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Flyleaf Biography
Review The Artist (55)
Source: http://www.eshots.com/civiclive/flyleaf.htm
Lacey Mosley - vocals
Sameer Bhattacharya - guitar
Jared Hartmann - guitar
Pat Seals - bass
James Culpepper - drums
Heavy music and pained lyrics go together like cake and ice cream, and Belton, Texas quintet, Flyleaf, aren't about to break with tradition. But while many loud rockers reopen old wounds by singing about their broken homes and broken hearts, Flyleaf confront past traumas to heal old scars and prove in the process that hope shines brighter than despair.
"I used to be in a really negative band, and that seemed to almost fuel my emptiness because that's what the songs were about," says charismatic singer Lacey Mosley. "That's why I think what we're doing is important because there needs to be something heavy out there that has a positive message so people see that it's possible to get through the worst situations."
Flyleaf's self-titled debut album echoes with songs about abuse, neglect, addiction and dysfunction, and messages about overcoming adversity. And the band's wide array of brooding beats, atmospheric textures and lunging riffs compliment Mosley's emotionally revealing lyrics, which range from breathy and beautiful to scathing and aggressive.
"I'm So Sick," starts with a moody bass line throbbing over a haunting ethereal vocal before guitars crash in like a rock through a plate glass window. The track see-saws between rage and reflection, guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann providing textural flourishes and atmospheric touches that bridge the emotional shifts. "Cassie" layers stop-start guitars atop an urgent backbeat and builds to an exultant chorus. "All Around You" augments a wall of power chords with evocative jazzy licks and "Fully Alive" is a cinematic number with angry muted riffs that segue into another glorious refrain.
Flyleaf's infectiously heavy positivism is all the more surprising considering Mosley's struggles while growing up. "My mom was a young single mother of six," she explains. "We didn't have money and things were hard for all of us. We moved whenever we couldn't make ends meet in one place, and that happened pretty often so there was a lot of struggling, suffering and character building.
"It's easy to get depressed when you're dealing with that kind of stress," she continues, "especially when it looks like things will never get better. There was nothing constant in my life, and nothing to believe in. I got into some really bad stuff that I thought would make me feel more loved, or maybe just numb, but it cost me everything that was important to me, and literally almost took my life."
When you take a dive, sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you can swim your way back to the top. For Mosley, writing songs about survival helped her reach the surface and breathe again. "I had to lose everything to look up and see that there is a truly constant hope of a happy ending and that's what we make music for," she says. "If my music helps one person, than it's worth having been through what I've experienced."
Five years ago, Mosley started playing music with drummer James Culpepper. The two joined up with Bhattacharya and Hartmann, who were in a local band that had just split up. "Our first practice together was awesome," Mosley says. "Sameer and Jared are really experimental with melodies and pedals, and we all had different influences that were all blending together with the same passionate and hopeful heart, and that brought out this beautiful feeling. It was magical." Bassist Pat Seals joined in 2002. "The doors were open and I just happened to walk through at the right time," Seals says.
Flyleaf played anywhere they could slowly but consistently increased their fan base with local bands and national acts like Riddlin Kids, Bowling for Soup, Fishbone, and Evanescence. Eventually they landed a show at Austin's legendary annual music convention South by Southwest in 2003.
Although their set started at the un-rock n' roll time of 5 p.m., they rocked the house, which lead to a showcase for various labels. After many meetings and much deliberation, Flyleaf signed with Octone.
Then in early 2005 the band's self-titled debut EP - produced by Rick Parasher (Pearl Jam, Blind Melon) and Brad Cook (Foo Fighters, Queens of The Stone Age) - was released and listeners got a taste of the band's poignant song craft through tracks like "Breathe Today", "Cassie" and "I'm Sorry" which also appear on Flyleaf's full length. To support the EP, Flyleaf toured with Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, STAIND and Trust Company, though many of the audiences at these shows had no idea who Flyleaf were when they started playing, every night their spirited performances earned them new fans. To launch the LP, Flyleaf is touring with Cold, STAIND, POD and Taproot.
"We think about where we started and where we are and realize, 'wow, we are playing in front of 1000 people tonight.' And then we just can't be thankful enough to those bands who gave us a chance to play with them, even though we are sort of nobodies."
In spring 2005, Flyleaf recorded their full-length debut with acclaimed producer Howard Benson, who has previously worked with Papa Roach, My Chemical Romance, POD and All American Rejects. Flyleaf stayed in Los Angeles for two months and worked on more than 20 songs with Benson at Bay 7 Studios. Together they decided on 12 of them to arrange, fine tune and shape so they best reflected the group's powerful messages and experiences.
