#DANDO WAS TAKING TOO LONG AND I NEEDED TO WRITE & COMPLETE SOMETHING TO FEEL ALIVE OKAY???

[fabbyf1]

It Ain't My Fault (That I'm Out Here Gettin' Loose)

“You’d look much better in navy,” Max said, wiggling his eyebrows. 

And... huh. 

It wasn’t the first time Max had made that joke, but something about it now was different. Maybe it was because he was coming down from his orgasm, or because they were in Austria, or... perhaps it was because he just really loved Max. 

But he found himself saying, “Okay.”

OR: The one where a blowjob turns into a life-altering decision. It was always going to happen in Austria.

Part VI of The Warming Verse.

Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen | 7.2k | Read on AO3

moodboard 📸 created by the beautiful @simplysimplylovely

[enjoyblacksurf-blog]

About A Band

PART ONE - LET’S MAKE A BAND

Many moons ago in a valley called Ilkley in sunny Yorkshire... I (@aliepstone) met my brother to be, Phil (@SpankeeJones). With only the influence of Queen, R.E.M, Nirvana, Lemonheads & Green Day, Spankee Jones created me a mixtape (Spank Me Up, Mr. Ali Vol. 1 & 2) that would change my little mind forever. Everything from Bjork, Everclear, Sublime, Veruca Salt, Pixies, Weezer and Nada Surf to name a few.

This mix tape blew my mind wide open to the world of the 90’s alternative and beyond. A bond was made. The dream of creating our own band was brewing.

Spankee introduced me to the world of The Leeds Music Festival in 1998 and we’d go every single year to follow. In one weekend we saw James Brown in a small tent and Iggy Pop humping a Marshall stack in see-through pants. Minds were blown again in many more ways than one, and our own band, Wendall, was formed. Wendall (named after Arrested Development’s Mr. Wendall) was short lived. 3 songs and only two gigs later, high school fame reared its ugly head and the band imploded. We grew up, left school and lost touch.

I made a metal band called Mishkin with teenage friends, Mark, Ben and now the infamous ‘Ramoss’ on bass. We grafted, went through the mud a few times and saw the world together. In the best part of ten tears, we toured the country up and down, went to China twice, supported Enter Shikari, Sepultura, He'd P.E & Letlive to name a few.  Mishkin had been through 13 different members in order to keep that metal train in motion and it took it’s toll. We called it a day in 2012 but lifetime friendships were made and bands like Beyond All Reason, Pteroglyph, Delta Sleep & In Technicolour and were fully formed.

After giving my whole life to a band that dissolved in one band meeting... I was completely lost and and ready to shake off the best part of ten years of naughty water abuse. I needed to clean up and figure out what the hell my life was about.  I’d always known I was gonna sort myself out. Might as well be now? So I flew to Australia to start a new life with his wife and study Meditation with my acoustic guitar in hand. I’ll go Solo and be one of those miserable acoustic dudes, I thought.

Spankee Jones married too and had an awesome little baby boy. This new life had ignited a whole new surge of creativity and he sent me some demos for a potential fun new project.

These demos shifted something within both of us and brought back those childhood memories. Spankee, a bass player, with a multi-instrumental heart had somehow learned to play guitar and merged a perfect hybrid of the essence of Weezer’s early classic albums, with a twist of Flaming Lips. Immmm YES! I combined my love for Evan Dando, early Billie Joe Armstrong and Art Alexakis as a starting point to explore my new found voice. I knew I had one, I just never found the right channel. The two of us never fully explored our musical abilities until now. 

We dreamt up our version of a perfect band. Whatever ever styles we liked, we’d explore. This became, Black Surf. The only issue being that we were now 10,000 miles apart. Between FaceTime chats and dropbox files being sent, we wrote our first song ‘Army of Sheep’. This was enough to book a flight back to the UK, a rehearsal room and a gig at Leeds' Brudenell Social Club to kickstart this dream. 

It all became effortless and a true joy to experience. Spankee explored the guitar, I enjoyed discovering my voice, Ramoss was brought back into the fold. He kept the bass phat and himself incognito in the shadows where he likes it best. This all leaving Mark, the glue, to keep it all together.

