The Colourflies
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The Colourflies

Spokane, Washington, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | INDIE

Spokane, Washington, United States | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2010
Band Alternative Art Rock

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"The Colourflies"

From the Beatles, to Smashing Pumpkins, and The White Stripes, The Colourflies like to mix new and old, High brow to low brow, and dlet you decide which way they're going. They have achieved a type of sincerity that mixes self consciousness with obliviousness, and their live shows are loud and full of antics and cross dressing.
It's refreshing to hear a band that bucks the trend of programmed drums and auto tuned vocals. The Colourflies' latest release Been There Seen it Lived It Licensed It was recorded at several locations around Spokane and The band is signed to Blackhouse Records , who have promoted them internationally, resulting in articles in the UK's XS Noise and MTV Europe. This summer they plan to open for Legendary Green Jelly and tour with New York hockey rockers The Zambonis. - Matt Loi


"COLOURFLIES, COLOURFLIES, COLOURFLIES"

(Brief intro by Nicole Sergent, questions by Thomas Joseph)

A few years ago I stumbled upon musician Matthew Legard online on a meme page, of all places. We got to learn about his band the Colourflies here. We are back with a follow up interview and more on the group, which will we be sharing throughout the week. We also have an exclusive to share with the BSL audience! Stay tuned for more on this up and coming band.

(For Matt) Elephant in the room, you’ve worn a dress on stage and in videos before. Given your claimed influences and the band’s overall sound, is this strictly a Kurt Cobain tribute? Comment on gender fluidity? Something else?





Matt: Ahhhhhh me wearing a dress, I would like to point out that we all wore dresses and that my dress totally matched my eyes. Wearing a dress, at least for me, is the pure freedom of wearing a dress. Am I bit more feminine than most guys? yes, but I also feel insanely comfortable. Who's Kurt Cobain?



Devin: Thank you for noticing my beautiful atitire. I mostly do it to look good, but it's also a cultural statement, which is ridiculously made through the ideas and emotion evoked in the... oh, that one was just for Matt, got it.







- There’s a serious DIY aesthetic to most of your work. Are the jump cuts and lo-fi images in your videos intentional? Budget driven? An artistic choice?





Matt: The low fi images in our videos are a combination of shitty video directors who don't have us in the room while editing and artistic choice. We're big Tim and Eric Fans



Mayde: I feel like we still follow the same general aesthetic that we did in highschool as garage band so idk if it's all that intentionally lo-fi, it just is what it is.



Devin: All of the above







- Y’all welcomed back Mayde Smith this spring. How’s that relationship worked out? What other lineup changes have y’all endured? - (For Mayde) How have you enjoyed coming back into the band? What did you pursue in the meantime?





Matt: Having Mayde back in the band is like welcoming your sister back into your life, only you're on the road with her and years have passed and you still feel the same, only you're playing for hundreds of people in a town you've never played in, opening for a national act. we're still our goofy, moody, selves and it's all the same as it ever was.



Mayde: I wasn't there so I wouldn't really know but it's "worked out" fine.



Devin: It's great to have the original Trio again.



Matt: As far as lineup changes? too many drummers to count, plus one bassist.



Mayde: In the meantime I lived at a barter faire, Seattle, and Eugene and then wound up back here and got married

What’s the deal with the letter ‘u’?





Matt: The deal with the letter U is , I was trying to emulate the Beatles and their Englishness. Also my Grandma is British and I did it as a tribute to her. Love You Grandma!



Devin: I recall having a conversation with Matt about how the spelling of a word can dictate the way you perceive its pronunciation without actually changing the way it is pronounced. Which led him to suggest adding a U to the name.







- You’re based in Spokane with Idaho roots. Your record label is near the border. This isn’t a scene that gets a ton of national press. What’s one thing a reader in, say, Texas, should know about the scene in your neck of the woods?





