The Official Flying Colors Thread

[JayOctavarium]

Show was great.

First of all, I was pleasantly surprised by who the Ventura Theater got to open. The Travis Larson Band. Really cool 3 piece playing guitar driven instrumental fusion. I guess they literally just got off a run opening for The Aristocrats.

Flying Colors was of course Fan Fucking Tastic. The setlist was the same as the Morsefest set. The 2 singles from the new album were... okay. Crawl, the big song from the new album was really cool, but I wish I could have had the chance to digest it with the album before seeing it live. There were a few fuck ups... which is fine... shows that the guys are human. Casey and Dave were on FIRE. Neal... well... very entertaining to watch him perform. You can tell he's having fun. Steve of course is Awesome. And then Mike is Mike. The only complaint I have, besides the acoustics at The Ventura Theater being shit (You can tell that the band was having issues with their mixes... Dave especially... the guy who runs the front end sound is a dick and needs to find a new career), was the the run of longer songs (Crawl > Peaceful Harbor > Infinite Fire  > Cosmic Symphony. I think at least one should have been earlier in the set, but that's just personal preference.



Also, the turnout was really disappointing. The theater is... a 1200 capacity venue. There were maybe 300 people there. It felt very very empty.


Also also: There was a dude in a green long sleeve Haken 1985 shirt there with his young (8 - 10 yr old) daughter... they were both rocking out... it was amazing. The girl was WAY into it, dancing and singing and having fun. Really heart warming

[emtee]

Seems like many of MP's projects are struggling to
draw a respectable number of people. I know he
always strives to have a good attitude but it must
be deflating at this point in his career.

[JayOctavarium]

Seems like many of MP's projects are struggling to
draw a respectable number of people. I know he
always strives to have a good attitude but it must
be deflating at this point in his career.

I think the problems here are location and timing. It's 1-3 hours from LA / Orange County, and was on a Thursday night. I think they usually play a smaller venue in LA proper.

[axeman90210]

did Casey give a little talk about You Are Not Alone being written about his experience going around in a boat rescuing people after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston? That plus the screen showing home footage of him actually doing that definitely added to the song at Morsefest for me.

[JayOctavarium]

did Casey give a little talk about You Are Not Alone being written about his experience going around in a boat rescuing people after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston? That plus the screen showing home footage of him actually doing that definitely added to the song at Morsefest for me.

Yea. It really does add an extra layer of depth to the song.

[Stadler]

If that's the setlist, I'm happy.  Two of my three favorite songs, and I'd say four of my top five favorite songs (only one missing is "Better Than Walking Away"). 

I'm fired up for the show, now.   

[JayOctavarium]

I would have been thrilled to have Walking Away in the set.

[RodrigoAltaf]

 I'm discussing a possible interview with Casey. If you have questions for him, feel free to send them to me!

[ytserush]

I'm going cheesy schmaltzy ballad a la Peaceful Harbor or Better Than Walking Away.

I think those are two of their best so if it's anything approaching those two I'll be a happy camper.

[Ninjabait]

Two awful songs so far. And this is supposed to be one of MP's top albums ever (according to him)?

To be fair, I'm pretty sure he says that about every single thing he ever works on.

Thoughts on the songs:

You Are Not Alone - Kinda boring tbh. Lyrics are a little bland for the most part, it doesn't really do anything exciting musically, and it feels pretty stationary even by ballad standards. There's not a whole lot of momentum in the harmony as far as I can hear and it doesn't generate a whole lot of momentum through the melody or rhythm either, so it mostly just sits and festers instead of actually going anywhere. Also, half the song could easily be cut without damaging it.

More - The vocals on this 100% sound like early/middle Muse. Like...the vocals could've been a cut track from The Resistance or something and I wouldn't be surprised. The first instrumental section wasn't too terribly interesting, and honestly most of it doesn't really flow that well (the transition from the main section to the arpeggios is a little sudden, the internal sections of it don't really connect that well, and the move towards the lighter acoustic section is hella clunky). That ELP solo was kinda awful. Felt that they could do more (ha) with that "More!" shouting idea, because that could be pretty good. Main riff is good, probably the highlight of the song. Overall, this is a good 4 min song with 3 minutes of padding. It's an okay Muse knockoff song without a good editor.

