This week, our podcast spotlights Still Flyin’, the dozen-plus member San Francisco band who released their debut full length, Never Gonna Touch The Ground, earlier this year. The group is led by singer/songwriter Sean Rawls, who first made his mark in Athens bands Masters of the Hemisphere and Je Suis France. Formed after Rawls moved to SF, Still Flyin’ was originally supposed to be a jokey reggae-leaning band. While that pitch may have led fourteen of his musically-talented friends to show up at the first practice, the group’s big, fun melodies probably play a largerer part in keeping the collective interested five years later. That and the band’s notoriously fun live shows, of course, where the on-stage party helps create an atmosphere that’s tough to resist.
Still Flyin’s live performances have won kudos from folks as varied as Architecture in Helsinki, Jens Lekman and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff. Members of Architecture in Helsinki mixed Never Gonna Touch The Ground, which was recorded by Papercuts’ Jason Quever. It’s to the credit of everyone involved in the full length’s recording that none of the contributions (lots of horns, percussion and vocals) get buried in the mix. Instead, the group’s freewheeling pop soars throughout. We’re excited to hear that the band’s been working on new material, and eagerly await the next opportunity to see them bring the house down.
We were pleased to sit down with five members of Still Flyin’ to discuss international touring highlights, their new songs, and their great videos.
