Flyleaf set to rock

“Remember your death.”
That’s the meaning of Flyleaf’s new album with the obscure Latin title “Memento Mori.” The rock band with soaring vocals by the physically short by lyrically powerful lead singer Lacey Sturm is scheduled to play at 7 p.m. Sunday at Dos Amigos just prior to the CD release Nov. 10. The group’s previous self-titled release went platinum after it was released in 2005.
Bass player Pat Seals talked about the new album via phone, saying the band didn’t set out to create an album with a theme of death, but a series of personal tragedies in the band resulted in songs all centering on a similar type of message.
“We say it not to be doom and gloom but that it’s important to make the best decisions and capi-talize on the time we have, sharing it with the people you love,” he said.
He said he hopes people see the show as almost a challenge to live a good life, a message that rang true after Sturm had a health scare and band members suffered deaths by relatives.
The band recorded a cover of “All Around Me” for a David Crowder Band album, a response to Flyleaf covering a Crowder song live.
“I’ve met him a couple times and was very impressed. He’s a great dude and lives just a few miles from us,” Seals said.
Flyleaf is scheduled to appear on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” late night television show next week prior to the album release, a feat Seals said he’s proud of achieving.
“It gives us a sense of accomplishment to see what we do every day begins to make a difference and reach more people. Playing in front of a camera is scary but exciting,” he said. “Since I was 12, I’ve always wondered what that would be like.”
The Texas group wasn’t always called Flyleaf, starting out with the name Passerby to signify to audiences that they were real people like their fans. Legal issues forced a name change, and band members choose Flyleaf when they found the term randomly in a thesaurus and saw a deeper meaning in connecting with fans.
“It’s blank pages in a book, it’s the place where those seeing us can make the story their own, the flyleaf is their spot,” Seals said.
Odessa has served as a touring spot several times, but one particular show at Dos stands out in Seals’ mind.
“We loved playing there, but it was incredibly hot that day. It was pretty funny though that once the band Cold got on stage, it got windy, freezing cold and started raining almost immediately,” he said.
Seals said a topic of conversation that has always circled the band centers on whether it is a “Christian band” or not. He said the band isn’t primarily marketed as such or sold to Christian audiences, but the songs do include some fairly explicit religious themes, such as the song “Beauti-ful Bride” talking about the church.
“We write about all our experiences, and those songs have some spiritual weight to them. We’re all Christians,” he said.
Dos Amigos owner Rick Purcell said he’s had a lot of inquiries about the Flyleaf concert. Flyleaf will take the stage this time as the main performer, touring with Paper Tongues.
“We’ve definitely had a good response,” Purcell said.

TICKETS
>> Texas-grown rock band Flyleaf is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at Dos Amigos, 4700 Golder Ave., with special guest Paper Tongues. Tickets cost $29.75 and are available at Dos Amigos or Endless Horizons. Visit: www.dosamigoscantina.com.

DISCOGRAPHY
>> Flyleaf (2005), platinum.
>> Memento Mori (2009).