Honestly, I'm starting to feel like I don't actually like prog much anymore outside of a few select bands like DT, Ne Obliviscaris, and iamthemorning. I'm finding I'm enjoying a lot of the recent prog albums I've heard less and less, and a lot of the stuff that defines prog musically is just starting to get on my nerves now because most of it is imo handled really poorly. Or maybe it's not me, and a lot of modern prog just genuinely sucks. Who knows.

[MinistroRaven]

Our review of the abum:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/flying-colors-third-degree/

[JayOctavarium]

Our review of the abum:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/album-reviews/flying-colors-third-degree/

This excites me

[Orbert]

I get a 404 when I try that page.  *shrug*

[MinistroRaven]

I get a 404 when I try that page.  *shrug*

Label requested to hold the review until 2 weeks before release date.

[devieira73]

It’s true, MP shared this review, but now it is  deleted from his facebook.
When it was up in his page, I asked him about the meaning of “alternative “ instrumental mixes of the second CD of deluxe edition, and he replied that they are rearranged/reorchestrated/remixed instrumental versions of the songs. Much more interesting to me than only original versions minus vocals, which it’s more common to see.

[Ben_Jamin]

It’s true, MP shared this review, but now it is  deleted from his facebook.
When it was up in his page, I asked him about the meaning of “alternative “ instrumental mixes of the second CD of deluxe edition, and he replied that they are rearranged/reorchestrated/remixed instrumental versions of the songs. Much more interesting to me than only original versions minus vocals, which it’s more common to see.

That's a neat idea. Make the songs stand out as an insturmental, using the guitar or keys or whatever to fill in the missing vocal melodies and rythmns .

[JayOctavarium]

Let me sum up the review:

YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[RoeDent]

That's funny, cos according to a lot of folks on here, it sounds nothing like

YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

More like MUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSEEEEEEE.

[MinistroRaven]

LOVE LETTER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBo3TVaDK3M&feature=youtu.be 

[The Letter M]

https://youtu.be/qBo3TVaDK3M

Music video for "Love Letter"

Now THIS sounds good. I love the video, as well. The album inches ever closer and I grow more impatient!

-Marc.

[MinistroRaven]

MP on that yellow submarine at the end was sooo cool!

[RoeDent]

This is much better. More fun. Beatlesque.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Sounds too much like The Beach Boys and The Beatles













I actually like this much better than the other two singles.

[Mindflux]

Loving this latest one.

[Stadler]

Sounds too much like The Beach Boys and The Beatles

No problems there!   

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Sounds too much like The Beach Boys and The Beatles

No problems there! 

 

[The Letter M]

What's funny is that I saw a few comments in the video that were along the lines of "This isn't proggy enough" or "We need more stuff like MORE and less like Love Letter".

Like...have you even HEARD the debut album?!

-Marc.

[ReaperKK]

Pretty decent tune.

[DTA]

I feel like I should like this song as it's clearly better than the other ones but something about it just feels familiar and rehashed. Like a quirky NM song ala Ways Of A Fool. At this point, I just don't think I'm going to like this album very much. I'll still get it to support the guys, and hopefully there's at least one track that blows me away, but I think I'm just burnt out on this particular group of musicians.

[nattmorker]

I feel like I should like this song as it's clearly better than the other ones but something about it just feels familiar and rehashed. Like a quirky NM song ala Ways Of A Fool. At this point, I just don't think I'm going to like this album very much. I'll still get it to support the guys, and hopefully there's at least one track that blows me away, but I think I'm just burnt out on this particular group of musicians.

It reminded me of Ways of a Fool as well. Nevertheless, I really liked this song.

[MinistroRaven]

A friend of mine who has listened the album shared me his thoughts:

Here it goes:

The Loss Inside - Straight-up rocker that gets right into it. The hook is kind of weird and suspenseful. Has kind of an old-school rock vibe right down to the sick Hammond solo.

More - Again, one of the weakest songs on the album. Just not a very compelling track. Instrumental stuff is fun.

Cadence - My first impression of this song is that it's their attempt at Kayla 2.0, and it works. I really, really like this song, and think it's way better than Kayla. Your mileage may vary but this was the first time Third Degree actually impressed me. Hell, this could've been a single with some trimming.

