In-Flight Safety gears up for UK take-off

While its popularity has continued to grow here in Canada, Halifax band In-Flight Safety is getting set to spread its international wings. Not only is the band scheduled to play the influential South-By-Southwest Music Festival in Texas in mid-March, the group is also getting set to undertake its first European tour since inking a deal with UK label Conehead. These are very exciting times in the In-Flight camp.

According to Moncton-born In-Flight Safety vocalist John Mullane, the group’s connection to its new UK label Conehead stemmed from the kindness of a friend.

“A friend of the band was helping to spread our music around the UK and a managed to get a copy into the hands of Conehead owner Graham Stokes,” Mullane says. “I think that Graham was quite smitten with our song Model Homes and felt a connection to it; the ball started rolling after that. It was a very serendipitous situation at the end of the day. We are lucky to have such amazing friends.”

Aligning itself with a label to help tackle new territory and expand its fan base was not a decision that the group had been purposely avoiding up to this point.

In fact, Mullane says that the group’s situation with Conehead is even more miraculous considering that record deals for band are increasingly difficult to come by.

“Finding partners like we have in Conehead is rare,” he shares. “The Conehead deal and another contract that we signed with German label Waggle Daggle are actually the first contracts we have signed as a band.”

The prospect of starting promotional efforts for a now two-year-old record isn’t a daunting task to Mullane and band mates Daniel Ledwell, Glen Nicholson and Brad Goodsell. That being said, Mullane says the group has a bevy of new material in various states of completion that the members are anxious to record.

“The past few months have seen us writing like mad. We have the bulk of a new record already written and are really excited with the amount of songs that we have prepared.”

Though Mullane gives no firm deadline on when he hopes the band will get to make a new record, there is much work left for the band to do yet including its 16-show run through Europe and imminent South-By-Southwest showcase.

“I think that it will be quite a trip to have a bunch of Maritimers playing Paris.

“We’re looking forward to that and the trip to Texas. I have friends who have attended South-By-Southwest telling me that I have to be prepared to eat a lot of barbecue meat.

“It sounds daunting and tasty.”

Article published in February 25, 2011 edition of the Times & Transcript