FLYING COLORS – Entire Band Taking Part In Live Reddit AMA Session Today

Today at 3:00pm EST (Friday, November 27th) all five members of the prog supergroup Flying Colors – Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue, Casey McPherson, and Steve Morse – will take part in a special live Reddit AMA celebrating the release of their new live album. 

A message from the band: “A live interview with the full band on Reddit’s IAmA forum, where you ask the questions. Well, not just you. And not you if you’re not there. So be there! Ask Mike about his beard! Ask Neal about Mike’s beard. Ask Steve about his jet fighter (seriously). Ask Dave about his helper monkey (not so much). Ask Casey about his hat. Ask his hat about Casey. Ask Bill about writing this instead of his thesis.”

Go to this location for information on how to take part in the Q&A session.

On November 13th, Flying Colors released Second Flight: Live At The Z7 via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group on multiple formats (4K UltraHD, Blu-ray, DVD, LP + MP3, CD, iTunes, Headphone Surround, iTunes, Pono.)

“Bombs Away” from Second Flight: Live At The Z7 can be seen below:

On only the eighth show of their 2014 fall tour, they took to the stage at Switzerland’s storied Z7 venue and captured on film captured a breathtaking live performance. “It was especially exciting because we had just performed many of these songs for the first time, days before,” explains Steve Morse.

With their critically acclaimed sophomore album Second Nature out for only a week, the concert recorded an exceptional rarity: band and audience, together, discovering an album for the first time. That freshness is palpable in every frame of this Ultra-HD/Blu-ray/DVD release. With every crowd reaction you are transported there, becoming part of the event.

Flying Colors also explored technological innovation with the album, with unique ways for fans to experience it. Viewers can listen in 5.1-surround from the two best seats in the house: behind the front-of-house soundboard, or right in the front row. In another first, an audio-only version of the concert is available in Headphone Surround, which recreates the front-row surround mix entirely in headphones. The headphone mix will be available in formats up to uncompressed 24 bit / 192 KHz from HD audio distributors, such as Pono. For the warmest sound and highest possible fidelity, every one of the show’s mixes was mastered to 2″ analogue tape, and digitised separately for each audio format, by mix/mastering engineer Rich Mouser (Transatlantic, Weezer).

The audio, itself, underwent a new audio engineering process, Harmonic Phrase Analysis, developed specifically for the show at Manchester Metropolitan University in England. The technology reduces the unwanted processing normally associated with contemporary live recordings, imparting a more organic feel to the sound field. The video was mastered by famed special effects company, Cinnafilm, using their revolutionary Dark Energy technology (IMAX). The result is unparalleled realism from the concert’s 24 cameras, as well as eye-popping Ultra-HD versions of the concert.

Second Flight: Live At The Z7 showcases a new level of musical prowess from the group, captures the candid energy of a new band, and lets fans experience them in innovative ways. It reflects the many hues and colors of the band members’ individual—and collective—unique creative expression. Casey McPherson recounted, “We had a blast playing these tunes and can’t wait for you to hear them…you can feel the excitement!” before going on to joke, “I’m still trying to learn Steve’s guitar parts, though.” It’s Flying Colors at their very best, and a new milestone in the band’s soaring adventure.

Summarising the experience, Dave LaRue offered, “Flying Colors is like no other band to perform with. This tour was all about the joy of playing together, and sharing new songs with fans. Everyone felt something special that night, and I’m so glad we captured it.”

Second Flight: Live At The Z7 tracklisting:

“Overture”
“Open Up Your Eyes”
“Bombs Away”
“Kayla”
“Shoulda Coulda Woulda”
“The Fury Of My Love”
“A Place In Your World”
“Forever In A Daze”
“One Love Forever”
“Colder Months”
“Peaceful Harbor”
“The Storm”
“Cosmic Symphony”
“Mask Machine”
“Infinite Fire”
“Peaceful Harbor” (Orchestral Version) *

* Bonus track, 3 LP and digital only

Trailer:

“Mask Machine”:

“Kayla”:

The band recently posted a video clip that they refer to as the Mike Portnoy ballad, “Furry Man”. Check it out below: