Flying Colors (band)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Flying Colors
Flying Colors in 2014
Flying Colors in 2014
Background information
GenresProgressive rock[1]
Years active
  • 2011–2014
  • 2019–present
LabelsMascot Label Group
Members
Websiteflyingcolorsmusic.com

Flying Colors is an American

live albums, to commercial success[3][4][5] and critical acclaim.[6][7][8][9]

History

Formation (2008–2010)

In 2008, Evans wrote a proposal for a band that combined sophisticated music (complex composition and virtuoso performances) with accessible, mainstream songwriting.[10] His idea was to channel the complexity through a charismatic pop singer/songwriter, keep the songs short, and use humor.[11][12][13]

Evans approached

Steve Morse Band, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai), Steve Morse (Steve Morse Band, Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple, Kansas), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Transatlantic), and music producer Peter Collins (Rush, Bon Jovi) about making the band a reality.[14]

The singer/songwriter slot remained unfilled as Evans could not find a suitable

Disney's Hollywood Records (Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Jesse McCartney) label. McPherson's band, Alpha Rev, had recently released the album New Morning, which spent 17 weeks in the Billboard Top-10 chart.[17] Unlike most of the other artists on Hollywood Records, McPherson wrote all his own material, and played multiple instruments on his albums.[18] His songwriting, singing, and stage personae appealed to the band and Evans. McPherson joined the still unnamed band a month before the first writing/recording
session.

Flying Colors and Live in Europe (2011–2012)

Prior to the primary writing/recording sessions, Neal and Steve Morse met to write, and explore their potential musical chemistry. From this session came major sections of the songs "Blue Ocean" and "Infinite Fire". The band, Evans, and Collins met for nine days at Neal Morse's house and connected studio in January 2011. Evans asked longtime Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy engineer

Hard Rock chart, and No. 11 on the BBC
's Rock Album chart. In late 2012, the band toured the United States and Europe. They played two shows in the United States, and the rest of the tour in Europe, because shows were closer together. The tour was brief because of conflicting schedules among the members.

Flying Colors recorded their show at

Nuendo Live recording system to capture the show.[25] "Love Is What I'm Waiting For" was released by Mascot Label Group as a bonus for pre-orders; "Blue Ocean" was released as an iTunes-only track. A documentary, First Flight, recounted the band's experiences on the tour, was described as: "Backstage, on the bus, and in extended interviews, discover the seedy and sordid underside to the prog's most dangerous band. And observe the surreal cavalcade of lost innocence when one crew member does the unforgivable on the tour bus."[19]
Clips of songs from the band's first performance, as well as from the Hamburg show, were also included.

Second Nature and Live at the Z7 (2013–2014)

For Flying Colors' second studio release, the band wrote and recorded in four brief stages over a period of 18 months. Writing began over Skype between January and February 2013. Then, the band met at Neal's house in Nashville for three days; later, the band met at Mike Portnoy's house for four days. Jerry Guidroz returned to record the band at both locations. At this point, the songs were written, and final drums were recorded.

Individual recording, overdubs, and arrangement continued over the internet. To help foster a collaborative process, Evans set up a

cover artist Hugh Syme, who had previously collaborated with Portnoy in Dream Theater, was brought on to create the cover and interior artwork. Several covers were designed, until the final one was accepted; the other covers became part of the CD booklet and vinyl artwork. Engineer Rich Mouser mixed the album. Rich was known by Portnoy, Neal and Evans from having mixed every Neal Morse, Spock's Beard and Transatlantic albums. Second Nature was released in September 2014, debuting in multiple Top-10 charts, worldwide. In addition to numerous other accolades, the album received two Prog Award nominations: Album of the Year, and Band of the Year.[27] Due to severe scheduling issues, the band could only tour for two weeks. The hole only opened up shortly before the window, itself, so there was not time to prepare properly for the tour. One of the results was that many of the venues the band would have played were already booked. This was also the reason why the band played a show in Pennsylvania instead of New York City. On the evening of the eighth show, the band recorded their show at the Z7
venue in Switzerland. Bernhard Baran, with his crew, recorded the show. The band also filmed their final show of the tour, also with Berran, in Paris.

The music of

uploaded
to YouTube at 4K. The 3D headphone mix has not yet been released.

Third Degree (2019–present)

On August 12, 2019, Neal Morse revealed the title and album art for the band's third studio record entitled, Third Degree.[36] After a five-year hiatus, Flying Colors performed on August 30, 2019, at Morsefest 2019 in Cross Plains, Tennessee. In addition to music from the first two studio albums, the band previewed tracks from their third studio album.[37]

Members

  • Casey McPherson
    Casey McPherson
  • Left to right: Casey McPherson, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue
    Left to right: Casey McPherson, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue
  • Neal Morse
    Neal Morse
  • Steve Morse
    Steve Morse
  • Left to right: Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue
    Left to right: Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue
  • Dave LaRue
    Dave LaRue

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US (H.R. Chart)
[38] 		NLD
[39] 		SWI
[40] 		SWE
[41] 		GER
[42] 		FRA
[43] 		UK
[44] 		BEL (WA)
[45] 		BEL (FL)
[45]
Flying Colors 9 51 44 35 55 — — — —
Second Nature
  • Released: September 30, 2014
  • Label: Mascot Label Group
  • Formats: Vinyl,[48] CD, digital download
 4 36 24 — 40 96 82 — —
Third Degree
  • Released: October 4, 2019[49]
  • Label: Mascot Label Group
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 — 46 11 — 16 95
[50]		 99 62 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart in the top 100 or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
FRA
[43] 		GER
[42] 		NLD
[39] 		SWE
[51] 		SWI
[52]
Live in Europe
  • Released: October 15, 2013
  • Label: Mascot Label Group
  • Formats: Vinyl,[53] CD, digital download[54]
 — 71 — 15 10
Second Flight: Live at the Z7
  • Released: November 13, 2015
  • Label: Music Theories
  • Format: 2×CD/Blu-ray
 129 55 12 35 44
Third Stage: Live in London
  • Released: September 18, 2020
  • Label: Music Theories
Morsefest 2019
  • Released: August 27, 2021
  • Label: Radiant Records
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart in the top 100 or was not released in that territory.

