Biography

William Ryan George - vocals, keyboards
John Wlaysewski - guitar, vocals
Evan Joyce - bass
Ken Weisbach - drums

“Flying Machines invite you to buckle in for an engine-revving plunge toward melodic euphoria. Enjoy the in-flight movie, wherein the young hero finds out that life is not the destination but the journey, and that the road to hell is paved with good intonations.” - John Wlaysewki, guitarist, Flying Machines.

Flying Machines are that rare breed: A fresh-sounding New York band whose smarts and cleverness don’t interfere with their capital ‘R’ rock. A lineup whose gifted singer-keyboardist is influenced by Ben Folds and Freddy Mercury, while the Zeppelin-loving, Fender-playing guitarist is unafraid to go to 11…and shred on solos. They’re anchored by a “hyper-creative” rhythm section who keep Flying Machines from soaring out of the stratosphere. On their selftitled debut for Meteor 17/EMI, Flying Machines’ timeless, classic-sounding modern rock is musically precocious, but never precious. As band co-founder John Wlaysewski notes, “We mesh my abrasive rock guitar and William’s beautiful singer-songwritery thing. He brings the beauty, I bring the rock. We’re not a garage band, and but we always try to keep a little of that mentality so we don’t pick things apart to the nth degree. Like all my guitars on the album were done in one take.” The result is a kinetic record that encompasses the theatrical, surreal and dramatic. From the first single, the irresistible, irrepressible pop gem “On A Whim” to the pure emotion of the carefully crafted “I Don’t Remember Why” to the soaring melody and guitar lines of “Hopelessly Alone,” Flying Machines are that rare rock band who are at once taut, dynamic and sublime.

Produced by Spencer Proffer and Steve Plunkett with production contributions on three songs by Mickey Petralia and mixed by Grammy Award-winner Tom Weir (No Doubt, Weezer, Tom Morello), Flying Machines’10 ultra-musical, intensely emotional songs, straight from the life of one William Ryan George. George grew up in Fresno, California, where he started singing in third grade, then acted and sang in dinner theatre before moving to NYC at 18, inspired by idol Billy Joel. As a writer, George notes, “I’ve had a lot of dark situations, and can talk about them afterwards in a therapeutic way for me, and hopefully it makes sense to someone else.” His father’s death is addressed in the edgy, insistent, reggae-tinged, “Talk About It,” while the jittery, dynamic “Gina, Don’t Call Me” is equally personal, if obfuscated.

“Every song has to be autobiographical, or else it doesn’t feel right.”

Flying Machines have been together since 2006, though George, Wlaysewski and drummer Ken Weisbach met through a previous band. As the guitarist recalls, “When I heard William sing, I said, ‘that’s the band I want to be in.’ He sounds like Keane meets Freddie Mercury. He has a voice that can change lives. I’m honored to be working with him. We’re all spoiled: Ken takes an intellectual approach to music and loves Stewart Copeland and Neil Peart, while Evan Joyce (who drove from Boston and slept in Central Park before his audition for the band!) is a multiinstrumentalist who is incredibly creative.

But Flying Machines is about the big picture; whatever you’re great at is what you do in this band.” The quartet’s prodigious talent and unique approach did not go unnoticed for long. In addition to landing music on USA Networks’ Psych promos, and a lauded win in Converse’s “Get Out of The Garage” music contest, in 2008, Yahoo Music gave Flying Machines a “test flight” to gauge consumer reaction.

“On a Whim” received 500,000 BDS spins in three months, becoming the #1 most-played song on Yahoo Music’s “Who’s Next” radio station for three weeks running.

But it’s not numbers and stats that concern Flying Machines. It’s the place where music meets mystery. Take Flying Machines’ album artwork. “As a kid, I picked out music at the store based on the album cover,” remembers Wlaysewski. “Our cover kinda looks like an old Cat Stevens album, or an early Genesis cover with a bit of Alice Through the Looking Glass. Music is mystery and imagination; it’s another language, yet everyone understands it--rhythm and melody are universal. So in the store, I was like, ‘which cover made me feel like there was something dangerous or mysterious behind it?’”Flying Machines' entire graphic tapestry was designed by artiste Hugh Syme, who has years of award-winning covers behind him for Rush, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Geffen Records, and over 30 packages for Proffer’s productions through the years.

In keeping with the band's highly creative and cohesive approach, George’s songs are compelling and pop-y musically, but with more somber lyrical underpinnings. “Like ‘On A Whim,’ people think it’s happy, but has a dark overtone. It’s a co-dependent sort of thing.” The song was written on the streets of New York, literally, “in summer, sitting outside my friend’s hair salon, on a stoop, with a bass guitar on lap,” says George. “A girl I’d liked in high school had called and said she was moving to NY… and was thinking about Abbey Road and Paul McCartney or something jumpy like ELO. My piano had been stolen, so at Guitar Center, I sat down and wrote all the lyrics while the employees there hovered over me, trying to sell me stuff.”

