Flashing Lights are go!

>> Matt Murphy's new thing goes from cover band to discovered band

By RUPERT BOTTENBERG

True, they've got the organ, the tambourine, the "la-la-las," the bowlcuts and the Pete Townshend guitar flares. In fact, the Flashing Lights even started out as a full-on mod cover band, back in '97 when frontman Matt Murphy was still with Haligonian Sloan-ians the Super Friendz. But that was then and this is now--double entendre intended--and the '60s is just part of what makes the Lights flash.

"I wanted to play all those guitar solos I never got to," recalls the now-T.O.-based Murphy, "get people dancing and play some British blues and stuff. When we did that, several things resonated with me. One, people want to have a good time and participate in the music, not just be spectators to your emotional breakdown.

"Another thing is that, playing covers, everyone's concentrating on reproducing the songs accurately. I found that what this did was concentrate the power of the band and focus us, something I felt was lacking with the Super Friendz."

Remember, please, that Murphy was just one of the three "principal" songwriters in the four-membered Friendz. "So, it followed that if I was the only songwriter, the whole group wouldn't be vying for attention for their own songs, but rather focusing on the song in front of them, making sure it sounds as good as possible. That was a breakthrough for me, even if it sounds pretty simple and obvious."

Although the sole songwriter in the Lights, Murphy insists he's no little dictator. "I certainly don't tell people what to play. Everyone has a lot of resources to draw on, and it would be a crime for me to try and keep control."

Control freak, no. Workaholic, though? All four Lights have day jobs constricting their timetables, something which is, oddly enough, advantageous.

"I made a fair bit of money playing New Year's, and I kind of lived off that for the month of January--I didn't go into work. And I didn't really get all that much done! I thought it would be strummin' in the morning, yoga in the afternoon, and more strumming at night, but I was frying potatoes and watching TV. I don't know how much that helped the band. When I'm working, even if I'm dog tired when I come home, I find I'm more focused. It's more urgent."

That urgency has paid off--the Lights have licensed their debut album Where the Change Is, already a success in Canada, to N.Y. label SpinArt. But not ones to rest on their laurels, they're always prepping new tunes ("workshopping," they call it), even when they hit the stage.

"We've started forcing three new songs into the set, even though they're not ready yet--at least not the lyrics. They're different every night, but that's part of the process. Maybe one night out of the tour, I'll have the right feeling for the song, and I'll go back to it with that sentiment--because sentiment is the source for my lyrics." :

With Sloan and the Undercovers at the Spectrum on Friday, February 18, 8pm; $17.50+taxes