Matt: The scene in our neck of the woods is a bunch of metal, the bad kind. A lot of PBR, leather and denim jacket rock, which is akin to Bruce Springsteen, but it's from a garage. To clarify, we are not part of the cool kids club and it makes us cry



Devin: There's a reason we don't get a lot of national press in our area.... the popular bands are terrible. Ironically, there are lots of less well known bands that are terrific, so take from that what you will



Mayde: the scene in the area isn't as good as Seattle, for sure. And drama between bands and members becomes public a lot more easily so it's usually pretty easy to tell why a band broke up or why someone left because everyone in this area is all about sharing their dirty laundry online. There's a general unfriendliness towards the alternative in the town where we met and formed the band and went to school. One story from 2011 in particular never gets old, Devin and Matt and I were walking down road and some dudes in a truck leaned out and shouted "n***er dyke f*ggot" at us as quickly as they could manage. Assuming it was one for each of us. You don't have to publish that but it's certainly relevant to our experience growing up in the area.







- How is working with Blackhouse Records?





Matt: Working with Blackhouse is like a dream come true. We have complete creative control, our label owner came with us on the we just got off opening for Green Jello. We were Bill Manspeaker's backing band with our label owner, Scott on drums. He's like another Dad of mine. We had an issue with a sexist venue and we went to the label and they said what are we gonna do about this? That's a fucking good label. Also it's because of them that our record sold internationally in 8 Countries, and a lot of copies.



Mayde: Working with Blackhouse has been really confidence boosting for me, in the sense of leaving the band and coming back to it being a more a professional operation and having a more structured system for everything. It has also created more opportunity for us and Scott is incredibly supportive.



Devin: Blackhouse has been everything we could ever want for a label and more. We have a evolved a perfect symbiotic relationship over thousands of days, which has fascinated many musicologists. Naturally, I'll hold off on the details so as to not bias any scientific literature that has yet to be released on the matter.








- You’ve cited a host of other 80s and 90s alt-rock bands as influences, especially from the Pacific Northwest. Do y’all see your work as an opportunity to evolve that sound? Pay homage to it?





Matt: I see our work as an opportunity to do everything. I love the Beatles and Cheap Trick as much as I love Alliyah and Prince and Hendrix. Our goal is to mash so many influences that our music becomes unrecognizable to even us. Prepare for a surprise on the new record.



Mayde: If our inspirations have any bearing on how we sound in the future that would be awesome, and I guess technically we're a band from the Pacific North West, so yeah I suppose we're working to evolve what people consider that genre to be, just by having the variety of influences and reintroducing some of the sounds or styles that might have become somewhat obscure to the generation in highschool right now. And if that brings younger kids to find the bands we love by highlighting our musical influences, that's awesome and more important to me than them liking our band.



Devin: Honestly, my biggest musical influences are from the 60's and 70's, bands like the Doors, Pink Floyd, Or Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Etc. However, at no point in my writing do I try to emulate any particular genre's sound; I just do what feels right.







- (For Matt) I dug the Drowning in Guitars interview you did a while back. One thing you spotlighted was the “spacey vibe” on “Pepper.” What other tracks do you feel exemplify your ability to use petals and other equipment?





Matt: I'm equipment obsessed! You can ask Mayde or Devin. I've become more and more gear heavy as the years have gone on, which I owe to my guitar dad, Sean Greeneaux. Gush is a good example of the directions we're going in with effects. I used a 70's Morely flanger which is actually on my board now for live spacey stuff in a couple of new songs, "Starry-Eyed" and "Crank" . I used it for the Hendrixy tones in the pre chorus's and the solo bit at the end. The guitar on that was just a gorgeous Fender that I don't take out often, but I'm thinking of bringing out on the road because It sounds amazing. I've been using that for the clean tones on all the new album demos for the last week. I'm using a lot more effects live though, like a toy raygun that I just jam up against the pickups for our song Pucket (Fist Record) and other fun live tour crazies. And an Octive fuzz clone for solos that sounds exactly like Thin Lizzy. I would say that Been There Seen It, our last record, is actually pretty free of effects. The next one will be much more effects heavy and a real guitar record. I've collecting all sorts of gear over the last two years. Pedals, Amps, Heads. My standby is rig is my 70's Yamaha bass head, Mayde has the same, and a 60's Marshall cab, Which I've had for years and literally do everything with. That cab has been through some shit, me standing on it, falling down stairs, different states. It has Celestion G12-65's in it, or maybe it's the G12-80's. Hayley Fink From the Finns gave it to me when I traded her Japanese guitar live 5 or 6 years ago. - Behind Second Lines


