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Flight Case Syndrome


Band:

Flight Case Syndrome

Members: Mike Adams, guitar and vocals; Tim Downs, bass and vocals; Chris Ferguson, guitar and vocals; Dan Jones, drums

Who we talked to: Ferguson, 29

How did you guys meet/ how long have you been performing together? Michael . . . got this thing started originally when they were called Burn The Gates a little (more than) two years ago. It was him and our bass player Tim and our drummer Dan. About a year ago we changed the name to Flight Case Syndrome. We were blessed with the fact that Michael went to Berklee (College of Music) for recording, and we were able to have him do all of our recording and producing and stuff like that.

How did you come up with the name? Last year in July, I was touring with my dad over in Ireland playing bluegrass and folk music. We ran into this family who played the show and they had this son (who) played the stand-up bass. He walked like he had been carrying his suitcases his entire life. One lady we were playing with said that it looked like he had flight case syndrome. (Flight case) is what they call . . . carrying cases for your guitar over in Ireland. That was just the nickname we gave him and after a few pints over in Ireland it became a band name idea, so I just took it home and tossed it around with the guys . . . and that's what ended up being the name.

Where do you play in the area? We started . . . for the Mary Jane Festival. We progressed eventually. We hooked up with a really good band, Twelve After, who became pretty good friends of ours. We've been playing out a lot with them. We were fortunate enough to play at the Chameleon Club and open up for some pretty big names out there (including) Seasons After, 2Cents and Taking Dawn. (Earlier this month) we (had) a show up at Guillifty's.

Who are you listening to right now? We have a three-song demo out right now. It's on Facebook and MySpace.

Do you like any other local acts? Whenever we run into (bands), it never hurts to make another friend. Every band we've ever played with we've always had a little bit of an opportunity to share some time on stage (and) to just kind of talk. I . . . used to be in other bands and am friends with other bands that are around the area that are still playing. I know Dan has been in a few projects (and) Michael has been in quite a few bands.

What have you learned so far? Don't take anything for granted. Don't expect to get paid what you expect to get paid . . . or what you want to get paid. To any up-and-coming artists (who are) playing and kind of get the shakes for their first time onstage: It's really not as bad as it seems. Just appreciate everything you're doing. It's an amazing experience every time we go up (on stage) no matter how empty the crowd or how full the crowd might be.

What's the biggest challenge? The biggest thing is finding a place to play. I think just about any band that's . . . trying to do the original songs knows that you've got to give in to the cover songs because the majority of the places that are paying to play just want the covers. If you're an original band . . . you don't really get your name out there or your music out there to the public.

Describe your sound and style. You can call it hard rock (or) post-hardcore. We're trying to bring something a little bit different to the metal scene and rock 'n' roll in general. We try to keep (our music) really heavy driven (with) a really strong melody. There are a lot of scream bands out there that even the scream fans get a headache from. (Our influences include) Chevelle, Deftones (and) Mudvayne. Every person in (the group) came from a differently influenced background of music. All of us kind of just collide with our different flavors of music and styles and tastes.

It sounds like you come from a musical family. I've been playing music since I was 4 or 5 thanks to my mom and dad forcing me onto the piano. My dad's a musician. (He) gave me the gift of playing guitar, and mom just being there and inspiring me.

- ERIN McCRACKEN, FLIPSIDE STAFF

On the Web

For details about Flight Case Syndrome, visit www.myspace.com/flightcasesyndrome.

Listen to the interview at www.flipsidepa.com.

Read more meet-the-artist interviews at www.flipsidepa.com/musicdirectory.