Amherst band The Young Flyers is a reunion of sorts. Main Flyers Andrew Franklin and Matt Leitl first met and rocked out together almost half a decade ago, before (geographically) going their separate ways. Both musicians are now back in the Valley, playing shows and putting the finishing touches on their debut full-length album. Franklin recently took some time out to discuss unstable bass players, religious fanatics and Canadian pot.
Leitl and Franklin initially got together in the summer of 2004, when the former rented a room in the latter's mother's home. "I had just bought my first drum set from the flea market and had been hammering away in the garage," says Franklin. "We started jamming and quickly wrote 'She Hotwires Golf Carts' and 'Seeking the Seats of Power.'"
Franklin then moved to guitar when John Gamble, a more experienced drummer, joined the duo. The group quickly recorded and released an EP. "I had a small recording studio in my house at the time," Franklin says. "We busted out eight songs and called it Megawatts and Megatons—I think there's only a couple dozen copies around."
According to Franklin, life interrupted the band's flow: "I moved to Washington state for an internship in a studio, and Matt moved to Gardner to be closer to his job."
Things did not work out in Washington quite like Franklin had planned. "Yeah, the dude I went out there to work with turned out to be a bit crazy," he says. "He neglected to tell me he was a hardcore religious nut and all of his recordings were religious. Things just fizzed out."
Still, things weren't all bad in the great Northwest, Franklin says: "I had an amazing time. I played drums for [the band] Hard Candy until they told me they all smoked meth. I also smoked lots of great Canadian weed and wrote like 20 songs, including 'Standard of Force and Brawn.'"
Back in Western Mass, Franklin reunited with Leitl and Gamble, and added friend Jake Murphy on bass. "We got together in a friend's basement and recorded more," says Franklin. "Matt bought a home in Amherst and I moved in. We played a few shows with this lineup, then shit fell apart soon after. … At this point I quit guitar and took up drums full-time for the band again."
The group then recruited bassist Jay Bauer-Clapp and added another roommate, Ben Sprague, on piano, which Franklin credits as being "a very key new element in our songwriting." After finding lead guitarist Chris Basset through an advertisement on Craig's List, The Young Flyers now hope they have found a set and stable roster.
Franklin is looking forward to writing more songs, this time collectively: "Most of the material, up until now, was written by Matt and I because of lack of a solid lineup. We are now trying to work in all five members' ideas, which has been a big challenge. But it's also produced some amazing songs."
The Young Flyers create straight-ahead, driving indie rock, much in the same vein as Guided By Voices, from whose song title the band takes its moniker. Franklin sums up the band's ethos: "We all like very different styles of music, but we all share a love of good solid rock songs."
The band's first collection of solid rock songs is being self-produced at the group's headquarters in Amherst, and is due to be released soon. "Matt has built an amazing studio space, which saves us lots of money and time," says Franklin. "We've been recording the album since last fall. We're looking forward to putting it out as well as writing and playing a bunch more shows now that we're all together."
For show listings and to hear some Young Flyers tunes, head to myspace.com/theyoungflyers.