"Art of the Deal: Local indie labels offer artists another marketing option, but not everyone is convinced they're necessary"

Local indie labels offer artists another marketing option, but not everyone is convinced they're necessary

T he Colourflies were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of Oregon when the call came. It wasn't a tow truck company, rather Blackhouse Records' Scott Rozell. He said he wanted to sign the band and release their newly recorded album. He wasn't deterred by the fact their van was dead, and they didn't know when they'd make it back to Idaho.

"Goes to show there's a silver lining in the things life throws at you," says Matt Legard, frontman of the Spokane alt-rock act.

Signing with the independent Coeur d'Alene record company meant the group didn't have to pay money up front to release Been There Seen It Lived It Licensed It last December. Legard says that within a month's time of the release, they sold enough albums to break even and attracted fans around the world. He's convinced none of that would be possible without the label.

"Had we sold it ourselves, it wouldn't have the 'wow' factor behind it," Legard says. "The advantages to doing it all your own is you get 100 percent profit, but when you have someone who's so invested with you, it's not this conglomerate thing spitting out records. We dress funny and talk funny, and we're not like everything around here. I like when people are willing to try new things, and Scott is one of the people doing that."

"The rock myth is that you sign to a label and you get a lot of money and everything goes well for you," says the Colourflies' Legard. - Laura Johnson


"“An Artist and His Tools…” Matthew Legard of the Colourflies"

I get emails every day from people around the world, wanting to talk about guitars, guitar history, and vintage curiosities. And occasionally, I get emails from folks who just want to connect in some way. Some of my favorite emails are the ones from guys and gals in bands, who really share my ethos of DIY guitars and using “forgotten” gear. Some of these peeps are forced to use cheap old gear out of necessity, and some just use it because it’s funky and cool. Well today I wanted to talk about one of these kindred spirits, Matthew Legard…

Matthew currently plays in a band called the Colourflies and he initially contacted me about vintage oddball guitars. Soon enough we were messaging back and forth about what guitars he was playing and his music. Just as players in the 70s were reaching back to the forgotten guitars of the 1960s, Matthew has embraced some of the import guitars of the 70s and 80s. Right now, these copy guitars don’t have much cache on the retail market but in the hands of a capable player they are just fine rock machines! Plus, Matthew has this real artistic sense and I dig how he personalizes his gear. And he’s from IDAHO!!!



I was doing this exact same thing back in the day, but I was nowhere near as creative. I just liked to piece together parts and make Frankenstein creations… and most of them were sorta poor creations! But the idea was to create something new out of the old, kinda like early recycling! And while other players were obsessing over ridiculous details like nut width and capacitor types and “tone”, I was thinking about the creative aspects of guitars and how each one seemed to have a few song ideas built right in them! I really connected with Matthew when he wrote that every guitar “has a song in it.” I totally agree.There is currently this argument in the business circles of guitar world, and it argues that guitar-based music is really in trouble, as are guitar sales. There is some validity to that notion, especially since I have young kids who listen to top-40 music stations! Really, there is very little rock music on the radio right now. But what business types fail to see are the innumerable bands that always exist in basements, garages, and small venues all over the world. Guys like Matthew are going to continue to create and express themselves through the music medium, just as people have done since the guitar became a serious vehicle for expression in the 50s.

