Crushd

Every time I start writing a blog, I have a terrible habit of apologising for how long it has been since I wrote my last. This time It would appear to of been literally months since I've let anyone know what I've been up to so once again, apologies. It has been a real manic month or so. Ive been constantly writing for the new record, wrecking my brain writing pages and pages of lyrics until I'm contempt with what I've put down. I find with the new material I'm venting a lot of myself into the content, Its something I admire in my favourite lyricists and something I find impossible to separate myself from. If I write lyrics that don't really have any link to me, I find it difficult to keep them.



On top of this the band and I have been setting ourselves to shoot our first video for "Letting Go of The Monster" We shot it this weekend gone and it really was an incredible experiance. A solid crew of people working from 5am for us. Amongst the make up, the catering, the lighting, the director, the people who make the set and eveyone else involved we were out of our depth. This aside we had an amazing day and are so happy with how the video is looking so far,we cannot thank everyone involved enough for making it so amazing, also cant wait for you guys to see it in 2010. On our page a video update from the shoot, expect more videos from the day soon.



In other news, the band are going to Europe in the new year, if you live in Belgium or Holland check the dates on the page and hopefully we will see you in March. On the Uk side of things we have confirmed dates with Not Advised at the Southampton Joiners for "Taste of Christmas 3" and a show at the Camden Underworld on January 9th. Things are extremly busy with the band right now and Ive never felt more driven and exited for what is to come. Stay tuned for lots more soon, including new tour dates in the new year.

Sea Legs

Ive finally made it to the final installment of the "Boys Boys Boys" tour entries. The final day of the short tour saw us heading back south and ever closer to home. We were in Brighton and our thoughts towards the show were mixed, Amy Can Flyy have never had a good relationship with Brighton and our shows have always seen some sort of unpredicted act of God hinder our performance. Even more so we were playing the Engine Rooms, last time we played this venue on our first tour with Casio kid Fuzz was absent from proceedings as two nights previous he had broken the most part of his foot and then continued to drum on it for two nights after, leaving him some what incapacitated and Stu having to fill in. Throw in a few terrible technical issues and we were probably left with one of our weakest performances to date. We were determined to make up for that night on our second encounter.

Our set rolled round that night and we were exited to see some old friends in the crowd who had made the effort to travel to see us. Our moods some what dampened by the parking ticket we had received about an hour or two before, nevertheless I had good vibes about the show. It wasn't packed but it was a size able crowd of kids who seemed to enjoy it, we did well on merch and got to talk to alot of the kids who had directly came for us, which is always a pleasure. If someone asked me what my favourite part of being in a band was, there is no doubt in my mind that I would say the touring. I love traveling, meeting people, hearing their stories and making memories as we go. Not to mention playing shows every night is probably the best thing ever. I don't resent my home or where I come from at all but I do find that I am happiest when I am travelling and doing what comes with being in the band, however I can find myself gripped by anxiety and homesickness quite alot, a few phone calls home had left me missing, at the time, one of the main reasons I would of been glad to get back home, the main reason I would be willing to cope with those post tour blues. Needless to say my mind was on that person all night which definitely was reflected in my mood.

After far too many drinks at a club night on the beach, we headed back to the van and back to Laurens house for sleep. I spent the night in a reclining chair, one false move and I would be flipped into an upright position while sleeping. This regular occurrence to my drunken sleeping state was one that will not be missed. So officially the tour was over we parted ways with Matt and Drums and finished of the run of dates with our first show in Wales ever, headlining Tjs in Newport. I think the less said about this show the better, it wasn't the greatest way to finish of a good week however I feel its those bad experiences that will only make a band stronger. It was time to go home. I will now try and make my blogs more relevant to what the band are currently up to, as it has taking me far to long to catch up with these tour entries. Keep your eyes here for more tales.