We followed up with a classic, Black Surf banger, Light’s Out. It received rave reviews from The BBC, Total Guitar, Classic Rock, The 405 and a feature in Rocksound Magazine. A label showed interest and a support slot with Lonely the Brave gave the band confidence to keep riding that Black Surf Wave. This all happened within a really short time and the band hadn’t caught up ourselves or figured out who we were or what this thing was. We decided to go back into the studio to capture the moment, achieve a life-long goal and create a memory in the form of an album before it all went tits up.

The result, Let’s Pretend It’s Summer, a 14 track album recorded with Lee & Jaime at Greenmount Studios and bits and bobs at Penthouse Studios and Chairworks studios, captured the band working out what we were capable of. We discovered our love for all things pop, rock, punk, fuzz, acoustic, psychedelic and straight up rock n roll. This collection of songs remains widely unheard as we didn’t really push it out to the world. The album was more of a personal victory for us all. All we ever wanted was to record a record. We did it! Now what? The band, now with four kids, work and life commitments to add to the mix, made the reality of dreaming further than the limits of Yorkshire an impossible task. The future of the band didn’t look great and something had to change if it was to carry on. But, this wasn’t just a fun project or flash in the pan, there was something in this thing worth nurturing, exploring and diligently committing too. It was just too damn fun to let go. 

The band had a achieved an almighty goal against all odds. Mark went back to his main band, Spankee and Ramoss remained in Yorkshire to bring up their kids and run their respected business and I was back to square one. Again. Great.  It all came to a natural end with a great feeling of accomplishing an album to be really proud of. I mean, it’s a total banger of a record! 

Check it out - https://enjoyblacksurf.bandcamp.com/album/lets-pretend-its-summer-

PART TWO - LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN

So.. I moved in with my wife in London with the intention of keeping this dream alive with Spankee. Now only 200 miles apart between London and Leeds, we could still make records together.  I went back into the pub trade and met Tom Moore at The Duke's Head pub in Highgate, North London. We drank damn good beer and started a bromance rooted in music. An instant connection was made. 

Listen to Thoughts & Talks Podcast for a glimpse into the ramblings - https://www.blacksurf.co.uk/podcast

Tom played in his band and they were going through changes too. Having never heard Tom play, I asked him to join the Black Surf fold based on his stories of Download festival and tattoos alone. That’s all one ever really needs, right?

Spankee had another album’s worth of material up his sleeve. This was a new sound, full of life, synth and dare I say maturity. With the inspiration of Ballvenie, early R.E.M albums and a Pavement documentary... I wrote most of the lyrics and melodies in one big writing session. It literally all just poured out. The flat was tiny and I couldn’t be too loud, so the words came out quiet over the heavy tunes. This formed a new style I got to play with. The three of us went back to Greenmount Studios to give these songs a life. The Greenmount guys ripped the songs apart and created a whole new vibe and sound for the band. These songs needed to be heard this time. So, the band needed a new line up that was free to tour the world. Indefinitely. No biggy.

A collection of songs was recorded, mastered and ready for the world to hear. The only problem being, Black Surf, now based in London, didn’t have a line up. Tom & I set off to Leeds to play one last show with the boys and hooked up with long time buddy and multi-instrumentalist, Bryan Diggle. We went for a cheeky pre-gig steam and sauna. Tom and Bryan hit it off instantly. Bryan and I had couch surfed together years ago and had a brotherhood bond from the days he rocked it in Leed’s finest jam band, Ego Killer.

This all seemed too perfect and so a throwaway comment was made to sack off his whole life in Leeds and move to London and start the band from scratch, then tour the world and all live happily ever after. Diggle said yes and the new version of the band was created. Instantly.

We spent the whole of 2018 creating a new version of this band. A version that has actual foundations and is set for longevity. We ironed out all the creases and spent countless hours creating and preparing ourselves for a life on the road. Diggle had a personal... moment and quit the band just before started releasing the new music. This took us back to square one, again. So what, now we’re a chuffing two piece!?  Why oh why am I still pushing this thing!? In all honesty, from the moment we tried to make this thing a band that tours and creates output on top of our day jobs and living in London... it’s been completely bruuuutal and disheartening trying to keep this thing alive and together. Writing and recording is by faaaar the easiest and most enjoyable part of the process.