Seriously, just check out his creations! For me, guitars are simply a tool to create. Tools with a soul, but still tools. You create with them, like a paintbrush, and use them until they can’t give it up anymore and then it’s on to the next one. My hopes in the future are to highlight some players and bands just like Matthew and the Colourflies, just to show how guitar based music is still plenty alive, and in the hands of creative folks the music is always going to be flowing like good poetry!

Here’s how Matthew describes his approach to playing…

Guitar can be anything. There are a million types of guitar players, but I’m attracted to guitarists who claim an area of sound. For example, Hendrix and Harrison are two opposite players in a bunch of different ways, but I consider them the ultimate beautiful fluid guitar players. The phrases they use are like talking, which I have to say the only person that comes close in this regard in the modern era is John Mayer. Say what you want about Johnny’s personal tailspin, but he’s a beautiful player. What I’m attracted to is the idea of something entirely new, while most people believe I play “Grunge” guitar, I actually obsess about tone and sonic implication. Within the context of our band and our music, old stompboxes and pedals really help to manipulate songs into a certain sonic arena, therefore making it new. In our new single Pepper, I have the spacey vibe that I wanted without losing the emotion of the song, therein lies our goal. Sonic Pallet achieved, without distraction. - Drowning in Guitars


"Preview: The Colourflies at Volume Festival 2017"

What goes into the making of a good setlist?
Matt: The making of a great setlist is everything from having the right guitars in the right tunings, so you can have a flow, to having it just feel sensical and right while you’re playing them. If a song feels forced or you have trepidation, it’s probably not the right choice.

While at Volume, who are you most excited to see perform?

I’m most excited to see Built To Spill. They’re alt legends and we named a song off our first record after them.

What are your plans for the rest of the year? Writing, recording, touring?

Our plans are to tour this summer. After we play Volume, we go to Oregon to headline the Cherry City Music Festival which will be filmed live for TV and then we come back and work with Ken Stringfellow from the Posies—one of our favorite bands—to record some songs in Seattle for our new record - Behind The Setlist


"Bella Entertainment Magazine"

" Most of the Colourflies's songs are about Matthew Legard's life They are the most personal expression he could ever hope to possibly express without having to edit himself or consider what the interpretation is going to be.
Matt tells us, "I think the internal or external voice that tells us something isn't worthy or passe is the great silencer of art. "
Matt says that he sees them as one of those bands that puts out a lot of different material with varying levels of success and reaction, but ultimately they will still be doing exactly what they want and how they want to do it.
I highly suggest checking out their new album or seeing these guys live. I will warn that you must be a true lover of music to appreciate what they do, I personally love it, but everyone thought that Nirvana was weird until Kurt Cobain was killed by Courtney Love. Just whatever you do Matt, Don't find a Courtney Love. We all like you too much for that to ever happen to you. - Cassandra Dhaenes


"The Colourflies Rock"

The Fuzzy lo-fi band is back at Volume, and their rock and roll sensibilities have obviously progressed. The Colourflies blast through genre barriers with each of the blitzing songs they're likely to play during their sets. One moment they're a blaring alt-rock band, the next, They're a thrashing punk three piece. Regardless of what prism you catch them in, their hooks are undeniable. - The Inlander


"The Colourflies"

It's often very annoying to try to describe a band by cliche tag line of "sounds like" comparisons. For a band like The Colourflies, who's streaming creativity and sloppy free spirit... (see what I mean?) It is difficult! I can't help however to feel a fond feeling of nostalgia for the bands they remind me of. A sound and approach to music sadly missing these days.
Reminiscent of The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr or early Nirvana. The wall of noise mixed with sentimental vocals that you get the sense that " I have no idea what he's talking about, but that's OK!"
Yep I just broke all those rules! All that is left, is to wear their T shirt to their next show. Cool guy card lost!! maybe I should just let front man, Matthew Legard tell it!