Fuck it We Can Live Like This

Dawn broke on Sunday morning and it was time to load our stuff back into the van for the long drive to Milton Keynes, the fourth show on the tour. Our actions the night before and the decision to plow our way through nearly two twenty four crates of Carlsberg and a near half a bottle of Tesco value rum had left spirits high but fragile to say the least.After a hearty wetherspoons breakfast and the realisation of how much the average farm house might cost based on its location we departed. This trip left us questioning the outlook of traffic for the M25 and handed us the decision of whether to take it or avoid it using back roads in the hope any traffic we might encounter would be averted. After a traffic update from the web we attacked the M25, safe to say it did work out best. The drive although the longest on the short tour, didn't feel that long at all, the banter was high and saw Jack driving most the way to Milton Keynes with the Hat of Shame after his merchandise idea for "Not Ad visors" Three and a bit hours after we arrived.

Its always good to see Jack and Stu from Casio kid, being the first band we ever toured with I feel there is a certain bond we have with them that has never failed to become apparent when we hang out. We have a lot of good memories with the guys so when our paths do get to cross nowadays I'm always confident we are going to make more, which only leads to excitement for the nights later events. We spent most of the show walking in and out between watching the support bands and looking up our favourite family guy quotes in the van on Jacks phone, while also knocking back a few too many beers before our set. Due to some unorganised activity by one of the support bands (Everything they owned not working) We went out to play, because of the hold ups it had now became quite late, this had left us pretty shattered and by this point considerably drunk. I don't promote drinking before playing shows, Its something I had done myself back when we started playing more frequently and from experience it only makes you do stupid things and hinders your ability to play your instrument, something I just about pull off anyway.

The set was awesome though, we had a nice handful of kids who had stuck around to watch us, a lot of familiar faces from our past shows in Milton Keynes and Northampton, the room was huge so it was difficult to imagine it ever looking rammed, but we were happy with what we had. It was a different set to normal, the alcohol in our blood had bought out the more "talkative" side to us, which isn't always a good thing, highlights for me included getting everyone to applaud all of our songs as if they were watching a golf tournament and Marks realisation that he was in possession of a wireless mike causing him to walk the stage as if he was in Bon Jovi.

After the show we decided to go on a hunt for food, being a Sunday we thought our efforts were pointless until we were kindly informed that we could order in by one get one free pizza to the room we were staying in at the venue. £45 later and we were all in bed with a 15inch pizza each. Jack from Casio Kid had also been hitting the pop pretty hard due the fact that as midnight struck it was his birthday, after his long mission to get us sauce from the kitchen he returned with no ketchup,no mayonaise, nothing that anyone would actually want with their pizza, just "Dave's Insanity Sauce" We were informed that this was a sauce not to be messed with, the sauce to end all sauces so to speak. I had some, only a small amount but it was safe to say I could understand why it had been given its title. Mark made the choice to top this and confidently covered a small patch of his pizza with it and began to chew. Now I would like to think i have seen some funny things in my life, and it would be hard for me to create a top five funniest things that my eyes have ever witnessed, however if I did, this would definitely be in it. The sweat poured down marks face, his expression instantly transposed into one of regret, speechless and so uncomfortable that he had to take his jeans off and get into bed. The rest of us couldn't stop laughing, Jacks tears of laughter were so rapid they left him unable to continue his tweet of the experience, if that's not a indication of the hilarity of the situation, I don't know what is.

The next morning, it was good to wake up in a bed with clean sheets and have my closest attempt at show for a few days, a cold bath tap and some soap. One spare pizza from the night before joined us in the van for our trip to Brighton the final date on the "Boys Boys Boys" Tour. Stay tuned for the final installment of the tour blogs.

Glendale P.D. Hates Amy Can Flyy

Saturday morning broke and as it did I was reminded that sleeping on a leather sofa in most of your clothes was a far throw away from my comfy double bed at home, however, content I didn't complain. Today was the day of one of the most anticipated shows of the tour. Horsham had always given us an amazing response as a band, the staff involved in putting the shows on always kept us feeling welcome and happy in previous shows, so it was fair to say we were all exited. Upon my awakening from my slumber I was told that Ben had made an attempt at achieving one of the bands life goals, messaged the promoters in advance requesting we have 3 packs of clean white cotton socks added to our already plentiful rider. Happily I can tell you this was achieved.