"He really took an interest in what we had to say and helped put all the parts in the right places," Mosley says. "We were so used to recording with our friends and finishing whole EPs in a few hours. So it was great to spend 2 months with Howard having this surreal professional experience in every part of the process."
Flyleaf originally called itself Passerby, but another artist trademarked the name before they had the chance. Ultimately the group decided to change its name to something far more befitting of their personal, confessional songs.
"A flyleaf is the blank page at the front of a book," explains Mosley. "It's the dedication page, the place you write a message to someone you're giving a book to. And, that's kind of what our songs are -- personal messages that provide a few moments of clarity before the story begins."
With their tight knit chemistry, compassionate approach and songs that haunt the mind hours after they've stopped playing, Flyleaf are turning heads and leaving crowds wanting more. Indeed, their story has just begun.
Thanks to terry-rasea for submitting the biography. |
Would you please submit the latest Flyleaf biography to me? Thank You.
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Review about Flyleaf
wow | Reviewer: nobody | 9/1/2008omg my friend told me bout ur song 'all around me' but i'd heard it b4 but after listenin' 2 it knowin' what my friend had been thru n readin' the lyrics it was wow. esp. @ the end "savoring this heart that's healed." I wanna read Lacey's full testimony now
Flyleaf | Reviewer: Tanner | 7/3/2008
You are so awesome. I am a christian and i did not like classic christian music until i heard you. You have inspired me to listen to your songs and be a better person. I really do like your songs. If you didn't become a band i would have never gone to church. Love ya's Tanner.
"omg your my new favorite band!'' | Reviewer: Adrienne Blevins | 5/24/2008
omg i love your music you guys are so awsome.
i always listen to wrap and one of my friends said to listen to this and it was your song Amy says and i fell in love with it and i went out and bout your CD i cant stop listening to it.
Your So Fricken Sweet. I love you
whatever | Reviewer: ben | 5/11/2008
it took me awhile to realize this but there is really nothing special or unique about flyleaf except for lacey's singing bad maybe unique definitely. but really flyleaf is pretty snore music without her. and its not just the fact that flyleaf sounds like everyone else on alternative radio but that theyre as dull and unexciting as the other calculated and commercial bands on alternative radio that dont masturbate the corporate machine any less than commercial radio does not to mention its much more annoying to hear that kind of thing on alternative radio because its always been able to provide relief from everything else. i hope that in the future that flyleaf can reject this order and get people excited again.
WOW!!! | Reviewer: Katerina | 4/25/2008
You guys are awesome!!! My youth group is doing dramas to two of your songs... All around me and fully alive. It would be awesome to come this summer to paducah,ky to see us. Well email me and we could talk more about it.
awesome | Reviewer: adriana | 4/27/2008
i ABSOLUTELY LOVE fLYLEAF AND THEY SOUND EVEN BETTER LIVE. i WAS JUST AT their concert with 12 stones, red, and 3 doors down and they were totaly awesome. It was a little weird though that there concert back in belton happened to be the same day several tornados hit not even a mile away but the show still happened. And they ROCKED
LOVING IT! | Reviewer: Bonna | 4/14/2008
I just love the band. I can relate to soo maney things, and actually listening and reading the lyrics and songs I am understanding some things in my life a little more clearly. Keep rockin the world! luv ya guys! <3
chantyne | Reviewer: chantyne | 4/3/2008
after i read this it touched me my friend gave me your cd flyleaf and i just loved it. i looked up the lyrics and the words are amazing i can relate to alot of your songs. keep doing a good job. i love u guys
You guys are awesome! | Reviewer: Becca | 3/27/2008
Wow. When I read your testimony, Lacey, I was so shocked. It brought tears to my eyes. Last year, I was going through something very similar to what you went through. But I found God and hopefully, I'll never go back to that position again. I thank God that it's over for you and me both. I'm sure it was part of His plan so you could meet the other members of Flyleaf and start this awesome band to help show people that there is a God and that He loves us. Ya'll are AWESOME! Ya'll have inspired me in so many ways. I started writing and composing my own songs and a friend and I have started a band. Hopefully, we'll be able to share God through our music also. I recently found out that you guys are playing at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach soon... I wanna go soo bad! Keep up the awesome work! I love you guys! Vaya con Dios. (This means go with God in Spanish)
awesome | Reviewer: ada | 3/11/2008
I love the band flyleaf so much. I'm so glad they are coming back to belton where everyone will be waiting for them. i'm going crazy to get tickets for the concert. flyleaf rocks and has amazing songs and stories behind them
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