Flyleaf
Spiritualism and music often make strange partners in the public’s eyes. A lot of bands have a strong spiritual centre but have found that when it becomes too obvious it has a negative effect on their opportunity for commercial success. So these bands keep their message so cryptic and obscure that it becomes almost nonexistent. One band that cares little for this tired convention is the Texan band, Flyleaf. Their beliefs are strongly stated and their music becomes more powerful because of it. I caught up with band guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya to get some comments on the band and their upcoming tour of Australia.

The Texas music scene is particularly vibrant, what is it about Texas that helps fuel such an interesting music scene?
“I think it could be that it’s a really diverse state, the landscape and geology are so diverse as well as the people. Like the difference between Dallas and Austin is black and white. That’s why bands like Mars Volta and At The Drive-In from El Paso are so creative because they come from a city with a great art scene. Everywhere you go, the different scenes have a strong effect on the music.”
Do you remember your thoughts when you first heard and saw Lacey (the band’s dynamo singer) in person?
“Yeah actually when I first saw her I was watching a band that I really look up to and she was opening up for them. Just her and an acoustic guitar and until this band I couldn’t really see her in any other setting. I’ve always seen her performance as just her with long hair and an acoustic guitar singing Jewellesque songs. I thought she had a very beautiful voice, very Jewellesque, that was my first impression of her.”
Are you comfortable with the metal label when critics level it at the band?
“Yeah I’m comfortable with it because there are a lot of great metal bands out there. Personally I’ve never gotten into the metal scene, I liked bands like the Smashing Pumpkins and stuff like that but that was more grunge than anything else but I think it’s cool, there’s a lot of people out there that are fans of that type of music. Kids are embracing it in a special way, like in 1991 and the grunge era.”
There are a lot of smarter metal bands now than ten years ago.
“I completely agree. When I first got into the metal thing I didn’t quite understand it but the more I got into it the more I understood the intensity and urgency of the sounds. As far as musicians go it’s difficult, metal is very intricate and I didn’t realize that until I really sat down and listened to it.”
If you are comfortable with it I would like to ask about you and the band’s spirituality?
“Yeah that’s perfect.”
Was there a pivotal moment in your life that led you to being a Christian?
“I grew up in a Christian home, my family has a strong faith but I didn’t know what was wrong with me as a kid or if anything was wrong but I was a very angry kid and very bitter at school and stuff. In school I was really small, I’m a really small guy and I know it’s cliché but I never felt like I fit in.”
Personally I hated all the pressure in school to fit in, to be like everyone else and I just gave up on it and tried to be myself.
“I never fit in either, I see things differently than a lot of people and being small and a little geeky and not being athletic although I could run, I can actually run forever.”
That must have come in handy.
“Yeah it did but I was never really picked on to my face or anything but the comments were there. I tried not to draw attention to myself.
You tried to stay incognito.
“Yeah kind of, I talked to people but I always felt more put up with than anything else. My sisters wanted everything, homecoming queen, head cheerleader and all that and I felt in their shadow but there was a darker side to me. I was very angry in a kind of violent way, I would scream and yell. I grew up in a Christian home and understood the morals but it didn’t really make sense to me.”
You didn’t relate to it on a personal level?
“Yeah I was a practical person and very much into science so I had to have proof and no one could really explain it to me. I agreed with the Christian morals and their doctrine but I didn’t believe there was an actual God and that followed me through high school. I was actually in Church groups during school but it was more for the friendships.”
So did you find transformation through these friendships?
“What really did it for me was seeing how these people loved each other and how genuine and real it was, it was something that I finally connected with.
There is also a strong sense of transformation throughout the album did the writing phase coincide with a lot of personal change?
“I don’t think it was personal changes as a band but personal changes in our lives because all through high-school I was atheist and wasn’t saved until my junior year in high school and then I had this experience that I can’t really explain but I felt this peace and realized things didn’t have to be this way, I didn’t need the anger anymore.”
I’ve always found the strongest connection with any form of spirituality in the one you form through personal experiences and not through the words of others.
“There is such a peace in knowing that you are not in control and that there is something out there that created the universe and is in control.”
This is a band called King’s X also from Texas that earlier in there career was marketed to the Christian community and when the lead singer Doug Pinnick came out as being gay he and the band were ostracized from the Christian community and I wanted to know what you thought of having that acceptance and then having it taken away based on your sexuality, which I think is ridiculous?
“I think people are going to choose what they want to choose, we are Christians in our band and people are really cool with that and some are saying “We’re not Christians but we respect the fact that you guys are not afraid to admit it.” And that’s cool but then there are a lot of people in the church who are angry with us because even though we are Christian we are playing with Korn and all these other bands. Our reply is how can we be Christians and not play with these bands. How can we not be in the world? We’re supposed to be in the world and be encouraged by our brothers and sisters.”
Is there any band that you would draw the line with and not perform with?
“No, I don’t think so, I really don’t. If we can go hang out with them and love them and get in front of their crowd and show that crowd that there is hope in the hopelessness, then we’ll jump all over that because that’s why we’re in the industry.”
One last question, being from Texas what’s your take on George Bush?
“That’s funny you should ask that because my girlfriend and I were just talking about this just 20 minutes before this call. I have to admit I voted for him because he seemed the lesser of two evils. I think he had good intensions at the beginning but it’s turned into a big mess. There should have been more thought put into the consequences of his actions. But what do I know, I don’t have a college degree and I don’t follow the news as much as I should and I feel a bit of a novice when it comes to politics. I do question the people around him, he had so many advisors who had their own agendas.”
Personally I try to bury myself in the arts because that is where the height of human endeavor resides for me and not in politics.
“Yeah but the thing about politics is the effect it has on the rest of us and our children and our children’s children. I think we do need to pay attention to what’s going on and I have to admit I probably don’t give it the attention it deserves.”
Good luck with the album and the upcoming Australian tour I think you will really enjoy our country.
“Thanks a lot Rob I’m really excited about it, it’s one of those places I’ve always wanted to visit.”
You can catch Flyleaf in Brisbane at the Sound Wave Festival on Saturday February 24 at the Rivestage. Their self-titled record is in the shops now and available through Sony/BMG Music.
Rob Hudson

Band site www.flyleafmusic.com
Soundwave site www.soundwavefestival.com