I didn’t realise that to keep this thing alive, just writing and creating music, simply wouldn’t be enough.  I learned how manage the band and still remain friends with my friends. This ain’t easy but it’s just about possible. Babysitting, mediating at times and calling the shots, booking the tours, keeping promoters sweet, designing  stuff, creating videos etc. It just goes on and on. I need a band that shared all this between us! I ain’t no solo project. But that just wasn’t an option.  It was completely gnarly and like pulling teeth at times. One last shot. so I called a meeting.

BAND MEETING

“What is this thing? Does anyone actually care and want to pursue it? What part of the band would everybody be happy doing?  I’m in this for the long game and I need to know what everybody else wants.” I know full well that I can get whatever I want if I help others get what they want. That’s my philosophy and I’m putting it into action.

Spankee - “I want to write and record. The rest of it is of no interest to me”. Ramoss - “I love the band but I can’t commit to all the shit”. Tom - “Yeah, let’s do this! Whatever it takes”. Diggle - “I wanna play and tour but don’t want to do all the band stuff” Myself - “I’m willing to steer the ship and do whatever it takes so I can keep making music”.

PART THREE - LET’S TRY THIS ONE LAST TIME

Finally, everybody was honest and real. We now know what everybody wants to do and doesn’t. 

Tom and I are dead set on touring our asses off, seeing the world and running the show. Whatever that entails at all costs. Spankee and Diggle are doing what they love too and are prepared to come along for the ride. And Ramoss...  Well, he’ll be back.

After a solid 4 years of pushing through the mud, watching other bands quit along the way or go on to bigger things. We’ve made friends with hell and accepted our cards. We’ve figured out who and what we are, we finally have something that we can call a band that we’re proud of it.  But most of all... we’re ready to set it free. Finally! This year is gonna be all kinds of hell yeah. 

See you soon,

www.blacksurf.co.uk

[sometimesalwaysmusic]

NO FLY LIST We were fortunate to get almost all of the members of No Fly List for this particular interview:  Kris Millett (KM), Russ Schipilow (RS), & Jonathan Hill (JH). Drummer Reza Kazemi was absent, as he had to take care of his dog. Next time, Reza! We chatted about dream producers, the challenges (and benefits) of living in different cities, and their plans for 2017.

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noflylist/

Web: http://www.noflylistmusic.com/

360 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8foYNC79T8

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noflylistmusic

Latest release: Both Sides (LP, December 2016)

Upcoming shows: March 11, 2017 - Barfly, Montreal QC w/ TBA April 7, 2017 - Irene’s Pub, Ottawa ON w/ TBA

SA: How did No Fly List first start as a band? KM: We began as a loose collection of friends connected through Carleton University and open mics in the city. Eventually we started to take it more seriously, working originals into the repertoire and getting some gigs, and an actual band began to settle around Reza Kazemi on drums, Russ on bass, and myself on vocals/guitars. This ‘power trio’ became the format for the recording of our first album Blaze On. Jonathan joined right after the release of that album in 2011 to help round out the guitars. RS: It’s always hard to decide on a band name, but we never had to. The name No Fly List got stuck to us after Reza was briefly, mistakenly, put on the U.S. no-fly list (long story).

SA: Who would you cite as primary influences on your sound? JH: You would likely get completely different answers depending on who you ask! Reza and Russ bring the love of 90s rock and grunge, Alice in Chains etc, which tends to permeate through all our material. KM: I would describe Jonathan as the ‘music critic’ of the band, you can hear the influence of Joy Division and other 80s underground and post-punk bands in the songs he writes such as “Streets” off our new album. I’m more into, at least for influences on this band, power pop and hard rock like The Raspberries, Cheap Trick and Thin Lizzy, as well as alt-country such as Wilco. I think if you blended all these acts together you’d having something that sounds like us.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been your biggest success? RS: We’ve been told to own our futility. More than a couple times we’ve been paid in “exposure”. KM: Success is a strong word, but we have had some nice highlights in the past year, such as sharing the stage with bands like The Nils and Lowest of the Low, and having our latest single “Hollywood” played on Live 88.5. Tuning into that on the stereo was a really cool moment. JH: Also, last January we released a 360 degree music video for “Stained Glass”. Shooting the video was a blast and it was exciting to see it gain some attention online.

