Flyboys, The
The Complete Flyboys - 1978-1980
The very first release on Frontier Records in March 1980 was an EP by FLYBOYS, a power pop/punk band that began in 1977 with singer/songwriter John Curry and Jim "Trash" Decker from THE CROWD (and tangentially, Jay from THE SIMPLETONES, who would later sign to Posh Boy.) FLYBOYS gigged all over the southland, paying their dues opening for every national and local punk band from Huntington Beach to Hollywood. They were anything but typical punks -- they wore day-glo clothes and Cuban heels and the songs were maddeningly catchy. Catchy hooks and John Curry's bleached-blonde, spikey pompadour were the bands trademarks. Their first release was the ultra-rare Square City/Crayon World 45. Frontier's Lisa Fancher interviewed FLYBOYS for the LA Herald Examiner as she was a super fan, and got the notion to record an EP with the band. The process started in 1979 at Leon Russell's studio in North Hollywood CA, Jim Mankey from the original SPARKS engineered (and Johnette Napolitano from CONCRETE BLONDE was the receptionist!) the record. It took way too long to record and by the time Frontier finally released it, the band decided to call it quits. The EP was released to decent fanfare and gradually became a record collector favorite. Fast forward to 2024, FLYBOYS' bass player and sometime singer/songwriter Scott Lasken was leaving Los Angeles and discovered a reel of five unreleased, unheard (and not even remembered) FLYBOYS demos in his closet! Two songs-- "Live for Today" and "Every Day" -- did not appear on the Frontier EP but three of the demos do, but all are faster and looser due to the songs being so new and recorded for the first time. What a find that was! FLYBOYS The Complete Flyboys 1978-1980 consists of the Frontier EP, the Square City 45 and five unheard, previously unreleased demos and will gain a whole new respect and enthusiasm for the band that they have deserved ever since day one.