No Reflection Left: A Chat with Kurtis Powers of Time Flies

Discography:

Can’t Change the Past EP (Teamwork Records, 1998)
On Our Way (Indecision Records, 1999)

In the late ‘90s, there was a new hardcore and punk scene that was really becoming prevalent throughout VA. Particularly encompassing the Tidewater area, a lot of great bands were coming out of the woodwork and making a lot of noise. Time Flies from Virginia Beach were no exception. Though they weren’t around for long, the impact they made was definite and is still felt in certain circles today. Frontman Kurtis Powers has now taken on several different ventures including working on a label and radio program. He took time out from his schedule to talk about the band’s career and look back with satisfaction.

Pete Crigler: How did you get interested in music?

Kurtis Powers: Let me flip the question. How don't people get into music? Or at least that's a question I've asked myself and others many times. As a young kid, music was as present as the air to me. I was a little sponge that couldn't get enough of it. From the earliest of days, it shaped my identity, and inspired the choices that I made. The very first thing I can remember is being somewhere as maybe a 2 or 3 year-old (give or take), and their being someone with a guitar. I remember being mesmerized by it, and somehow thinking the dots in the fretboard was the magic that made the sounds I was seeing/hearing. I remember realizing that wasn't the case. Maybe that was thing that opened me to my life of music.

Pete: Tell me about some of your early bands?

Kurtis: I only had one "official" (if you'd even call it that) band that played shows in my earlier teen years. I had a band that only a handful at the time knew, we played a handful of shows, etc.

Pete: How did Time Flies come together?

Kurtis: I had begun writing a load of songs and recording them, and essentially, started having some small conversations with my friends. Finding a drummer that wasn't already in a band was tough, but we were able to get Colin who travelled weekly to Norfolk and the Beach from Newport News. Curtis was already one of my best friends at the time, and he was playing bass. I still remember him telling me that our band wouldn't be his first priority over another band he was in at the time.  That changed pretty quickly. I called Craig one day, and thought for sure he'd say no, but he said yes! In the years, the 2nd guitar was occupied by everyone from our friends Adam, Terrence, Brian from Dillinger, Nate from Converge (Jesuit at the time), Ken Penn (Grip/Dayspring), and eventually moving Curtis to guitar, when our friend Charlie from Count Me Out joined us on bass.

Pete: What was the scene like at that time?

Kurtis: Interesting. It seemed like the switching of the guard in retrospect. There were us kids that had been around since the last switch at the end of the 80s, and then there were those that tricked in the years following, whilst some of the older faces trickled out. We'd seen a few eras already of the hardcore and punk scenes when around 95 or 96 you started hearing a lot more sounds reminiscent of the late 80s. By 96/97 when we started playing shows, I'd say it was a good 60+% of the vibe at that time. It was a great time for the most part.  

Pete: How did songwriting occur within the band?

Kurtis: Initially, I wrote all of the music. I'd sit in my room and have all the parts down, recorded, and lyrics written. Craig wrote the lyrics for a song on our first demo, and later on, Curtis and I would collaborate on a lot of the songs that became our LP. We had a nice synergy working together. It's so funny to think of some of the ways we'd demo songs though back in those days. I remember I would record one guitar with a tape recorder. I'd then put that tape in a loud stereo, and then layer another guitar track with it and record it on the first tape recorder with a 2nd tape. That was how I worked through a lot of the guitar harmonies, etc.

Pete: How did the band come to sign with Indecision?

Kurtis: I'd been friends with Dave Mandel from the years that the New Age bands toured the East Coast. I think I actually met Dave at the New Bedford Fest in 94 when Strife came out that first time. Pretty sure he stayed at my house when he was on tour with Either Unbroken, Mean Season, Undertow, someone. We had a lot of people stay through the years while I was booking shows there. Fast forward to 1998, he'd heard our demo, and maybe our first 7 inch on Teamwork, and we had a chat, and that was that. I knew nothing of that side of business, so having someone like him that had already been doing it, working for and through Rev, felt great to leave those things to him. Indecision was great, as was Dave Mandel. We loved it so much, I suggested he get Count Me Out on the label. It was a family. Meeting with those West Coast bands at the time was awesome. They treated us like family too. Death By Stereo, Throwdown, Adamatium, etc. All so nice to us!

Pete: What was it like making the record?

Kurtis: Really fun! We were the first one in Brian McTernan's DC studio since he'd moved back from Boston, so things were new, but also felt comfortable. I lived in DC, so it was an easy effort for me. The other guys had to travel from the Beach and Richmond, so was slightly harder for them over those few weeks. But it was always great to work with Brian. He always pushed you and challenged you. Listening back now, there are things I'd change, but I'm still really proud of it, and psyched when I hear it. Now, I even can listen to it like it wasn't me playing guitar and singing. It's been that long!

Pete: How would you define the term success when it comes to Time Flies?

Kurtis: Success is an incredibly subjective term. I can say, we unquestionably accomplished everything we initially set out to do. As a person, I tend to keep pushing and growing, and can definitely say that I was never satisfied in the moment, once we'd accomplished one thing, it was no big deal, and so keep at it. Because of that, I never accomplished those 3rd, 4th, and 5th levels of success, or my definitions of them at the time, but we got to record some great music, tour and play some amazing shows, and it seems like the music was good enough, that people are still digging it to this day. What else can I ask for, really?

Pete: What ended up causing the band to split so rapidly?

