Music Preview: In-Flight Safety @ The Grad Club, Jan. 26
Usually, when you hear that a band is from Eastern Canada, thoughts of folk music, fiddles and Great Big Sea come to mind. But this isn’t the case for In-Flight Safety, a rising band which has more in common with Coldplay than Ashley MacIsaac.
“There’s obviously more of a scene for [the music we play] in Ontario,” bassist Brad Goodsell told the Journal in a recent interview. “When we first started out, it was evident that … there wasn’t really another band in the East Coast that you could compare us to, so we felt a little out of place.” With influences ranging from Radiohead to the Cardigans, it is understandable why In-Flight Safety isn’t your stereotypical Maritime band.
“We are influenced by a lot of bands in the Halifax music scene … and a lot of European-based music,” Goodsell said. “I just find that a lot of European bands tend to be head and shoulders above a lot of popular North American bands.” The Halifax-based quartet originated at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick while its were balancing studies in geography, art history, fine art and computer science. In addition to Goodsell, the band consists of John Mullane as lead singer and guitarist, Daniel Ledwell on piano and keyboard and drummer Glen Nicholson. While all of the band have lengthy musical experience behind them, most didn’t play the instruments they currently do before deciding to form the band. “Everyone in the band … learned their instruments just to put the band together, so we learned as we went,” Goodsell said. “As it works out, you really can learn an instrument as you go … [and] it makes for good chemistry.” Upon listening to one of the band’s tracks, it’s immediately apparent that Mullane’s voice is remarkably similar to that of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and the mellow vibe of many of their songs is reminiscent of Coldplay’s music. “I’m sure that [Coldplay] had a lot of the same influences that we had, thinking back to Radiohead and Travis,” Goodsell explained. “I personally see [our music] as totally different. It just so happens that a lot of people will hear a certain style of music and all of a sudden just pigeonhole us.” Despite being compared to other groups, the band proved that they can hold their own by winning the Best Unsigned Band and Fan Choice Award at the 2003 North by Northeast Music Festival, securing a distribution deal with Universal Music.
“At the last minute, we gained a spot in the North by Northeast Festival. When we got home, we found out that we won … and were blown away because there were literally hundreds of bands [competing]. We then realized that we might be on to something and decided at that moment to make [music] more of a priority and see how far we might be able to go with it,” Goodsell said.
In-Flight Safety will be performing this Thursday at the Grad Club with Royal Wood to promote their second album, The Coast Is Clear, which is being released today. The album was recorded partially in a recording studio in Vancouver, with the other half being recorded in a home studio. “Recording is expensive [and] we basically spent all our money,” Goodsell itted. “However, we had the luxury of time to make sure that every little subtle nuance was perfect. We weren’t being charged for studio time and spent about seven or eight months in the home studio, giving the rest of the songs the attention they deserved.” Being forced to record the music in a home studio was a blessing in disguise, since all of the band are perfectionists who like to “go over every detail and make sure that everything is just right,” according to Goodsell. “Our approach is to think of a song in of what it is. We aren’t trying to do anything flashy, we’re just trying to make good music.” In-Flight Safety plans to deliver this good music to an enthusiastic crowd on Thursday, in Kingston for the first time. “We’ve heard that [the Grad Club] is an intimate place to play … we’d rather have a small group of people who genuinely enjoying what we’re doing than a big, rowdy crowd who isn’t really into it.” With several positive reviews behind them, In-Flight Safety holds a lot of promise. Using their talent and persistence, Goodsell says the current plan is to “do this as long as possible and bring the band as far as it can possibly go.” If you’re in the mood for an intimate evening with a great band at the Grad Club, then grab a ticket ($10 in advance) to learn what In-Flight Safety is all about.
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