Self described “cheeky jazz rock” outfit Flyball Gov’nor launch their debut EP, Cognition, at the Paddington Ale House this Friday, August 14, with support from Delilah Rose & The Gunslingers and Still Frame Mind. We have a quick chat with singer Mel Anastas.
What’s the Flyball Gov’nor story? My husband, Alex (bass), and I have written together for what seems like a lifetime (FurKit 1999-2002). We formed as Flyball Gov’nor with long-time music associate Dave Stewart (guitar) and the sensational babedom of Jayga McMullen (drums) in 2012.
Where’d the name come from? A flyball governor is the mechanical feedback device which regulates the pressure build up in a steam engine. The math developed around how it worked pretty much invented the computer. It was just a cool thought that something made to stop a machine from exploding created theory that opened up a whole new universe of technology. So nerdy, right? Haha, but really it just sounded fun to say.
Probably a difficult question here, but how would you describe your sound? We are all influenced by lots of styles so don’t really sit in a genre. The energy and intent of what we do is kinda cheeky jazz rock.
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What’s the crowd at a Flyball gig look like? Who’s into you? Oh gosh. All the spirited kids who love a good music adventure seem to dig it! A lot of our party crew are in their own crazy-good funk, rock, or freak-out bands.
Tell us about Cognition. Cognition is a collection of four songs which look at making choices - being conscious about what you choose, and why, is often more important than which way you finally choose to go. Sometimes it’s great to make a bad decision - or several.
Where did you record? We actually recorded this one at Flyball HQ. Alex was our engineer, producer and mixer, but we sent it away for mastering. We commissioned local artist Kim Westlake to do our cover art. So it was all pretty much a super fun, revealing, learning experience.
What’s up next for you guys? I’m aiming to create a couple of music videos to bring at least two of the four tracks to animated life over the summer, while we’re starting work on recording the full album. We’ll see how we go, we’re writing heaps at the moment so we might focus more on that. We don’t want to go overboard with controlling this steam-machine. We like to leave a bit of room for surprises.
Originally published in X-Press Magazine