Kurtis: Rapidly is an interesting way to describe it. To us, those 5 years felt significant, and shall we say, Time wasn't really flying! That said, we were all in different places by 2002. Curtis was playing in The Takeover and (I think) 65 Film Show. I was filling in and considering joining Fairweather permanently. Craig was still doing Facade Burned Black, and Charlie and Colin were both in Count Me Out and I think Renee Heartfelt at the time. We were all working towards writing another record and trying to make a real go of it. Take some real time away from our day jobs and get on the road properly. At a certain point in that period, American Nightmare asked Colin to join and play drums. He had to make a choice. They were pretty much the biggest band at the time, and he did what he needed to do. We continued for about another 6 months writing songs with our good friend John DiGiorgio (who's now in the band Mean Jesus), when though we liked where we were headed, it just wasn't clicking the way it had in the past. So we did what we needed to do, and booked our final shows. 2 weeks back to back we did the Posi Numbers Fest in 2002, and then our last show in Richmond.

Pete: Tell me about your projects after the split.

Kurtis: As I mentioned Curtis was in The Takeover and The 65 Film Show. I would play with Fairweather from time to time. Craig was still doing Facade Burned Black. Colin moved to Boston to play for American Nightmare, and I think eventually lead to Count Me Out ending. He and Charlie eventually got Renee Heartfelt back on track with Pete from Count Me Out, and then Colin eventually got to doing Cloak/Dagger with Jason. I moved to NYC in 2003, and by 2004 Curtis moved here and we had a short lived indie band that got to play a load of shows and write some great music.

Pete: How did you eventually move into radio?

Kurtis: I've always thought radio was cool. I liked the conversation. I didn't like the music by a certain point however. When internet radio started becoming something special, I wanted to do a show so badly. It probably took me almost 5 years to finally get a show. Radio to me is all the things Spotify is not. Its curated. It's a conversation. The amount of records I've bought because I heard someone play it that I respected and therefore saw it in a completely different way, I can't begin to count. It is what I strive to be for others. I love it when we can help each other grow in music.

Pete: Tell me how BQE came to be?

Kurtis: BQE Records happened because I had been in conversation with a wonderful artist called Bobby Harden through his manager at the time. Dating back to my younger years, I'd always wanted to start a label. In 2017, I was moderating a Q&A for the film Living On Soul in Brooklyn. (https://nitehawkcinema.com/williamsburg/showtimes/living-on-soul-111517-730-pm/) I'd told Bobby to come around, that there's be some nice faces to meet. I introduced him to my mate Billy, who previously was in Charles Bradley's Extraordinaires. The rest was history. Billy asked if I'd like to be a part of it. I said "yes, but I didn't have a label yet." I looked out my window which overlooks the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and I said, "BQE Records, that's it". We released his first single Runnin' in 2019, and have 2 more singles and an album on the way! What's next for it? I suppose time will tell!

Pete: What are you currently up to?

Kurtis: Well Covid has made most of us take a good look at life, wants, reality, etc. I've spent a lot of time re-thinking and questioning what I want, what I believe, what's important, etc. The first 6 months here in NYC was something that I'm certain will have left a permanent mark on us emotionally and psychologically. I've started making more time to take care of myself. I started surfing again, skating way more, and learning to say no to things so that I can take advantage and be available for the important things. Good friends, good conversation, great work.
I've been running a small consultancy that focuses on Design, Brand Strategy, User Experience and Visual Storytelling. I'm also working on a few products as a Consultant. I've been running The Face Radio, and BQE Records as well. I've got a few things on the list of things I'd like to accomplish too. I guess you could say, I'm a work in progress.

Pete: What is everyone else doing and would you be interested in a reunion?

Kurtis: The rest of the dudes are busy with family, careers and passions as well. Our man Curtis is in a band back in Virginia Beach called Raise Hell Over the Summer. He loves making videos for them and is seriously one of the most creative and talented people I know. He's recently a cancer survivor as well. Charlie is here in NYC, and had his first child during Covid and is killing it working for IBM. Craig has been an inspiration to so many people as he's been crushing it in the world of fitness. Colin is still being one of the coolest dudes ever, playing drums, and has an awesome family.
As for a reunion, I'd love to. I was fortunate to climb on stage at the United Blood Best in 2018 with Count Me Out and do a Time Flies song. As for the rest of the band, I'm not sure we will. It marks such a great time in our lives that somehow still seems so pure in our hearts, and I'm not sure we'd want to change that (at least for ourselves). Most of us are no longer straight edge either, and so even though we love the core, and still love the edge (though not remaining), I'm not sure it would be the right thing to do. Who knows though? Crazier things have happened.  

Pete: What has it meant being a musician from Virginia?

Kurtis: Virginia is a special place. For us, the music that preceded us from VA in the late 80s and the 90s were a huge part of our upbringing. Virginia has always been a special place that produces loads of amazing music from multiple genres, and much of it fell below the radar. Dating back to the 60s and early 70s Shiptown Records out of Norfolk produces amazing funk and soul that is only now starting to gather loads of attention. I think being from a place like VA and making music makes you not take it for granted, and work harder to be creative. I regard it even now in my career. We were all so hard-working and DIY. I've believed that I can accomplish so many things because I was able to crack the surface of it. It's another reason I was so excited to have this conversation, and took it seriously. I suppose when you're from Virginia, you really understand that.

Pete: What do you hope yours and the band’s legacy will be?

Kurtis: The author Ryan Holiday said, "Only right now matters. The life you’re living—that’s the only monument that counts. Who you are in this moment, how you treat people, how you treat yourself—that is the real legacy."
I'm satisfied knowing that we did something important to us, and it seems that it inspired a group of people. I can hope that more will discover us the same way we discovered the bands that came before our time and inspired us. I'm content knowing that in that time, we did it, even if only for some. I guess that's how I hope the rest will continue to see us.