently performing in the Las Vegas production of Raiding the Rock Vault. In 2013, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Heart.

For the poem of the same name see George Eliot and for the late 19th century novel by James Lane Allen see The Choir Invisible

The Leaving Trains were an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, California. The Leaving Trains were founded in 1980 by Falling James Moreland, a frontman who became known for his chaotic performances and penchant for cross-dressing. Falling James had previously been a member of punk rock bands the Mongrels and the Downers before assembling the group with guitarist Manfred Hofer, bassist Tom Hofer, keyboardist Sylvia Juncosa and drummer Hillary Laddin. They played locally for three years before releasing their first album, Well Down Blue Highway, in 1984.

<i>Flesh Eaters</i> (EP) Album by The Flesh Eaters

Flesh Eaters, also known as Disintegration Nation after the title of its opening track, is the four-song debut EP by American rock band the Flesh Eaters.

References

  1. 1 2 Al Kowalewski, "Flyboys," Los Angeles Flipside, whole no. 15 (Summer 1976), pg. 5. The interview was conducted June 2, 1976, in Arcadia, California.