The drive to horsham saw me largely out of action, the previous night of downing wine had left me incapacitated amongst the van festivities. Needless to say the large amount of Van Halen and Wham that graced the vans less than ample speaker system made the journey what it was. After a load of traffic and the rest of the band trying to explain the concept of a bridge to Mark while he rested comfortably in his pants we made it to the venue.

I think our night in Horsham will always be remembered as the night we crossed many a moral boundary. Its debatable as to whether I'm proud of our thoughts and others actions withing the four walls of a Youth center, I think I want to say that I am. Show time rolled around, spirits where high (This was probably a result of moral boundaries that people had crossed earlier) Our last visit to Horsham on the "Fix Up Look Daft Tour" saw us playing two songs then having to cut our set short due to technical difficulties, a gutting thing for anyone to have to do, wed let people down last time and we wanted to make it up with this show. It was insane, kids getting involved, singing lines back to us and not stopping for a breath, reminiscent to what Upton crowds were once like back in the day in our home town, always refreshing to see kids not caring about what the guy stood still next to them thinks and just going to shows to have fun. Rounding the set off engulfed in the sea of kids enjoying the show, while Jack took over the role of guitarist was a high point of the set for me.

[Hyper:Rave] - Amy Can Flyy


After the show, it was all hands on deck down by the merch table, Its always awesome to meet anyone who enjoys what your doing with music but sometimes peoples efforts really stand out and make you realise that following this unconventional path in life is exactly what you should be doing. Met a kid who had travelled down from Manchester to stay with relatives just so he could see us in Horsham, Its an insane idea and I can't really explain how much it means to us when people make any effort, so i wont but thank you so much.

The Nights events involved an empty youth club which was to be our accommodation for the night, two twenty four crates of lager beer and a value bottle of dark rum. Not much of this was left the next morning and my memories of full room ping pop in our pants, later named pant pong and drunken twister will always be memories I will hold close.

To safe this entry becoming to textually epic I'm going to continue in another entry. Keep reading.

You Might Aswell Jump

Its the first weekend since I got back home from the bands latest stint of summer dates, Ive got the usual tour blues festering. With the absence of long nights,cramped drives and awesome shows now becoming apparent I'm definitely missing it all. On the other hand I'm also controlling a feeling of excitement and anticipation for the unknown, the return home although an end to the good times any band get from playing shows every night, it was also the beginning of my focus on writing the bands new material for the latest record.

Bringing my focus back to tour, I think it was an important few days for us, it was the start of the new Amy Can Flyy in our eyes. We had been in some sort of member limbo for a large amount of time, touring and playing shows with our friend Tom from Canada Water filling in on bass duties, but this tour was our first set of shows as a complete band again, and I think the relief that we were a four piece again really helped us enjoy every moment of the tour even though it was originally planned to be a much larger adventure.



The first date of tour saw us close to home just an hour away in Southampton. I was stoked for it, we had always had a good response from people in Southampton and this was our first gig there for the best part of the year, so I had high hopes. Me and Mark were running the show for the night and with the absence of one support band and the absence of another ones drummer, we were feeling a little disheartened about the whole evening, the rain didn't exactly add to the festivities either. After a lineup fiddle things worked out alright, My Toy Box went down well and before long it was our run of things. With a monitor mix that seemed a world apart from the one i had in sound check, In parts I felt a little lost on the small stage of Hampton's, I think we were all feeling it if I'm totally honest, we were pretty sloppy but the guys watching made up for it. We've been striving to write new material for a while now, and letting go of the older songs is something that wont hit us personally too hard, however hearing kids sing the songs back to us, will never tire for me. The night rounded off with a stage invasion and a large amount of sweaty high fives to all involved. Safe to say the people watching made that show for us.



The day which followed was a long one, hungover,tired, rainy with the only thing keeping us happy before the show in Ipswich that night was kicking it slow mo too Papa Roach in the back of the van. Turns out that we were yet to see the worst of our grievances, we had spent probably a total of five hours on the road due to the wondrous fast lane of traffic that is the M25 only to find out on arrival that the show had been cancelled due to venue owners ill health. After a little bit of a drive, and my first taste of a caramel milkshake at McDonald's we decided our best bet was to hit up a house party with the ever hospitable Tom (Henry Homesweet) For me this consisted of Wine down a beer bong and chatting up the lovely older woman who delivered our Kebab with Matt Toy Box. All in all the night was succesful. Ive decided im going to continue the rest of this tale in the next blog.

