interview with The Flying Grey Sons
Have any of you played in other bands? Yes we have all been in multiple bands although this is by far our favorite!
How is it that you started playing music? We all started in the early teens and were directly inspired by the music we loved. Music was very important to all of us which made us eager to try and learn to play an instrument.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? We're a three piece band. Sergio Tejada (26) is the lead singer and bassist. He also plays keyboard and guitar. Joseph Florin (27) plays guitar and sings back up vocals. Christopher Florin (24) plays the drums.
Have you had other previous members? No
Did you make music even when you were young? Yes we did but we probably started to take it more seriously in our late teens.
Where are you from? We are from Yonkers, New York in the US. About twenty minutes away from NYC!
What year did the band form? Late 2012 is when we first began playing music with each other for fun. After a few jam sessions we decided to form the band.
What's your style of genre? Indie/Post-Punk is the closest we can get to trying to define our sound.
What inspires you? Everything. Music (duh!), art, films, people, books, friends, family, girls, experiences and more.
How often and where do you rehearse? We try to practice at least once a week in the basement of Joe and Chris, who are brothers and have a great basement for us to play in. Our own batcave!
How have you developed since you started with the music? We have all honestly matured and progressed individually and as a whole with our music. We've gotten better at playing and writing and even learned to play some new instruments along the way.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Comic books, video games, partying and all sorts of fun recreational activities!
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We spoke to a few booking agents in the past. Hopefully when we release our new demo in the coming months we can find somebody that'll actually help us out.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Right now we're just focused on finishing the new music we've been working on and getting back out there, playing live, getting feedback and hopefully a bigger following. Too early to think about a label.
What made you decide to make this music? We initially just made fun experimental punk songs without really putting too much thought into it. Now the music we write is closer to the sound we would ultimately want to play. It is better in terms of composition in our opinion and pays tribute to all of our influences while still sounding (hopefully) different and unique.
What are your songs about? Some are inspired by the things we love to do, books, films etc. but the majority are about life and all it's obstacles. The hardships we go through. The good times as well. We try to take from personal experiences but write it in a way everyone can relate to.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Sergio for the most part but everyone has input.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? We usually start with music and then write the lyrics after. We'll think about what the music made us feel or what we feel like singing about for that particular song and build lyrics around that.
Do you compose in a certain environment? At home and in the basement we practice in. That's where most of our writing is done but we've been known to write a section or two of a song at work or at friends house and such.
Have you done any covers live? Yes. We did a acoustic/melodica cover of Kids by MGMT, Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads, Stand By Me by Ben E. King and Rapper's Delight by the Sugar Hill Gang. We like to focus on originals but decided to throw in a few random covers and have fun with them.
What language do you sing in? English.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Least, maybe around seven people. I'm not sure on the exact number of the most but we have packed a few bar venues before.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Roughly 21-45
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We've been working hard on a completely brand new setlist. In the past we would try out new songs and change the setlist a lot when we played new shows. Now instead of writing twenty good songs (adding a new one every time we get a gig) we want to write 10 great songs and stick to playing those live.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? We have a few places we've played regularly in the city.
What was your first gig like? It was memorable to say the least. It was at one of favorite venues to hangout at and a good group of friends came out to support us. We got loads of compliments from veteran performers and got drunk with our friends after. Great night.
What was your latest gig? The last show we played was early this year actually at Pianos in New York City (a great venue!) but since then we've been crafting a new setlist and are planning on recording a demo soon. Once we do we plan on setting up as many shows as we can so we can start playing our new music live!
Have you had to cancel a gig? No
Where have you played live this year? Just at Pianos in NYC. We're hoping to play a lot more shows once we finish our new demo.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? In the New York City area and New York State area. Basically around our way, Westchester, Manhattan, Brooklyn and more. Cafes, Bars, etc.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We have stickers but plan on making more merch to sale once we hit the streets again and start playing more shows and promoting our new music.
Where can people buy your merchandise? Probably at shows or through one of the members.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? We're indifferent about it. We understand both sides. We believe in buying records (we collect ourselves) but we have also downloaded "a song or two" for free in the past.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Some people believe it was a set back, at least financially, or like it hurt the industry, but it has also made music more accessible which in turn is creating new fans everyday.
What do you think of my work? We think it's great. You have a lot going on for you and we can appreciate someone who appreciates music and art as you do.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? We're not sure if it will but it can't hurt!
Do you have any role models or idols? We have tons of role models including family members, musicians, artist, writers, actors and more.
Why do you think that they exist? To motivate and inspire us.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Probably older bands but a lot of our music is directly influenced by current/modern bands we listen to as well.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Finding the right sound we wanted to play. In the beginning we wanted to play too many drastically different sounds (all the genres we liked) and although we still incorporate different sounds we streamlined it better.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Play the music you want to play. Don't do it for anyone else but yourself. Express yourself or be unheard forever.
How do you get psyched for a gig? Practicing. Drinking. Listening to music. Hanging out with friends before we go up.
Do you have any new material? Tons of new material! We're hoping to start recording this winter.
What are your web sites?
www.facebook.com/TFGS01 and you can here some of our early songs on www.theflyinggreysons.bandcamp.com
How can people reach you? Through our Facebook, Reverbnation, Bandcamp, Youtube and email
What are your plans for the future? We plan on finishing these new songs so we can record them and start playing them live! We're excited, these are some of the best songs we've written and can't wait to get it out there.
Do you have something to add? Thank you Robex for your support and thank you to anyone that may have read this. Shout out to Sweden from The Flying Grey Sons in the US! Stay tuned for more info, music and more from us soon!