Guardian - Should have been the first single. In a way this song reminds me a bit of Blue Ocean and has a vibe reminiscent of the first FC album. But oh my lord, the instrumental section. At about 4:00 it backs off a little and then we get a long bass solo that is just so. fucking. tasty. This part might be the very best moment on the record. This should have been a music video of the guys driving down the road having fun, and then cutting to Dave LaRue and Steve Morse jamming out on top of a moving bus or something. Right now it's hard to not call this my favorite song on the album because of what this part adds.

Last Train Home - 10.5 minutes, a lot to unpack here. There's probably a lot of Neal Morse solo comparisons you could make with this one, but that's just my guess since I'm not a fan of his solo stuff. Just has that vibe. The instrumental stuff in this one is very tasty and there's a lot going on in this one. It's kind of ballady, but it has some really pleasant melodic soloing and rhythm stuff to keep things interesting.

Geronimo - Seinfeld bass track. This is groovy and funky and should have been the second single because 1) it shows off the bass VERY well again and 2) has a sound that grips your ear. You Are Not Alone and More don't sound like they have much of an identity to me. The bass drives this song. Nice guitar solo and Hammond flair as it goes on. Love the "whoa-oh-oh" backing vocals. This song is probably my second favorite at the moment. Again, Seinfeld bass.

You Are Not Alone - Just not a fan of this one. Far too long for a ballad, I think it could be half as long easily. But let me just say Steve Morse's guitar tone is deliciously vibrant across the whole record. I love how smooth and rich it sounds.

Love Letter - Reminds me of Beatles-era rock love songs. Imagine a more upbeat and full version of Love Is What I'm Waiting For from the first album. I really dig this song.

Crawl - Over 11 minutes, this one needs more plays to really get a grip on, just like Last Train Home. Some very nice instrumental work, but I can't say much more right now. It's an epic way to close the album.

To me Casey is the weaker link of the record. He's not bad but I don't hear much of anything from him that is impressing me. He serves the songs well, though, which is good. But there isn't enough of that character in his voice - to me - that helped the first album stand out so much. People who are bigger Flying Colors/Casey fans than I am will probably disagree. I also don't think MP is doing anything remotely special here, which is also fine, but I find it interesting having followed his career for so long. I'll be paying closer attention on repeat listens but I think Dave LaRue, Steve Morse, and Neal Morse are doing the heavy lifting on this record. I think it's absolutely worthy of the Flying Colors name. Also, the bonus track "Waiting for the Sun" is nice and pretty. If you think of what a 9-minute Flying Colors song might sound like, you're probably more right than wrong.

I just wish they used Guardian and Geronimo as singles. Overall this album is full of rockers and groovy songs and solos with a lot of heart and emotion. I don't think people will be disappointed with this one even if they don't like the current singles. I liked it a lot. Maybe more than Second Nature!

//////////////////////////////////////////

 

[The Walrus]

Looking forward to seeing Flying Colors for the first time next month - and meeting them, too! This album sounds like it's gonna rock. 

[bosk1]

I liked the first two albums just fine, but little on them really excited me.  I honestly wasn't even really sure I would buy the new one.  At least, I certainly wasn't in a rush to preorder it and not sure if/when I would have gotten around to picking it up.  But I really like More.  A lot.  And Love Letter isn't bad.  I think I may have to get this after all.  Pretty strong showing so far.

Show was great.

First of all, I was pleasantly surprised by who the Ventura Theater got to open. The Travis Larson Band. Really cool 3 piece playing guitar driven instrumental fusion. I guess they literally just got off a run opening for The Aristocrats.

This guys are INCREDIBLE!  All three of them are such good players and so fun to watch.  Honestly, Travis is probably the person I pay the least attention to.  Jen and Dale are such a blast to watch.  If you haven't, pick up an album or two.  Shift is my favorite.  Their live DVD Shift Happens is also really great if you want to watch them. 

[RoeDent]

Where's the review you posted, Ministro? We're well past the 2-week threshold the label asked for.

[MinistroRaven]

Where's the review you posted, Ministro? We're well past the 2-week threshold the label asked for.

Can't post until this Friday