Ottawa punks The Fly Downs was kind enough to join TGEFM for our newest roll of the dice interview. The four-piece recently released the new single and music video for “Fabric of Humanity.”
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congratulations on the release of the new single, “Fabric of Humanity”! What can you tell us about The Fly Downs, how you got together and the new tune?
Shane: The Flydowns began as an experimental acoustic duo featuring Jesse Robertson and Shane Mahar which in 2016, quickly morphed into a 3 piece, fully electric sound as heard on our first EP: Pockets Out featuring Tyler Richardson on Bass.
Alex Bradley-Hodges joining in 2018 as permanent bass guitar completed the sound for our first full length record At This Point In Time released in 2019 under Thousand Island Records.
2021 saw the addition of Matt Sauve on lead guitar to round out the sound heard on “Fabric of Humanity.”
What’s left of the Fabric of Humanity in your eyes. It seems that no matter where you stand politically, we can’t deny that humanity isn’t really on the best path to societal or global sustainability?
Shane: What a segway! The new tune drives home the point on the state of humanity currently. With unstable super powers on the verge of nuclear war and inept political leaders holding the red button, we all have a reason to be frustrated at the state of things.
There is no denying the state of things is tense and fragile. As Jesse writes in the song, “hanging by a thread in desperate times.” Media fear mongering and being kept in the dark by your government is only the beginning.
For me personally, I try to surround myself with positive news and ideologies. Things that make me want to get up in the morning and be excited about the future. There is much good left in humanity if you know where to look.
Alex: On the grand scale, it does indeed feel like there isn’t a lot of hope left and that things keep getting worse. However, on the smaller community scale, it’s a lot easier to find that human connection, to see that fabric that holds us together and to find a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
Shane: My catalyst would be the 1998 film, “That Thing You Do”. This film ignited my passion for drums specifically.
Now honing in on the type of music I wanted to play, that began in 2001 with Sum 41‘s “In Too Deep”. Thus began a life long love affair with pop punk/punk rock.
Jesse: I started playing guitar at the age of 8. A couple years later I got the album Up To Here by The Tragically Hip. Not punk rock I know, but this is when I knew I wanted to play music and write songs. I wrote my first song when I was 12 years and its been a big part of my life every since.
We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
Shane: Drums are expensive, loud and heavy. I should have played the harmonica. Ha!
Honestly, I regret not taking lessons st the beginning to learn proper techniques and different styles. It never too late though!
What is it about music that you are most passionate about? What motivates you to keep writing?
Shane: When you create something that you can’t help but want to show other people, thats what keeps me going. Especially when you can be creative with others (your friends/band mates) to achieve the same result, something you want to just show everyone and be proud of, thats inspiring to me.
Jesse: Music is always there for me. It helps me through the bad times and it helps me enjoy the good times. I love being creative, and I’m not good at drawing so writing music and lyrics has always been an outlet. The universe is my canvas.
What’s the state of the scene from your point of view? We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked, but since 2020, it does seem like the live experience has been rejuvenated for the crowds and artists. How has the live scene changed over these last few years?
Shane: After a touch and go couple years, its nice to be able to return to the stage without worrying about everyone around you. Shows have progressively become more enjoyable and less worrisome.
Our local live scene changed quite a bit with some legacy venues closing/changing completely and some more underground placing becoming the new hot spots.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
Shane: Speedbump Sally
Jesse: COLORSFADE, Positive Charge, Wet For Days, GOAT!, Sundown Superhero, Any band from Thousand Island Records
I could easily name 100 bands here but I don’t have time haha
What’s next for the members of The Fly Downs?
Shane: We will be rounding out the summer with a few more local shows, and finally returning the studio in the fall to record our follow up to ATPIT. We began demoing these new songs back in 2020 and they have evolved in such a great way, especially with the addition of Matt, I am really stoked to get them recorded and released!
Alex: We’re hitting the studio this fall to begin recording another full length album, full of plenty of banger material just like “Fabric of Humanity.” Count this song as the beginning of a new chapter in The Fly Downs history!
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Shane: As difficult as it can be to stay positive, find things that inspire you to wake up in the morning and go “fuck ya! I love being alive!”
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
