Eisenhower Grad Matt Wixson Prepares to Release Band's Debut Record

Songwriter, Shelby Township resident and Eisenhower '02 graduate Matt Wixson is preparing the release of his band's first EP, Jeffy.

The band, Matt Wixson's Flying Circus, will be celebrating the release of its record with a show at Detroit's Trumbullplex. Set for Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m., the show will double as a tour kickoff for the band.

The band plans on hitting a number of towns in the Midwest and northeast, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Brooklyn, New York and Lowell, Massachusetts.

The music of Matt Wixson's Flying Circus can be categorized in a variety of ways but Wixson just prefers plain, old "punk."

"Folk punk is a pretty trendy subgenre these days and I understand why people might call the band that, but I really think we're just a punk band who happens to have an acoustic rather than electric guitar," said Wixson.

There are, however, a lot of other styles that make up the Matt Wixson's Flying Circus sound. The band draws heavily from ska and reggae, promising their shows to be fun, dance-worthy affairs.

"It started out as basically ska-punk, but over time it's grown apart into more Jamaican-style ska and reggae on one end and folk-like stuff on the other end," said Wixson.

The seemingly disparate genres of ska and folk music work for Wixson. His lyrical themes shift from song to song, from drinking anthems to introspective ruminations on love. Wixson's songs sometimes even further stress this dichotomy by pairing "sad" lyrics to "fun" music.

"I remember reading somewhere that a good song can work in any genre," said Wixson. "A lot of times I'll try playing a song in different styles before committing to one particular genre, and sometimes a sad song sounds better with a bouncy upbeat tune.

"The one straight-up ska song on the upcoming Flying Circus EP, for example, is about how I always end up torturing myself by falling for straight guys."

Wixson is quite prolific outside of his work with the Flying Circus, with several solo releases and a few more with another project, Babylon Party Machine.

"My solo music is a lot more varied, because I can do whatever I want," said Wixson.

Part of the reason that Wixson is having his record release party in Detroit is the lack of appropriate venues in Shelby Township.

"Shelby Township is kind of a weird city, musically speaking," said Wixson.

"My brother, also an Eisenhower grad, was in a bunch of bands in high school or just out of high school, and lots of Shelby residents seemed to be in bands, but for the most part they had to go to other cities to play. If there's ever really been a consistent place to book a show for local bands—that isn't a bar—I must have missed hearing about it," he said.

Not to be discouraged, Wixson and his band are getting ready for what will be, according to Wixson, "First and foremost a party."

The Trumbullplex, a sort of underground, DIY community of like-minded artists and activists, is the perfect place for Matt Wixson's Flying Circus to debut Jeffy.

"It's a relaxed venue and they do a lot to support underground music, radical politics, women and the LGBT community, and I basically feel right at home there."