Flight of Silence is a local UConn-grown rock band and they are making music that you will definitely want to start listening to.
The band, which is made up of vocalist/guitarist Brian Eldridge ‘17, bassist Tim Leffingwell ‘17, guitarist/backing vocalist Kwasi Wrensford ‘17, and drummer Greg Johnson (who could not take part in this interview because he lives in Massachusetts), was established relatively recently in 2015 after Brian, Tim and Kwasi met through UConn Rock Ensemble. However, their music has roots that extend much deeper, as each individual band member brings different sources of inspiration to every song they play:
Brian: “For me, it’s definitely the Foo Fighters and Metallica, and then some other bands that I listen to a lot, like Alter Bridge, Alice in Chains, Baroness and then Dawes for our lighter, lyrical stuff.”
Kwasi: “My musical influences are pretty eclectic, lyrically I probably identify most with hip hop, but in terms of my guitar playing, I get a lot from John Mayer, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, melodic, open lead playing I like a lot. I also listened to a lot of metal when I was younger, in my rowdy days, but right now I listen to a lot of soul, jazz and indie folk-rock.”
Tim: “I like to listen to a little bit of everything, but I grew up playing a lot of blues, so lots of early Led Zeppelin, John Mayer Trio specifically with Pino Palladino on bass, and lots of Dawes and Baroness.”
Though their individual musical influences range a relatively wide spectrum, the overall sound of the band comes together flawlessly, with the individual talents of each member being showcased through killer guitar solos, gorgeous bass riffs and beautifully-written lyrics. Bringing their songs to fruition is a process that the band has developed over the years, with each member contributing equally to the end result:
Brian: “Tim and I usually send riffs back and forth to each other, he’ll come up with something, or I will, and we will turn those riffs into a full song. Then we’ll send that to Kwasi and our drummer Greg and they’ll say, “This is cool, let’s do this, let’s change that,” and stuff like that. Our first album was a bit different from this, but looking forward, we’re going in a riff-driven direction and Tim and I are writing a lot of those, which is a lot of fun.”
Flight of Silence’s first album, Enigmatic, was released by the band in April of 2016. Since their album release, they have been performing the tracks off Enigmatic, as well as working on new songs, in hopes of recording another album in the future.
Brian: “My favorite songs that we have written are probably the newer songs we’re working on right now.”
Tim: “’Those I’ve Known’ is my favorite from the last album.”
Kwasi: “I love ‘Solstice.’”
Brian: “Yeah ‘Solstice’ is cool, it’s the first song we wrote together. I agree though, ‘Those I’ve Known’ is great. It was that last song that I wrote for the album, and so it was sort of under-developed compared to the other ones. I think that’s why we all like it so much.”
Tim: “Because each of us got to contribute a little more to it.”
Brian: “Exactly, like Tim added a really cool bass-line, and it all eventually came together.”
Interviewer: “What’s your favorite song to cover when you perform?”
Brian: “Definitely ‘King Kunta’ by Kendrick Lamar, cross-over genre stuff is definitely so much fun.”
Kwasi: “Yeah, ‘King Kunta’ is pretty awesome.”
When it comes to performing, the band regularly plays venues such as Pub 32, and recently played an acoustic set at the Storrs Center Barnes & Noble. In the past, the band has performed at the UConn Spring Weekend music festival: Sounds of Storrs and at off-campus venues like Seaside Tavern in Stamford, CT. An upcoming gig where you can catch the band live is at Pub 32 on March 3rd at 9pm, where they will be the opening act for another locally-grown band: Dangerous Animals.
You can find Flight of Silence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, and buy their album on iTunes, Google Play, BandCamp or stream it on Spotify.
Photos courtesy of Flight Of Silence