Fear of Flying hasn’t always been so. In actual fact, the band began, without phobia, in 1995, when Scott Doherty, Troy McNamara and Nathan Yabsley formed three-piece: TIMOTHY. The guys met while working at their after-school supermarket jobs. Drawing on the common musical influences of Weezer, Greenday, Radiohead, You Am I and Pollyanna, to name only a few, Timothy evolved from other musical projects: Ohm (Nathan) and Alice Un-Chained (Troy and Scott).
Some years and much jamming later, Timothy produced three EP’s in quick succession: Somewhat After the Actual Event (1996), Life’s OK Today (1997) and Joe Jerry (which was produced in 2000 by Geoff Stapleton of 1980’s super-group, Gang-Gajang). Airplay for the singles In Either Case, Episode IV, Tai Chi Song (all from Life’s OK Today), Joe Jerry & Golden Eagle (from 2000 release Joe Jerry) helped catapult them to one of Adelaide-town’s premier live music acts; playing several crucial live music venues in Adelaide (the Austral and Exeter Hotels, Flinders & Adelaide Uni Bars and Producers - now known as the East End Exchange). We guess word sure did spread around because Timothy were then entered in the National Campus Band Competition and cleaned up the South Australian heats. Now, the guys find themselves Brisbane-bound for the National Final only to be beaten by the narrowest of margins by none other than their good friends, Eskimo Joe.
In mid 2000, the boys included bass guitarist Jade Robinson and grew to a four-piece, allowing Nathan to focus on lead guitar. New member, new name…and, in 2001, FEAR OF FLYING was born. The name was the result of a phobia shared by Nathan and Scott – not to mention a long list of alternatives, which ended up on the cutting room (or home studio) floor.
In August of that year, Fear of Flying went to work with live sound engineer Scott Sambell in the kitchen studio of their share house to record their critically acclaimed debut album, Park for May. This offering received rave reviews from many local publications (Db, Rip it Up, etc) but also national recognition from Rolling Stone Magazine, who scored it 3 ½ stars.
The clear big-hitters from this release were Japanese Soldiers and Here to Stay. Both tracks were regularly played on Triple J, RRR, 3D Radio and occasionally on the Austereo network. This airtime did not go un-noticed and in 2002, Fear of Flying were called upon to tour with international superstar Ben Folds on his national sell-out tour. The response was tremendous – with Fear of Flying selling out a full pressing of 1000 copies of the debut album “Park for May†on the tour alone.
Just when things were starting to take off, guitarist, Nathan Yabsley left the band to join the Air Force, making way for ex-Trims bass guitarist, Paul Banytis, to join the band in the capacity of lead guitarist. Paul brought to the group a new dynamic and, having attained a Bachelor of Music at the University of Adelaide (Jazz major), the opportunity for the band to further hone their skills and broaden their musical scope.
Paul joined just in time for an appearance at the M1 music festival at Adelaide’s Memorial Drive, which saw Fear Of Flying perform amongst the likes of Garbage, Midnight Oil, Nickelback, the Goo Goo Dolls, The Tea Party, Billy Idol and The Whitlams. The crowd response was again tremendous, boosting Adelaide’s support of the local music scene.
Further supports that year include: Ben Lee, Taxi Ride, Eskimo Joe, Custard, The Living End, Bic Runga, Pollyanna, Pete Murray, David Bridie, David Byrne, The Superjesus and You Am I.
2003 through 2004 saw Fear of Flying take a brief hiatus from recording to hone their live sound and song writing and, in late 2004, bass player Jade Robinson decided to opt out and leave the band; paving the way for ex-Hummel bass player Phil Lewis to take up bass duties.
2005, with the addition of a new member, saw a refreshed approach for Fear of Flying and the acquisition of Nice Cup of Tea Management (led by Andrew and Meagan McCrone). The new management quickly got Fear of Flying back into the studio to begin demos for their new EP. Again, using their home Pro-Tools set up, Fear of Flying converted Paul’s home into what has affectionately become known as Studio 42.
To showcase this latest work, Fear of Flying performed at the Adelaide FUSE (Fringe) Music Festival in March of the following year. The response was brilliant. Fear of Flying scored the most delegate votes at the conference and were invited to perform again at prestigious Fringe events in the future. It became clear that industry heavyweights from all over Australia were watching and waiting for the band’s next move.
New tracks Clean, Stand and Wait and Remember to Breathe were given an airing in the local music scene with excellent response. So spectacular were the results, that it was agreed the band should engage the expertise of ARIA-award winning engineer, Paul McKercher (Eskimo Joe, Powderfinger, Pete Murray, You am I), to mix the forthcoming release. Having tracked the new songs at Adelaide’s Broadcast Studios with one of Adelaide’s finest engineer’s, Evan James, the band added their own final touches at the infamous Studio 42 before flying to Sydney to complete the process. McKercher’s work at Sydney’s famous 301 Studios confirmed that the new product would be awesome. The end result is MIGRATION, the new 6-track mini-album. Due for release on July 29 this year (at the Rocket Bar), it is guaranteed to fulfil the yearnings of eager followers of Fear of Flying and catapult them to the national stage.