In my intro I wrote a funny attempt to describe the band. Can you describe the band and its sound?
Matt: We are Savage Garden, meets Paul Simon meets That Dog meets Cats the musical, hanging out on the Charmed and Sex and the City film set.
You recently signed with Blachouse Records. How did that come about?
Matt: We played a show, it was packed, we played a song called Rugrat. Kids moshed. I sent him the video we took from it and the rest is history.
I made a comment again in the intro that, lyrically it seems stream of consciousness writing. Does that seem true? Or do the songs have clear meaning?
Matt: Every song has meaning when I write it. I suppose I just have an abstract way of relating thoughts and ideas to lyrics, but it's all very personal to me. - The Rep


"The Colourflies Have the Loudest Buzz and the World is wanting!"

Shanea Speidel, Video Reporter and Correspondent for BUZZTV

Contributing Writer for Xombiewoof Magazine

The Colourflies, I met this band almost a year and a half ago. I drove to Idaho to see what the big hype was over this band. I pulled up to a large old house that had a parking lot that was packed. As I made my way into the unfurnished grungy place pushing my way through bodies to get down some steep cement stairs where the music was coming from, this band was putting off a lot of good energy. I stood back watched and listened as the young crowd sang, danced and jumped up and down to the music. I thought this band is great. After the show they asked me to go to Denny's with them and about 25 of their fans.

Of course I went so I could get a feel of who these artists were off the stage. Well the fun never stops with this band. They are just as entertaining off the stage as on. They are quirky, funny, worry free and very energetic. They love to play and people love to go see them. In fact, The Colourflies name is spreading so fast, when I had flown into Washington a few months ago, they were there getting ready for a big show. Read what they have to say, their personality comes through in their answers. I think you will love them and their music.

SHANEA: What type of band are you?

MATT: We're an anything kind of band; we play whatever intensity or genre we feel like.

SHANEA: Tell us the brief history of your band.

MATT: I wanted to start a band, and I started playing with a drummer from my school named Josh, while demoing all the songs I would do with him, with a guy named Adam down the street and when Josh didn't want to do it anymore, Adam and I had a nice repertoire of songs already, Then I got my best gal pal, Mayde to play bass.

SHANEA: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

Matt: Music influences are everything from the Beatles to Avail to Sunny Day Real Estate. Some stuff is very heavily new wave influenced, Tears for Fears, and Talking Heads and the like, while some is 70's laden Rock, and some is more of the Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur JR. Posies, Ginblossoms, Foo Fighters and The Lemonheads.

SHANEA: Who writes the songs, what are they about?

MATT: We all sort of write the songs, I usually come up with the basic idea and bring it to the band, and they come up with parts and add their personality to it. Well the Songs on this record, which we're still recording, range from your typical boy meets girl falls in love, to zany conspiracy theories, and alien abduction, as well as murder, child abuse, indie superiority, sexual fetishism, and being away from a loved one.

SHANEA: Describe your show, visual and musically.


MATT: Our Show is basically a you see is what you get vibe, There are nights when we suck, but we're having so much fun, that it's almost a moot point, but there are shows where we're great and all on the same page and the doves cry and the angels descend. Musically the most important thing is getting emotion across, and intensity and energy. We've been called one of the most energetic bands in our area and it kind of sticks with you for every show.

SHANEA: What's your outlook on the record industry today?

MATT: I don't think it truly caters to its clients, as much as it caters to fans being able to spend money for the artists they represent. I've read countless stories of labels screwing over their artists, from everyone to The Beatles, which is referenced in the beginning of Abbey Road medley cut, "You Never Give Me Your Money" to David Bowie with the "Let's Dance" record, and Green Day with their first two records

SHANEA: What's your claim to fame?

MATT: Probably opening up for the Meat Puppets.

SHANEA: Tell us a story about a day in your life.

I fell asleep and had a dream that I lived in a basement with Hobo Spiders that would crawl around, and then My step mom drove me to go sign up for the Illuminati. I realized when I woke up that I actually used to live in the unfinished basement in my dream, and that Hobo Spiders did frequent regularly, It was all a real memory, except for the Illuminati thing.
SHANEA: What advice would you give to fellow bands?

