Based in Baltimore, The Flying Eyes are appearing in Los Almiros Rockradio Festival on the 6th of August, where they will meet again with their enthusiastic Greek fanbase. While the difference between ‘Bad Blood & Winter’ (2010), which made them widely popular, and their latest album, ‘Lowlands’ (2013), is quite noticeable, the classic blues and psychedelic acts of the ’70s, remain their basic influence.
Ahead of their appearance at the festival, and knowing that we will hear brand new music from The Flying Eyes soon enough, we had the pleasure to have a word with the band. So, here is what Mac Hewitt (bass, vocals) told us.
Read the interview in Greek, by clicking here.
Διαβάστε τη συνέντευξη στα Ελληνικά, εδώ.
-So, your 10th anniversary tour is about to start in just a few days! What does this tour mean to you? Where exactly are we catching up with you right now?
Hello! We are so excited to be celebrating 10 years of music with a return to Europe! A decade later, and we are more excited than ever to be playing live in front of an audience, because that is why we do this. He have had a bit of a break over the last 4 months, so you will be catching us with a renewed eneergy and excitement, that i think will make for a great show.
-10 years is a long time. After so many lives, do you have some kind of personal highlight?
Life is a highway, and I’m gonna ride it! We are just glad that it is bringing us back to Greece! One highlight for sure was getting to fulfill a life long dream on swimming in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, at the cradle of western civilization and democracy!
-It’s been 3 years since your last release. And, as we learned from your Facebook status a few months ago, you are currently recording -or have already recorded- a new album! Is this true?
True Blue!
-Each album is a different story for every band. I mean, different period, different thoughts, influences maybe. Your last one, ‘Lowlands’, was exciting, and you surprised everyone with its darkness and a little bit of doomness. Was it something in particular that pushed you into this direction?
We are always listening to new influences, and sounds that excite us. When we where writing the material for Lowlands we where rehearsing in the old abandoned Industrial Wasteland of East Baltimore, and that had a big impact on the sound of that record. I think the decay of Americas forgotten cities is still playing its part in the new album too.
-So, in the upcoming album, should we except further experimentation? Or you think that you have reached at a point of “having fully explored who you are”?
Everyone is constantly changing and evolving until the day they die (maybe after?), so the only constant in life is change. We have barely scratched the surface.
-You know, the psych/rock scene is getting bigger and bigger. How would you explain that?
The internet. The WWW is possibly the most important invention of the 21st century. It has connect us all in ways we are only beginning to understand. Like minded people have been able to reach out and communicate with people on the other side of the world! This has certainly played a huge role not just in psychedelic music, but all types of genres that might have been swallowed up in the pop culture of the time.
-The same happens in Greece, too. The underground scene is growing bigger all the time and more and more bands are emerging from it, I guess you are already familiar with that. Do you have any connections here?
We played some gigs with Planet of Zeus a few years back. Rad dudes.
-Apart from The Flying Eyes, do you run any solo projects in the meantime?
We all hjave other projects. Most recently I Have been playing with a punk group called Aguirre’s Dogs.
-Is there a “brother” band of yours? A band from Baltimore maybe (?) which you grew up together and have special bonds?
On the last European tour we brought along our good friends from Baltimore, Lazlo Lee and the Motherless Children. A wild explosion of Blues, Glam, and Punk! Check ’em out!
-As for your tour again, tell us a few words about the impressing logo it is accompanied with.
The poster art? Elias’ girlfriend Stella did that. Not sure what her inspiration was…
-Assume that you are left alone, the four of you in a desert island. No instruments or nothing. Just a CD player and 10 CDs. Please name which albums you would have taken with you.
1. Brian Eno – Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror
2. Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom
3. Alexander Andreyevich Arkhangel’sky – Russian Devine Liturgy
4. Sleep – Dopesmoker
5. Fela Kuti – Why Black Man Dey Suffer
6. Mississippi Fred Mcdowell – I Do Not Play No Rock ‘n’ Roll
7. Jimmy Hendrix – Band of Gypsys
8. Ali Farka Toure – Red Green
9. Karen Dalton – 1966
10. The 13th Floor Elevators – Easter Everywhere
-Last question, I know you are expecting this one. Share a message with your Greek fans, ahead of your performance at Los Almiros Rockradio Festival.
We are so excited to see you! We are bringing you a special treat, so get ready!