SA: What has been the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? JH: Playing the right chords. KM: Jon once played a song for five years without knowing the right chords. RS: Kidding aside… We’ve dealt with Kris first moving to Peterborough for school in 2013 and now to Montreal. The guy is never in Ottawa! JH: It can be a challenge to find the time for us to get together. We’ve all got different things on the go. For instance, our drummer Reza has been very busy producing other local bands, including recent albums by High Waters and Still Winter Hills. For a while Russ was playing in another local act, The Bruitals, and released an album with them in 2015. RS: I think in ways this has actually benefitted us. We’ve built more of a profile in those other cities, Reza’s really cut his chops as a producer and it was fun for me to work with a completely different group of musicians. So it’s been hard to get all four of us in the same room. However, I think that it means more creativity occurs when it does happen.

SA: How do you guys approach the song-writing process? KM: I would say that our approach is changing. In the beginning, I would often bring songs to the band pretty much complete - though in the process of rehearsing them they would sometimes come out vastly different (better maybe…). But at this point, each member contributes songs, and the process is becoming much more collaborative - sessions where we get together and write and revise lyrics. Again, it's about making the most of the time we have together.  JH: I think each song has a different way of developing. We all have a different approach to writing but once we get past our inner-critics and bring it to the band it’s fun to see how they evolve by going through the band filter.

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? KM: In terms of musical talent, it can’t be beat. There is a disproportionate amount of high quality acts in this city. Much of it goes under appreciated though. We’ve made a lot of friends through music in this city. It’s also a pretty navigable music scene. I’m finding the comparison to Montreal stark - amazing city but the scene is vast and somewhat unknowable. At least at first. RS: I feel like it is one of those things where the more you pay attention to it, the more rewarding it is. You will see a lot of the same faces reappearing. Ottawa is really a big small town, networking is key. It can be easy to get cynical about it, but I think that is only if you are not really taking part.

SA: If you could have a meal with any three musicians, dead or alive, who would they be, and why? KM:  I don’t know if any of my favourite musicians would make for good dining company. I’ll say John Lennon, but how nice of an experience would having lunch with him actually be? I think I know who Russ will say… RS: Evan Dando. KM: That wouldn’t really be a food-eating meal, correct? RS: Probably not. But he has been an inspiration for me, plus I hear he’s also a musician… JH: This is a bit off the map, but I would say Aaron Riches from the late nineties indie band Royal City. They were a great live group and he was one of my all-time favorite songwriters. He left the world of dark country and rock n’ roll to pursue a doctorate in an obscure field of theology called “Radical Orthodoxy”. I’d love to hear what inspired him to make this change and find out if he’s been secretly stockpiling years worth of music.

SA: If you could work with any producer in the world, who would you choose and why? JH: Well our drummer Reza did run into Rick Rubin in Vegas last year, but we have our doubts that that’s gonna materialize into anything. But that’s ok, he produces practically everything already. RS: Brendan O’Brien comes to mind, only because I have a serious 90s problem.

SA: Both Sides was released on December 9th at Irene's Pub. If you could narrow it down to one, what would be your favourite moment of the evening and why? KM: We began the set by playing the new album in its entirety, and the highlight for me was seeing the song “Paper” translate live in front of our eyes. It’s Reza’s song and he had only recently figured out how to sing and drum it. The song was very much a studio creation. It was teetering on the edge of a cliff in practice. He was quite apprehensive about doing it. The audience response was very gratifying - they seemed to pick up on the excitement we were feeling as it unfolded. RS: Yeah, that was pretty great. I also really enjoyed some of the interactions I had with people before and after the show. There was one guy telling me he came out to see us because he was impressed when he stumbled upon us back when we played Barnstorm in 2012. Those kinds of moments really help motivate you.

SA: Lastly, what are the plans for No Fly List in 2017? All the best this coming year! KM: You too, and thank you for having us on here. We’re playing at Barfly in Montreal on March 11 and we’ll be back at Irene’s on April 7. We’re just going to play and try to promote the new album as much as possible. Life does get in the way, but we are excited to see what 2017 has in store for us. JH: There’s also talk of a potential vinyl release and maybe a quickie EP in the fall. There was a long period of time between Both Sides and our first album, so there’s a lot of material we need to get to and get out there.