Straighten Up and FLYWRIGHT!
- David Hull and company are back with a
new name, album and tour!
It all started in high school when all four members of Flywright finally came together to officially start a band.
As sophomores at Roosevelt School of the Arts in Fresno, CA, David Hull, Casey Burton, Tony Montanez and Bobby Greenberg eventually had to start practicing their loud rock and roll covertly on campus to avoid getting caught.
“It was a lot of fun,” Hull reminisces about the old days, when they went by the name Sleeping Giant. “Now, we’re just trying to take it to a serious level.”
And serious they are.
Their first full length CD “Box Set” comes out on July 19, complete with songs recorded from way back in 2002 to 2006. Just a year ago, they released a self-titled EP. They are playing at the Crossroads in Fresno with the Argyle Pimps and The Notones for their CD release party this Thursday and plan to record another full length album as soon as August, for release in January of next year. With a statewide tour to follow in November, dropping them into the cities of Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, Los Angeles and San Diego, Flywright is one busy band.
Their alternative rock sound is heavy and dense, layered with guitar and drums, and made distinctive with surprising operatic vocals.
Though guitar- and drum-driven, Hull insists that they certainly don’t let up on any of the other instruments that add to their sound. Coming up with songs is a collective effort, Hull says, and as the bass player, he says he provides the bottom end.
“I try to be as funky as possible,” says Hull.
Though the band has been late in releasing an official record of their work, they come with years of experience in experimenting with bands and playing music. Hull, Burton and Greenberg came together at Fresno venue Starline’s open mic one night playing indie/pop fare as “Beach Party Blockade,” an act that caught and held local music junkies’ attention about two years ago. Hull started out playing the piano as a child and then moved on to bass, playing for nine years. Burton was trained in singing for theatre, and brings that influence with him to the band, says Hull. Hull, who manages independent record label and production company Deha Music, formerly played in 40-Watt Hype, and both Burton and Montanez play with Fresno-based bands The Notones and Los Hooligans. Though they find themselves spreading their talent around, they remain committed to Flywright.
“With Flywright it’s been a very consistent process, it hasn’t been the only project but we always come back to it,” says Hull.
The album certainly seems to be a hard-earned culmination of a long process. Burton (vocals) and Hull have known each other since the sixth grade, Greenberg (lead guitar) came into the picture in eighth grade and Montanez (drums) was snapped up soon after. Hull and Greenberg have their homes in L.A. (though Greenberg is moving back to Fresno) while the other two remain in Fresno. Despite living in different cities and their long history, they’ve stuck together, hanging on to the original line-up of the band.
Hull says he is excited about how far the band has come and plans to take it as far as they can go.
“We really enjoy hanging out together and we’ve all known each other since high school,” says Hull. “We first and foremost try to hang out and have a good time.”
Catch Flywright at the Crossroads, 3315 N. Cedar Ave, Fresno, on July 19 with the Argyle Pimps and The Notones at 9 p.m. Cover is $7, 21 and over.
-Grace
