McFly soars into Capital City

Georgia College & State University students’ favorite ’80s cover-band, Mighty McFly, will be back in Milledgeville on Oct. 19 at Capital City, but loyal fans may notice a few big changes.

Recently, Mighty McFly, formerly known as just “McFly,” lost all its original band members except lead singer and acrobat, Brent.

“We had a good run with the original band,” Brent said.

He said the old band members left to pursue different things. Over the course of last summer, Brent and band manager Nancy Furlong recruited four new guys to join Mighty McFly and began working on a second album.

The new band members include Brent, Jason Vane, Sweet Baby J, Anar Starchild and BaceGhost. The new all-male line up, considering that the original band had two female performers, may surprise GC&SU fans.

“I think initially people approached it with skepticism, when it became an all male band,” Brent said. “There were people who came out going, ‘there is no way this is going to be good,’ and it hasn’t affected it at all, and if anything, it’s grown.”

Brent attributes the band’s continued success to their loyal fan base and claims they “have the best fans.”

This faithful following is partly due to the band’s dedication to preserving their original act. Mighty McFly has always been known for its high-energy shows, with unique costumes, lights and even a few acrobatic moves.

Mighty McFly keyboardist Jason Vane said, “Shockingly, I’ve enjoyed this gig more than any of my others, despite the fact that the lead singer is a complete lunatic.”

Brent is often described as the band acrobat or gymnast, and says his own performance is “all about trying to make everyone have a good time and make people have a reason to come back. If there is something to climb on, I’ll climb on it. If there is something to jump off, I’ll jump off it. It’s creating an environment where you do the unexpected.”

In addition to his stunts, Brent is also famous for his 80′s style red suit.

“Basically, I’m ADD; that is attention deficit disorder. I constantly feel like there is a deficit of attention on me, so I try to draw as much attention to myself as possible. That is how the red suit developed,” Brent said.

Brent isn’t the only one with a unique stage look. Jason Vane said he gets “as naked as you can in these food places.” Starting off the night wearing tight pants and a vest, he often removes articles of clothing during the show and said, “I’m sure if I could get away with it, I would go completely naked.”

Mighty McFly drummer Sweet Baby J said he is known for wearing women’s pants.

Bass guitarist BaceGhost said, “I look kind of ghostly, I wear all white and I’ve got some interesting shades that I wear.”

But it’s not all about the flashy performance. Mighty McFly fans keep coming back to hear their favorite ’80s tunes.

“I think it’s appealing to everyone because it taps into the core belief of having fun. The music that’s easy to dance to… basically, its all just party music. You understand every word that everyone is saying, and they’ve got hooks that people can sing along to,” Brent said.

Even among a younger college crowd, the band agreed that “Jesse’s Girl” is their most requested cover song.

Mighty McFly may be known for their ’80s covers, but they are also continually writing original songs.

“We are an original band that is making a living playing ’80s covers because we are in the process of working on our second album,” Brent said.

The band’s new album is scheduled to be released in March 2006 and is an original project by all of the current band members.

The upcoming Wednesday night concert will open with a live performance by GC&SU student Brian Grooms, a.k.a. “The Groomsman.” His act will consist of a mix of originals and covers of what he calls “power pop or rock.” Grooms is also looking forward to the Mighty McFly performance and said, “They’re probably the most entertaining cover band I’ve ever seen.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 14 2005. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry