Volplane

Before MOONSPEED, Pteranodon, and Bright Channel; Or even Flight Approved Records for that matter, there was a band called Volplane. Formed in Colorado in the mid 90's, Volplane's initial lineup included Jeff Suthers (guitar), Todd Ayers (guitar), Shannon Stein (bass), and Dicky Bosse (drums). Todd Ayers exited the group early on, and Volplane solidified its core three-piece lineup in 1996. Volplane was one of the many early American blissrock bands that were just on the cusp of the new American space rock/noise pop scene, just when the grave of the UK shoegaze was fresh and grassless.

That torch had been passed abroad. Joining the ranks of other US artists, from Skywave in the east, to Bethany Curve in the west, Volplane's flag hit close to the center of America. Their music was filled with sonic imagery, with dark emotional blissful overtones. Sometimes comparible to previous artists like Bailter Space, early Verve, and the Charlatans.

From 1997 to 1999, Volplane spent much of their time recording material that was supposed to have been their debut album, Volplane, and a second album, Merlot, although neither saw an official release. Fans of Volplane awaited news of the release of these records, but when drummer Dicky Bosse left the band in 1999, the news came that Volplane was no more, gone before it seemed to even begin. However the news wasn't devastating. Suthers and Stein formed Flight Approved Records in 2002 and proceeded to roll out plenty of news involving several projects they were working on post-Volplane, in the form of two new projects: Moonspeed (Suthers' experimental recording project), and Pteranodon (ambient soundscapes with organ and guitar). Both side projects were a delicious mix of what Volplane was, with more of an emphasis on dark, fincher'esque, dirty ambient loops coupled with Jeff's haunting vocals. In 2003, Suthers and Stein joined with drummer Brian Banks as Bright Channel, a new 3-piece rock band which seemed to truly carry Volplane's sonic torch. The band spent the next four years rocking out Colorado clubs, and releasing two solid albums that earned solid press from local critics.

In 2006, fans of the new and old projects finally had a chance to sit down and really listen to what Volplane was. Flight Approved released a dense, limited-edition 17 track collection titled, Volplane ? Retrospective (1997-1999). Shortly after that the album went out of print, which is technically a giant step up from unreleased.

Band Members

Jeff Suthers
Shannon Stein
Dicky Bosse
Todd Ayers (1996-1997)

Website

http://www.flightapproved.com/volplane.html