Look Forward too: That Guy, Van Halen, Pant Pong,The Hat of Shame, Insane Daves Hot Sauce and More Traffic.

The Thoughts That Give Me The Creeps

It seems that every time i start a new blog, i find myself apologising for how long it has taken me to get back to the keyboard and get something down, however once again things have been hectic and I am sorry. Lot of bases to cover in this installment and I'm not quite sure where I start. The band have been busy, with tour approaching in just over two weeks, we've finally found the new fourth piece to our irony fueled puzzle. I'm not gonna say who it is, I feel some sort of suspense is in order, just keep checking the bands myspace for updates. Alongside this we went back into the studio to finish of the final pieces off our new track, I think were happy with the finished outcome and cant wait for you guys to hear it.

Thursday the 18th June saw the band playing our first show in something like 2 months, standard protocol, no band practice, Tom filling in on the role of bass for one night of home town hangouts. It was a good night in many departments, saw some good friends return to home soil from a long venture away in the states which I felt added to the positive vibe of the evening, kick starting summer for a lot of us involved in the night perhaps. I enjoyed the show immensely. I think something the band have a habit of doing now days is just going out, not really thinking, just doing. Playing a show and having fun, its something that i felt came through from us that night. It's an understatement to say I'm super stoked for the July tour with My Toy Box. I wont go into details on the events which followed the attack attack show, needless to say I woke up with my girlfriend in the sofa bed opposite, a bowl and towels surrounding my dehydrated near naked body and four empty bottles of wine in my kitchen that if could talk I'm sure would tell a story of there own.

It seems that my thoughts fluctuate all over the place at the moment. Currently battling the same old demons that have always held me back in the past, recently my feeling of content with my life has taken a bruising and although I'm happy and stable with my surroundings, the constant nagging that everything could go back to how it was a week ago or so, is something that I'm struggling to tackle. I guess only time will tell.

Until next time.

The Future Freaks Me Out

Studio Post 2

Ive decided to get back into part two of the studio entry before my below par memory pushes it out and replaces it with something else. Day Four had began and our new track was begging to take shape, as much shape as my hangover it did seem, I was the first up that morning simply to down a glass of Tesco high concentrate tropical juice to hydrate my alcohol abused body. After the nights festivities and by festivities I mean me and the boys dancing around to You Me and Everyone We Know followed by a feast of sausage sandwiches and rice crispie sqaures, i still hadn't written any solid lyrics i was happy with.

It could suprise some in saying that lyrics are one of the most important things to me in song writing, i think its something I hold onto tighter than the other guys in the band and for reasons I'm not completely sure of. Maybe its the endless times i find myself reveling in the lyrical obscurities of artists like Max Bemis and Justin Pierre, perhaps its just my wanting to reflect a little honest piece of myself in our new music. I'm thinking its probably both.

I spent the best part of the day working on lyrics at the kitchen table while Fuzz sat through and listening to his drum takes from the day before upstairs. I didn't have a clue where this track was heading lyrically if I'm honest with you and figured it would be taking it one step to far to insist that a second visit to the land of the dinosaurs was an essential trip for the band to make, I think it was definitely agreed that we wouldn't be heading back their anytime soon. I don't want to give too much about the song away before any ones heard it but needless to say I got their in the end, a collection of words that i felt comfortable bringing into the song. A somewhat autobiographical satire perhaps, ill leave other people to make there mind up

The day had moved fast we had replaced midi bass with actual bass however with a lack of caffeinated tea our efforts were tiring, we felt drained and worn out and were about ready for the first ever Horsepower nap amongst the studio couch, alas we bucked our ideas up and managed to sort out a melody for the chorus, not to mention a handful of lyrics. It appeared that falling asleep in Jake's arms was something I was going to have to save for another day. I think the evening was somewhat calmer that its predecessor, after an hour of re working some lyrics, we rounded it off with healthy Living meals and GTA on the X box.

