Meet Park Flyers, Wellington’s Midwest Emo Oddities

By Josh Smith

I first saw Park Flyers at the Jam Factory in Tauranga around a year ago. Before this I never really got the appeal of Midwest emo, but it has since become of my favourite genres. Park Flyers embody both the twinkly math rock riffs and the gritty hardcore elements of second wave emo, as well as an array of influences from outside the genre, from Alex G to Dean Blunt. I sat down with guitarist/vocalist Felix Bird and drummer Ezra Beckett to discuss influences, writing processes, and more. 

Let’s start off with this duo’s history. How long have you two known each other?

Felix: Year three was when I met Ezra. He was on the playground and he was wearing a grey T-shirt with a barcode on it— but then it, like, turned into noodles and there were chopsticks at the noodle end. And I literally just walked up and said ‘I like your shirt, can I be your friend’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ And twelve years later we’re still here. 

So when did Park Flyers start?

Felix: 2021.

Ezra: It started because another band we were in, we were the only ones turning up, so we just started jamming other stuff.

What kind of music were you making in the beginning and how did it evolve?

Ezra: Pretty barren instrumental Midwest emo. 

Felix: Semi-math rock influenced. It was around the time I first discovered emo, and I was just listening to the basics— so I made the basics.

Ezra: And I was still exclusively listening to Radiohead. 

How would you describe your current sound? 

Felix: I feel like we've gotten through the whole Midwest emo genre. We’ve gone to adjacent genres and subgenres, with a lot more screamo influence. At first that was the one part of Midwest emo that we didn't like, was the vocals and the screaming. But once you get used to it, it's actually the best part.  

Where are you planning to take your sound in the future? more in the screamo direction?

Felix: It’s hard to describe. Still melodic in terms of riffs and stuff, but with heavier influences, rather than just like— some dude in a flannel shirt and glasses talking about why his life sucks, kind of scenario. 

Which artists in particular have influenced your sound as a group? 

Ezra: Initially Macseal. Absolutely. Who else?  

Felix: Tiny Moving Parts.

Ezra: Algernon Cadwallader. Recently more Title Fight. 

Felix: Now it’s a lot of random screamo bands as well. A lot of Train Breaks Down influence in my playing.  

Ezra: Train Breaks Down is fantastic. Japanese math rock is probably my biggest influence when it comes to drumming.  

What do you guys do in your spare time other than music?

Felix: Playing Fortnite recently. That's a bit embarrassing isn't it, to put in an interview. 

Ezra: I love radio control planes. 

Felix: Ezra likes doing grandpa roleplay. 

Are you creative in more than one way? Does it feed back into your music? 

Ezra: I do lots of photos and painting and sculpting. It's all a lot more story driven, which our music isn't really. The main thing that it feeds into are, I guess, lyrics. Less in terms of having a story but more just the feel that I'm trying to get out of the stuff I'm making. 

How does the average Park Flyers song come to be? As in what is the creative process?

Felix: I would’ve written something and I’ll say ‘Let's make something out of this’ and it just doesn't work. And then I’ll just play a random thing and we'll go ‘Holy shit this is way cooler.’ 

Ezra: Eighty percent of the time, Felix comes up with an idea and then we try it. I go to get a drink of water— and then when I come back into the room, Felix is playing something else, and that'll be the song.

Where and when can people see you play next? 

Ezra: We’re playing at CubaDupa on the 30th of March and we’re playing in Tauranga on the 12th of April. 

Felix: And we're playing Eyegum on the 16th of April.

Finally, what is the goal for Park Flyers in the next few years? 

Felix: Releasing more songs and doing a couple tours. And hopefully… being able to be in contact with smaller bands that are in a similar scene to us in the US, and just going over there and doing basement shows.

Ezra: Just playing cool shows, and getting videos of us playing cool shows is the ultimate goal, but to do that there's a bunch of other things that you need to do. 

Yeah you guys need to get onto releasing your stuff. I feel like you guys have changed a lot since releasing ‘Charades.’

Ezra: I'd like to have that in the interview, ‘Charades’ does not represent the type of music that we like to play. 

Felix: Park Flyers 2025 is way more raw, way more awesome and just fucking better.