Flynn Gower
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Flynn Gower is an Australian musician who is the current guitarist and vocalist for the band Cog, and previously a guitarist in now-defunct funk metal band The Hanging Tree.
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[edit] Past to Present
Flynn Gower (b.1972) initiated his career in the early- to mid-90s forming the funk metal band The Hanging Tree, which became one of the most popular bands in the Sydney live circuit. After a few years developing a following through extensive touring, the band released a debut, self-titled album in 1996. Shortly before the recording of this album, Lucius Borich, a childhood friend of Gower joined The Hanging Tree on drums, after leaving ARIA Award nominated grunge band Juice. In 1997, Borich left the band and travelled to the U.S. to do session work. Throughout, however, Gower was communicating with Borich, both writing new music. This led to the formation of Cog in 1998. Gower had, in preparation for a move to the U.S., sold all of his gear. However, Borich had returned home, unhappy with the session work he had been undertaking. For the next 8 years, Cog consumed the musical direction of Gower, though much of the music the band was playing had been written before the 1998 formation of the band. The band recorded demos in 1998, with Borich playing bass. Flynn's brother Luke was brought in on bass guitar for live shows. In Cog, Gower was forced to make some adjustments to his style. The Hanging Tree had two guitarists, both playing with fairly thick, full timbres. Gower diversified his playing and use of effects in order to emulate the power of a double guitar sound, as well as adding a cabinet to the bassist's side of the stage. Cog's sound was very much in a different vein to The Hanging Tree, with a much more progressive rock influenced direction, combined with a heaviness which was present in The Hanging Tree, driven much more significantly by Borich's drums. Initially, Cog played instrumentally, but after failing in a search for a vocalist, Gower took up the role, though without any previous experience. From 1998 to 2002, the band played through Sydney, gathering a following to rival that of The Hanging Tree in the mid nineties. In 2002, the band came to the fore of Australia's heavy rock/metal scene with the release of the Just Visiting Part One and Just Visiting Part Two EPs. In early 2003, Gower contributed vocals to the track Perception Twin by peers The Butterfly Effect, appearing on their Begins Here album. Cog released the single Open Up in March of 2003, and continued to tour Australia. In mid-2004 the band shifted management and labels, before recording a debut album in The New Normal. After its release in April 2005, the album saw a slight shift and a massive growth in the band's fanbase, in accordance with a more commercial sound, while retaining a progressive feel, some tracks topping 10 minutes. After four national tours in the space of a year, the band is planning to tour U.S. in support of a release of The New Normal there.
[edit] Facial Hair
Amongst his musical pursuits, Gower is known for his intriguing facial hair. In a style that evokes images of a catfish, Gower, for the past decade has sported an almost entirely shaved moustache, besides the edges, which are quite lengthy. Note the image for detail. his facial hair is held with the same regard as Australian cricketer, David Boon.
[edit] Vocals
His vocal style is intriguing and unique, particularly in the early stages of Cog's development, alternating between a bizarre high-pitched semi-falsetto sung from the throat and more masculine timbres. His formation of words is also fairly unique, drawing out diphthongs to extremes. Over the course of Cog's history, the semi-falsetto has been replaced with more conventional singing, but remaining is the odd word formation.
[edit] Guitar
Gower's style is fairly leftfield, with a lot of contrast between heavier and lighter timbres. Primary influences on his style are not very apparent upon listening, though he has cited Helmet, Tool and Soundgarden. The tuning of his guitars are all the same in the 4 lower strings. The tuning being (low to high) CGCf always for the lower strings, and the 2 highest strings vary in tuning, depending on the song, for example, "The Spine" and "Doors.." are tuned (low to high) to CGCfcd. The tunings used were all made up, writing the music first, then tuning the guitar making it easier to play what had been written. In Cog, where rhythm plays a significant part in the music, there is usually a lot of interplay between drums, bass and guitar. Of late, his style seems to be somewhat influenced by heavier post-rock bands such as Isis and Pelican.