The fifth and final Day had approached, with non decaff tea in the kitchen and a deadline chasing at our heels, we headed out of bed to tackle the final bulk of this track that wed been developing for the week. At times for us it had felt like the ugly child we might one day grow to love, others the nagging girlfriend who wouldn't seem to allow us time to play 7 hours of GTA a day but now, approaching the final day we were all agreed that it was something we were totally stoked on getting out in the open to show people. After a day of guitar and vocals it felt like all the pieces had come together, not to mention Jake helping me sort out getting the New Monster Attack Amy Can Flyy T Shirt (Shameless Plug) Wed Finished recording the new track and it was sick to finally have a something new after so long.

I'm going to put some pictures up soon for this part of the studio stuff, currently don't have them, but wait it out. Lots of stuff is keeping me busy right now, new ideas and ambitions. The future is looking good people. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our new track, its going to melt your face.

A Colourful Language

Studio Post 1

April 13th saw the band head into the studio for the first time in about a year and a half, it would be a understatment to say i was stoked to high heaven on getting all the ideas from the last year or so out into something new. We all loved touring the Dinosaurs Go Rawr Ep and are happy with what we have done with it but the urge to get out new music has been top of our list of priorities for a long time.

Day 1 found us in our cosey country getaway amidst the green fields of Odiham with nothing more than ourselves and a fifty piece Sainsburys chicken set for company. We started just running over ideas, talking alot of it out, as this time round we were building a track from the ground up instead of going in with a fully written song, this prospect exited me but once involved scared the hell out of me. i found myself riddled with the same old anxieties and the worry of not producing something we were all gonna be totally happy with. One phonecall home and a good nights sleep under my belt gave me a slightly more optimistic take on the week to come.



8am on a weekday morning is a sight i rarely see i assure you but in the country setting it really wasn't a chore to get up and enjoy my multigrain boulders away from home. After some midi and bass guide tracks were laid down we messed around with ideas, synth lines, potential vocal melodies and the such. We took a break to write our first 5 minute hit of the week, with guest vocals from Jake from 303didthistome Unicornz have hornzz was an instant hit, sadly to our distress alot of people figured it was an actual new track of ours, which within hours we found ripped on youtube. words cannot describe our confusion.




Day three got the ball rolling for us slightly more as we let Fuzz out of his cage for an hour of drumming, i have alot of respect for drummers, it takes an extra push to be good at it, and i never get tired of just watching my favourite drummers do what they do. The track at this point was shaping into something we were all starting to get good feelings from, the doubts and worries from a few nights before were near gone.The tea situation in the week was a adventures one, the week had began with me and Jake traveling into a local village. In which a Tesco employee helpfully explained to us that nowhere in their small village would sell a Kettle to replace our broken one. One charity shop, a second hand kettle and a Duck shaped tea cosey that I purchased later, we were on our way.

The Evening was rounded of with three bottles of wine and alot of dancing around to various artists. Stay tuned for part two of this epic installment.

Everything is Alright

Once again it has been a while since my last adventure into text that I call this blog. Monday saw the band heading into the capital for our first ever London show. In the two years since the band started I find it hard to believe that we have never once played the city, so with only a weeks notice we packed up the car and embarked on our journey.

Once again we decided to neglect all good advice and bad press about the travel system in London by heading into the heart of it with no sat nav and our only map reference being a vague congestion charge area map in a lay by on the outskirts leading to our destination. This as I'm sure you could imagine didn't work in our favour and left us in the belly of the beast somewhat amongst the chaos of London town with nothing more than Toms not so accurate google phone and some now melting Easter eggs that Tom and Ben figured were essential for the journey.

After what felt like forever we managed to find our way to the venue, we were tired and aching but a quiet sense of victory was held by all knowing we had made it. Our set was good, sound was awesome on our end which always helps to make playing live that little bit more enjoyable. For the last few months of touring and shows our friend Tom had been filling in on bass for us, although an outcome we all knew was inevitable, the realisation nearing the conclusion of our set that this was to be Toms final show bought a significant feeling of sadness in that it was the closing part of a small chapter in the bands lifespan that in my eyes has shaped the band for the better on so many levels. The night was bought to a close with my over consumption of alcohol and man chats with Mark in a spoons opposite the venue, not to forget Ben's sudden bought of illness which lead to vomiting in bins, loading bays and toilets. All in all a very productive night.