Demo releases

Second Nature Roughs was released in September 2019 as part of Neal Morse's Inner Circle fan club.

Documentaries

The Making of Flying Colors was released in 2012 directly via Mascot Label Group on DVD.

References

  1. AllMusic Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Flying Colors – The Official Website of Flying Colors: Casey McPherson, Steve Morse, Dave LaRue, Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy". Flying Colors.
  3. ^ Steffen Hung (October 27, 2013). "Flying Colors – Live in Europe [DVD". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  4. ^ "Official Music Video Chart Top 50". officialcharts.com.
  5. ^ Steffen Hung (October 19, 2013). "Flying Colors – Live in Europe [DVD". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  6. ^ "Top 50 Prog Albums 1990–2015". The Prog Report. July 13, 2015.
  7. ^ "DPRP : 2013 Results". dprp.net.
  8. ^ "Flying Colors – Flying Colors". festivalphoto.net.
  9. ^ "Amazon.co.uk:Customer Reviews: Second Nature". amazon.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Flying Colors To Release 'Second Nature' In September - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. July 29, 2014.
  11. ^ "Announcing Second Flight: Live at the Z7 | Flying Colors". Flying Colors. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  12. ^ "The Making of Flying Colors | Flying Colors". Flying Colors. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  13. ^ "Kayla Joins the 4K Video Club | Flying Colors". Flying Colors. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  14. ^ "Mike Portnoy on Flying Colors' Debut Album: 'The Diversity Element Is Pretty Crazy' - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. February 9, 2012.
  15. ^ "Flying Colors Feat. Mike Portnoy, Steve Morse: 'Bombs Away' Performance Clip From 'Second Flight' Dvd - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. November 2, 2015.
  16. ^ "Review: "Flying Colors: Flying Colors" – Sea of Tranquility – The Web Destination for Progressive Music!". seaoftranquility.org.
  17. ^ "Flying Colors: 'Second Nature' Album Samples - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. September 26, 2014.
  18. ^ "New Morning". AllMusic.
  19. ^ a b "Flying Colors Announces Tour Documentary 'First Flight' - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. May 13, 2013.
  20. ^ "Wikipedia Reference Page". Flying Colors.
  21. ^ "Flying Colors". AllMusic.
  22. ^ "Bernhard Baran | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  23. ^ "Live in Europe Reaches #1". Flying Colors.
  24. ^ "Exclusive: Flying Colors, Featuring Mike Portnoy, Premiere "All Falls Down" Music Video from 'Live in Europe' DVD". revolvermag.com.
  25. ^ Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. "Nuendo Live". Steinberg.net. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  26. ^ "Flying Colors (Casey McPherson)". Noisefull. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  27. ^ "Progressive Music Awards 2015: Nominations Announced!". TeamRock.
  28. ^ "Flying Colors – "Second Flight: Live at the Z7"". The PROG Mind. November 6, 2015.
  29. ^ Ant May (November 13, 2015). "Flying Colors – Second flight: live at the Z7 – PlanetMosh". PlanetMosh.
  30. ^ Claudia Duarte. "CD/DVD Review : Flying Colors – Second Flight: Live At The Z7 (Switzerland)". Midlands Metalheads. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  31. ^ "Flying Colors will be releasing the electrifying 'Second Flight: Live At The Z7' on 13th November on 4K UltraHD". PlanetMosh. September 12, 2015.
  32. ^ "FLYING COLORS 'SECOND FLIGHT': LIVE AT THE Z7 – CD & DVD REVIEW – All About The Rock". All About The Rock. October 27, 2015.
  33. ^ Bert Saraco. "Flying Colors – Second Flight: Live at The Z7 (Saraco) – The Phantom Tollbooth – The Phantom Tollbooth". phantomtollbooth.org.
  34. ^ "FLYING COLORS – SECOND FLIGHT: LIVE AT THE Z7". cheekymonkeysarnia.ca.
  35. ^ "Cinnafilm – Dark Energy® Professional". cinnafilm.com. March 3, 2016.
  36. ^ "Neal Morse on Instagram: "MORE coming on Wednesday..."". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
  37. ^ "Morsefest 2019". radiantrecords.com.
  38. ^ Matt Collar. "Flying Colors". AllMusic.
  39. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  40. ^ Steffen Hung (November 22, 2015). "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  41. ^ Steffen Hung (April 6, 2012). "Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  42. ^ a b "Discographie von Flying Colors". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  43. ^ a b Steffen Hung (March 31, 2012). "Les charts français". Lescharts.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  44. ^ "Flying Colors | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  45. ^ a b "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  46. ^ "Flying Colors".
  47. ^ "ITunes - Music - Flying Colors by Flying Colors". iTunes. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  48. ^ "Second Nature". Flying Colors.
  49. ^ "Third Degree by Flying Colors on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  50. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 41, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 21, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  51. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". sverigetopplistan.se.
  52. ^ Steffen Hung (October 27, 2013). "Schweizer Hitparade – Musik-DVD Top 10 27.10.2013". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  53. ^ "Live in Europe". Flying Colors.
  54. ^ "ITunes - Music - Live in Europe by Flying Colors". iTunes. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flying Colors (musical group).
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