MATT: If you want to play, do it, but don't compromise, If you feel something, say it, if you tear shit up or down, do it. Don’t be pristine, because that's what everyone wants you to be, and don't be dirty just because it's cool.

SHANEA: What are some of your pet peeves?

MATT: Holier than thou, people and bands. Moreover, People that are actually calling themselves hipsters and dressing like hipsters and listening to the worst atmospheric bull shit you've ever heard, I don't care what you listen to in your spare time, but don't tell me it's cool, when you and I both know you're trying to fit in with the guy wearing a sweater vest pouring your java.

SHANEA: How does music affect you and the world around you?

MATT: I listen to music from the second I wake up, to the minute I go to sleep, it’s the gospel. Music can make people dance, cry, and laugh, and no one can ever take it away from you. There's been times when all I've had was music, and it was the only thing I had to look forward to in my life. - Shanea Speidel, Xombitwoof Magazine


"ALBUM REVIEW: THE COLOURFLIES – BEEN THERE, SEEN IT, LIVED IT, LICENSED IT"

Somewhere Dave Grohl is smiling; he has frequently opined the fact that rock and roll is no longer kids picking up instruments and heading to the garage to figure it out. Instead American Idol and its ilk pick winners and losers in the world of popular music, and what a surprise the record industry is in the toilet. The Colourflies took Grohl’s advice to heart picked up their instruments and headed for the garage. They played and were shambolic, then played some more and improved, and they continued to play until one day they got signed to an indie label and put out their debut album. That debut is the December 14th release, Been There, Seen It, Lived It, Licensed It. It is an engaging debut with tremendous organic charm. If you were seeking some hope for the future of rock in a world awash with hyped autotuned cookie cutter songs, you might want to give this album a whirl.

The Colourflies were formed in 2010 by Matt Legard, Mayde Smith, Adam Thurgood and later Devin Koshney and Scotty Hohman in Post Falls, Idaho. They were located just over the state border from where the sounds and rock scene of the Pacific Northwest were made famous. The band’s influences range from the likes of The Posies, The Beatles, ELO, No Doubt, Green Jello, Smashing Pumpkins, Prince, Violent Femmes, Cage The Elephant, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, Veruca Salt, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Elliot Smith, Kenny Loggins, Black Sabbath, Dishwalla, Tears for Fears, Psychedelic Furs, The Lemonheads and the Meat Puppets. They were deeply influenced by the sounds of 80’s and 90’s Alternative. Indie labels like SST, Twin Tone and Sub Pop left a definite mark on the band as they absorbed all those subversive tendencies and made them their own.

The Colourflies have earned their stripes playing in every poorly named dive in and around Idaho and Washington State. They notable became one of the regular bands for the influential Spokane, Washington club The Hop. The band of childhood friends is comprise of singer and songwriter Matt Legard on vocals and guitar, Mayde Smith on bass and Vocals and Devin Koshney on drums.

Been There, Seen It, Lived It, Licensed It was recorded with Jared Crab in Crabwalk Studios, along with Kaleb W. at Amplified Wax. Overdubs and mastering were done by Weston Fink at Flannel Fox Studios. The Songs “Talithia De Flavor and Capricious” were produced by Adam Anderson and the song Jerkass was recorded with Logan McCarthy at his secret studios. What jumps out about Been There, Seen It, Lived It, Licensed It is that the influences are easily recognizable; however The Colourflies are remarkably adept at making the influences their own. The release starts off with Jerkass a slacker punk tune containing a solid thrashing rock sound. There is intensity and energy galore with a neo garage cacophony that has always had a home in the Northwestern Pacific sound. The sum is greater than any one part on the song. The much imitated “Lo Fi” sound production used by all and sundry, is truly organic and not manufactured on this album; only adding to the authenticity of the band’s sound footprint.



