Browse [all inFamous Audiologists by Last Name]

Brian "Mousse In My Hair" Fligor Hack rock guitarist from the late 80s Boston, Mass Featured Musical Sample: Listen to Flig in Call Out My Name - Atlantic Phantom - mp3 - opens new window Musical Bio: "Flig" is a hack rock guitarist from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, whose passion for writing and performing hit songs vastly outweighed his ability. From the cornfields of Ohio, Flig joined or formed multiple garage bands during high school and immediately following, none of them achieving much significant following. While his groups all played a wide variety of covers, such as Goo Goo Dolls’ “Falling Down,” Tesla’s “Love Song,” and Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Don’t Cry,” there was always the obligatory 50% Metallica covers, given the area of the country and the popularity of mullets at the time. The pinnacle of Flig’s high school experience was playing a song co-written with the high school swim team entitled “Psychotic Polka,” which was a heavy-metal version of the polka genre so beloved amongst the older Germans in this northwest Ohio farming community. “Psychotic Polka” even made air time on the local radio station during the annual Polka-thon; albeit, it aired at 1:00 a.m., and only after extensive urging of the station’s producers by the parents of the band members (incidentally, the name of this band was “The Bavarian Bad Boys”). Flig apparently had enough self-awareness to realize that few bands from Northwest Ohio are signed to major recording contracts, so he left for Boston, Massachusetts, to pursue an undergraduate degree in engineering. While working a summer job in 1994 at a package handling warehouse, one of Flig’s co-workers invited him to try out for rhythm guitarist for his band, Atlantic Phantom, based out of East Boston. This group had been together for nearly 10 years, and had played a number of venues around the area, but had never hit the big time. Maybe a little more sound, brought by a rhythm guitarist backing the lead, was just what they needed to round out their group. Flig tried out and was blown away by the power ballads, ripping guitar solos, range of the lead vocalist, and power of the drummer. Atlantic Phantom may have been less blown away, but acknowledged that Flig could learn their songs quickly and keep a decent rhythm. So, in the summer of 1994,Flig (aka Brian Fligor) joined Atlantic Phantom as rhythm guitarist/backing vocals, with Joseph Ipolitto (bass and lead vocals), Michael Firicano (lead guitar and vocals), and Mark Desimone (percussion/backing vocals). Atlantic Phantom played a few shows as some fine venues, including Pub 57 in Revere, MA, after which the group went down to Kelly’s on Revere Beach to get a clams strips plate and marvel at the bleach-blonde “high hair” still in vogue in this area of metro Boston. Yes, the group playing ‘80s-style power ballads (while grunge and Green Day ruled the airwaves) still had a place to call home. However, Flig’s stint with Atlantic Phantom was not destined for longevity, as junior year of undergrad proved to put a strain on rehearsal times, and Flig’s own musical tastes (shoot, he was 8 years younger than the other band members) and onstage antics created “artistic differences” with longstanding member of Atlantic Phantom. So not many months after joining the group, Flig got the call that he was being invited to be “manager” for the group. Never one to be utterly blind to the writing on the wall, Flig accepted that a parting of ways might be necessary, and the separation was amicable. Since, Flig has turned to playing 12-string acoustic, performing favorite covers at coffeehouses and church youth groups. He does remember back to the summer of 1994 with distinct fondness, and wishes Atlantic Phantom nothing but outrageous success. Secretly, Flig hopes for a resurgence of the ‘80s-style power ballad, so that Atlantic Phantom’s hopes for that major recording deal might become a reality. Song Sample Info The two samples are my favorite songs that were recorded on a full-length EP just prior to my joining Atlantic Phantom. These two songs would likely be the hit singles, if the group had actually hit “the big time” and grunge hadn’t replaced Journey and White Lion on the charts. As you can imagine listening to these songs of love lost, we took ourselves much too seriously, and that should only heighten the painfully embarrassing “cringe” feeling you ought to have listening to these. If you are embarrassed for me, I appreciate that sentiment! “Call Out my Name” featured above is a 5-minute power ballad complete with 2 guitar solos, and even some “nah nah nah’s” in the reprise. Resist the urge to lip-synch. “No Love” is a shorter, more powerful, angst-ridden tune with angry riffs, ripping guitar solos, and slapping bass lines. Long live the power chord! Resist the urge to turn it up to “11.” Listen to Flig in No Love - Atlantic Phantom. Both songs, lyrics and music by Firicano, Ipolitto, and Desimone, all rights reserved. Audiology Bio: Dr. Brian Fligor is the Director of Diagnostic Audiology at Children’s Hospital Boston, and Instructor in Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School. His research interests primarily focus on causes of acquired hearing loss, particularly in the pediatric patient. His paper, “Output Levels of Portable Compact Disc Players and the Potential Risk to Hearing” (Fligor and Cox, 2004) contributed to the intense media coverage of the potential risk of noise-induced hearing loss from the exceptionally successful Apple iPod series mp3 players. Dr. Fligor’s interest in music-induced hearing loss can be traced to his days performing with a rock band based in East Boston, where the concerns for hearing loss from performing and listening to loud music were tragically considered a fact of life for the performing artist. inFamous ID: 108 // Date Created: 2006-08-01 // Last Updated: 2006-08-02