Next week sees the band heading back into the studio to piece together some new songs, its something that has taking us a while to get round to doing but also something we cant wait to get going with.Alot is changing in the band and i think its got us all totally stoked on the months to come. I think that's all ill say on that, just keep your eyes peeled for new things including new merch going on pre order sale in the next few days. Ill finish with a video this week, in case any of you haven't seen it below is part 1 of our Tour video from February. Enjoy.

In Defense of The Genre

Its been nearly a month since i posted my first blog, id be lieing if i said i didnt intend to wait this long before i posted my next one. This weekend saw the band in Hythe, somewhere we had never actually been before however played so close to on numerous occassions.Once we had collected Ben from Southampton station we made our way over the river into foreign grounds, neglecting to ask anyone where Hythe actually was or to bring a sat nav we got to our destination by observing the indercating actions of a bus in my rear view mirror heading towards Hythe.



It was a wierd show for me, being in a place so similair to a "venue" back home that I feel, as much as we hate to admit it,to a small degree shaped me and alot of my friends into the performers/musicians we are today. I think its great to see kids coming to shows and showing intrest in music in their local scene cause at the end of the day thats what its about.

The gig itself was alot of fun, not exactly the tightest set we had ever played but it didnt really matter to any of us I dont think. We were having a good time with our friends and doing what we love most, cant complain about that.I found it was a way of easing out those post tour blues I so commonly find myself getting. Highlights for me included ripping the entire crotch of my jeans three songs into our set and a stage invasion from Pierre La Bear that left many a teary eye in the crowd.



Congratulations goes out to our friend Jolyon Thomas who recently obtained a baby daughter, Melody to be exact, wikid stuff. Weve had a good weekend of news and as way of saying thanks to all the the people who follow our band, Amy Can Flyy have put our whole Ep online for a week, if you like it please click the link to iTunes Store on our page and purchase yourself a copy. I dont want to end on emotionally reflective note, just stay tuned for more news and stuff soon.Sick.

Goodbye Sky harbour

The first blog, almost some what of a necessity for the modern day maverick of words or just a productive way of venting thoughts and documenting events? For my question i have no awsner, nor do i want one. I find myself taking the non direct advice of a good friend to see where this takes me.

I got back off tour three days ago now and i am currently once again adjusting to the comforts of home, its a strange feeling to find yourself adjusting to comforts but its something i constantly find myself doing all the time. Moving on to the subject of tour, we hit the road on the 12th with old friends Casio Kid,Henry Homesweet and new friend Mikey (Shirobon) I knew i would want to enjoy this tour more than any other that had came before it, maybe to prove a point to someone, maybe to prove a point to myself or maybe just so i could wind myself down doing what i love more than anything else in the world. I still cant say which one of those was the catalyst that set the week in motion for me but i think now its all said and done, it doesnt matter.



In a some what shorter version of the rant that i know im fully capable of spewing about the weeks events i shall do my best to highlight what the tour was for me. When we set off it was already so different, due to the recent departure of the band's bassist Clive, we had our good friend Tom on bass to fill in for the tour. It was awsome, just to be back on the road having a laugh with my best friends not worrying so much about all our the hangups back home, the ever shrinking amount of money in our bank accounts or the little shreds of dignity we left in each town as we went along our journey. Dont get me wrong, im not saying we were rocking it like the kids in stand by me, but we were sure as hell trying our best. The shows were busy, the good times were constant and we all made it home in one piece. All in all an amazing week.



Now home Im thankful for the trip, in the grand scale of things, it's opened my eyes to so much, from the things that I dont appreciate enough, too the people that Ive wasted too much of my time on. Its gonna be a busy next few months and im ready to embrace it at full force, for the first time in along time the future exites me as much as it scares the hell out of me. Watch this space.