While Flying Machines makes an instant impact, there’s much below the surface. Wlaysewski likens their debut CD to an iceberg, where much of its mass and beauty is underwater. “Ninety percent of what’s on this record is actually below the surface-so each listen reveals more.” Live, too, Flying Machines have grandiose goals, already in motion thanks to tons of gigging and touring. “Our mission to bring back a real live show. An experience, but without being a jam band.” Plus, they’re okay with complimentary comparisons to bands like Muse, Ben Folds, The Strokes and Queen. “Everything exists.

We’re not the first band to put G-D-C together,” concludes Wlaysewski. “It’s who you are that makes the song, not the chords. We just have to get past the filters.” And they do-full of sonic textures, imagination and invention, Flying Machines is a debut that marks the start of something breathtakingly formidable.

“You know I know that is the truth
Embrace the innocence of youth
So let's all stand up, and raise our hands up

I've got to let you know, we are citizens of the world
No matter where we go, no borders on our soul
We are citizens of the world”

“Citizens of the World” is a song, a video documentary, a marketing campaign and an international humanitarian vision. 

Written by Flying Machines, an emerging New York based rock band, “Citizens” will be recorded and filmed at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, February 22-26, in six different languages and in collaboration with four international superstars: Khaled (Algeria/France), King Sunny Ade (Nigeria), Kailish Kher (India) and Cheng Lin (China), whose cumulative worldwide record sales are at 73-million to date. 

This unique collaboration began with the vision of  Bassam Abdallah, CEO of Equus World, a multinational business enterprise dedicated to creating products and media that build bridges between people and cultures.  Abdallah’s vision and philosophy was and continues to be the driving force behind the inspiration and project. 

The LA session will be spearheaded by multi-platinum music and media producer Spencer Proffer, who produces and directs Flying Machines’s career. It will kick off Flying Machines’s global journey to perform with these beloved stars in their home countries during 2010 and beyond. All the action will be caught on camera by acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter Harry Winer. Equus World reached out to the creative and lauded team of Proffer and Winer to realize the project.  They in turn brought in the international connections and musical expertise of Dawn Elder, a veteran producer of ground breaking global artists and media. Together these artists and producers will not only create great entertainment, but history, and a new way of sharing music and media in the 21st century.

Press:

• Ultimate Guitar - Flying Machines Review.htm Ultimate Guitar.com October 14, 2009 - Although the Flying Machines have been compared to a variety of contemporary bands, the Ben Folds reference is perhaps the most fitting on their debut record New York’s Flying Machines have been garnering some impressive comparisons in the months before their debut self-titled record’s release....Read More
  
• Hipser Doofus - October 16, 2009 - Sean Demery - "Holly crap!!!!!! The suriving members of Queen called and they want their sound back and their Freddie Mercury back! You gotta hear this!.... Read More
• SoCalMusicToday.com - September 28, 2009 - Flying Machines
  With their debut release, the New York quartet Flying Machines find themselves embracing the exaggerated humor of prog rock and 70s style pop while diving deep into influences of Queen, Boston, and occasionally even more modern acts like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy...Read More
  
• Fender - September 21, 2009 - "Flying Machines Debut Set for Sept. Takeoff" - Welcome to the Machines: Fender-wielding New York quartet Flying Machines boasts exemplary power pop talent and ability to spare, as heard on the group's eponymous debut disc, which hits the tarmac on Sept. 22, 2009...Read more
• CMJ - September 21, 2009 - "Flying Machines" - New York quartet Flying Machines eloquently brings back the best of classic rock and then some, with a keen attention to detail, snappy musicianship and sheer enthusiasm on their self-titled debut album... Read more
• Pittsburgh Examiner - September 17, 2009 - "Mystery is in the ear of the beholder" - Due to heavy  rotation of fluffy, teeny-bop pop and over-polished, recorded too many times, watered down, wanna-be rock bands with names as shocking as their lyrics, adults in the age range of 28 and 58 have been keeping a deaf ear to what is considered "mainstream" on the radio... Read more
• CMJ - Flying Machines - "On A Whim"
• Modern Drummer - September 2, 2009 - Ken Weisbach of Flying Machines - "Hello to all who have arrived here; nice to meet you. I play for a quartet called Flying Machines-but before I go further with that, let me extend a quick thank you to Modern Drummer both for inclusion here and also for years of being a simply awesome publication for us drummers! ...Read more
• Amplified - August 19, 2009 - Flying Machines - With local radio station WFNX 101.7 FM and Miller Lite combining to do their usual bang up promotional thing, Copperfield’s was filled to capacity for their “Free in the Fens” show on this sweltering Boston evening. So much so, there was a considerable line outside the doors unable to enter when fast-rising New York band Flying Machines took the
  stage...Read more
  
• Get out of the Garage Music Contest - On June 16th, 2008, Converse and Journeys launched the first ever Get Out of the Garage Music Contest, a contest designed to find amazing, untapped talent in the music community. The contest was held over a three month period and was a huge success. We received over 5,000 entries from all over the United States. Narrowing down these entries to our 10 favorite songs was not easy. On December 8th, 2008, we announced the winners after several weeks of listening to each entry...Read more
  
  
  
  

Music

"On A Whim"

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