Wacky Tacky is this fantastic combination of grunge and strangely dashes of The Cure and that is not a bad thing. There are hints of psychedelic and Goth with a huge helping of early Modest Mouse tossed in for good measure. Rugrat is a song that has been in development for a while and has come along nicely since its origination. There is a great noisy opening and then a thrash out to a Sonic Youth vibe. The shapeshift that occurs mid way through the track makes it even more interesting. This song is evidence that the lads have digested their Alternative rock history well. Just when you think you know what is coming up next the band serves up Scharlie’s Kiss which is a slower paced yearning track. The acoustic guitar is a nice change up and the song has a great chill vibe as it examines the insecurities of teenage love. Take notice to the hypnotic and hazy vocal.

Bat Face again mixes it up with a jangle rock intro. The song is catchy and filled with energy and enthusiasm; it is a great exemplar of garage rock and had awesome drums and a noteworthy guitar solo. Jurassic Park! is my favorite track, full of wholesome Pacific Northwest goodness. The gritty feel of the song puts the grunge in neo grunge and reminds me of Modest Mouse’s “Dramamine”. It instantly hooks you and makes you take it home to keep. The vocal treatment on this song is well done. Super Sucker is an immense song that is both audacious and thrill seeking, a perfect concoction of irony and whimsy. Close your eyes and you can hear the band channeling Weezer and the Pixies as they have the later band’s quiet/loud technique down pat. This is heavy track that takes a licking and keeps on ticking; highly addictive.

2% takes its cues from Nirvana with a smoking song that is filled with distorted vocals and gritty guitars, yet makes you want to jump around the club. Rock Candy is a glorious amalgam of trippy goodness and glam grunge. The oscillating wha wah guitar provides a funky accompaniment. Talithia De Flavor is not the name of a diva queen or maybe it is, but is the most experimental track with its use of sampling snippets that are quiet reminiscent of Beck’s early stylings and then it twists into an explosion of punk neo grunge goodness. It has to be listened to fully appreciate. Advacado had the feel of the afterglow when the club closes. The off kilter track is hazy and swirling.

The final song, Capricious displays that the band can play it anyway they want. This track upturns all the intensity and irony found throughout the album with an acoustic guitar, heartfelt vocals and an ethereal soaring treatment. It is a great way to usher out the release.

Been There, Seen It, Lived It, Licensed It is an exciting release, and should provide comfort to people who think the best days of the Rock genre are over. The band is tenacious and has already come a long way in their quest for a spot in the world of Rock Music. They know they have to pay their dues and put forth the immense effort necessary to have a career in music today. They exhibit the necessary “can do” attitude they are going to need. The Colourflies have all the raw materials to succeed even if they are still at times a bit rough around the edges. As a debut effort I give them a 7/10. Nicely done lads. - XS Noize


Discography

The Colourflies (2010)
Been There Seen It Lived it Licensed it (Blackhouse Records) (2015)
Flavour of the Year (Blackhouse Records)( 2017)
Bomb Pop EP (2023) (NIght City Publishing) 

Photos

Bio

 (Present) The Colourflies are hard at work making their new album( Dysphagia) with platinum artists such as Greg Richling( Wallflowers, Macy Gray) and Bryan Cook( Train, Cheap Trick, Korn, No Doubt) at the production helm. It has been recorded in New York, Spokane, Seattle, Virginia, LA and Portland respectively, and will have guest appearances by Jon Auer( Big Star, The Posies) and Arion Salazar( Third Eye Blind). The Colourflies have also been recently interviewed in Hollywood at the Chinese Theater movie premiere of Greg RIchling's immediate family to discuss the new album process. (interview video Listed here)

With deep-rooted influences that speak true to the 80's and 90's SST, Twin Tone, and Sub-Pop bands, The Colourflies have taken the best of the subversive and made it their own. With previous self-released full length albums (including a double album), worldwide album sales in all seven continents, as well as a slew of singles already released through Pacific Northwest-based label Blackhouse Records, The Colourflies' offerings are always beautiful, loud, and unafraid to show off experimentation. 

Band Members