The Flashing Lights were a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band, active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

History

The Flashing Lights was founded by Matt Murphy, as a side project, performing around Halifax when Murphy was not performing and recording with the band

The Super Friendz The Super Friendz are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were initially active between 1994 and 1997, before reforming in 2003. Contemporaries of Sloan, their early work was on Sloan's Murderecords label. Career The Su ...

."Flashing Lights are go!"
. ''

Montreal Mirror ''Montreal Mirror'' or just ''Mirror'' was a free English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was distributed every Thursday. It had a circulation of 70,000 and reached a quarter of a million readers per week. ...

'', February 17, 2000. The band primarily played as a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

. The Flashing Lights became Murphy's primary band following the Super Friendz' breakup in 1997. Murphy and bassist Henri Sangalang moved to Toronto, where they recruited Gaven Dianda on keyboards, tambourine and harmonica, and Steve Pitkin on drums. The band performed in Toronto at the Horseshoe Tavern in March, 1999, and shortly after released its debut album, ''Where the Change Is'', in 1999 on Halifax independent label Brobdingnagian Records, scoring a hit on

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

radio stations in Canada with "Half the Time". The album's tracks were reminiscent of 1960s British rock. They followed up with the EP ''Elevature'' in 2000; Sangalang also appeared on

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...

's album ''

Furnace Room Lullaby ''Furnace Room Lullaby'' is the second studio album by Neko Case and Her Boyfriends, released in February 2000, on Mint Records. Said Case of the title track at a performance at Austin City Limits in 2003, "I wanted to write a murder ballad, si ...

'' the same year, and the band appeared at

Edgefest Edgefest was an annual outdoor rock festival in Canada. It was founded by staff members of Toronto radio station CFNY-FM. From 1987 to 2015, the festival was held every year in the summer (except for 2007). The festival was most frequently hel ...

on July 1. The Flashing Lights' second album, ''Sweet Release'', was released through Toronto's Outside Music in 2001 and was produced by

Thrush Hermit Thrush Hermit was a Canadian alternative rock band active in the 1990s, known for their "highly energetic, humorous, and unpredictable performances," as quoted by Vice News. History Thrush Hermit was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1992 by Jo ...

Ian McGettigan Ian McGettigan is a Canadian rock musician and producer. He was the bassist and a singer and songwriter for Thrush Hermit. Career McGettigan toured through Canada and the United States with Thrush Hermit. The band released two EPs on Murdereco ...

. Also in 2001 they performed in Montreal with Duotang and The Datsons. The band subsequently went on hiatus; Murphy reunited the Super Friendz for their 2003 album ''Love Energy'', and then took an acting role in the film ''

The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico ''The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico'' is a Canadian mockumentary film released in 2005. Written and directed by Michael Mabbott, the film stars Matt Murphy, a musician previously associated with the bands The Super Friendz and The Flashing ...

''. He later joined the now-defunct

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

band City Field, is currently a member of

Cookie Duster Cookie Duster is a Canadian indie rock band, who were briefly active in Toronto in the late 1990s before reforming with some new members in 2012. History Originally formed in the late 1990s by Brendan Canning and Bernard Maiezza after the diss ...

, contributed a song to the soundtrack for the 2009 film ''

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'', and had a small acting role in the film ''

Leslie, My Name Is Evil ''Leslie, My Name Is Evil'' is a 2009 Canadian film written and directed by Reginald Harkema. It was renamed ''Manson, My Name Is Evil'' after its initial release. Plot Leslie is a troubled 1960s teenager who eventually becomes a follower of Cha ...

''. As of 2015, he has joined with Mike O'Neill of

The Inbreds The Inbreds were a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 1992. Originally from Kingston, Ontario,"Kingston's Inbreds don't need guitars". ''Toronto Star'', July 8, 1993. the band relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1996 and remained based ther ...

and

Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States H ...

of Sloan in the supergroup Tuns."Sloan / Super Friendz / Inbreds Supergroup TUNS Announce Debut Album"
'' Exclaim!'', May 20, 2016. Dianda currently plays with the band Saffron Sect,"Saffron Sect Interview: SXSW 2010"
'' Spinner Canada'', March 12, 2010. and Pitkin played with

The Violet Archers The Violet Archers is a Canadian indie pop band from Toronto. Led by former Rheostatics bassist Tim Vesely, the band consists of Vesely on vocals, Yawd Sylvester on guitar, drummer Camille Giroux, bassist Scott Remila, Ida Nilsen on piano. Hist ...

and is currently a member of

Elliott Brood Elliott Brood (often stylized as Elliott BROOD) is a Canadian three-piece, alternative country band formed in 2002 in Toronto, consisting of Mark Sasso on lead vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele, harmonica, and kazoo, Casey Laforet on guitar, lead v ...

Discography

*''Where the Change Is'' (1999) *''Elevature'' (2000, EP) *''Sweet Release'' (2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flashing Lights, The Musical groups with year of establishment missing Musical groups from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian alternative rock groups Canadian power pop groups