Antenna Farm Records is pleased to present the newest entry in a series of EJs (Extended Jams) from Still Flyin’. The Za Cloud EJ (ANT522) is the second, complimenting the Time Wrinkle EJ (ANT517), released in 2006. Both feature matching artwork hand drawn by DJ Hammond, inspired by the band’s Mind Zap Festival.

The San Francisco-based supergroup Still Flyin’ was assembled in late 2004 by singer/songwriter Sean Rawls. By the time he arrived on the West Coast he was already a veteran of several Athens, GA bands, including Masters of the Hemisphere and Je Suis France.

Still Flyin’ was originally inspired by a song written by Rawls in his time with Je Suis France. The song was titled “Never Gonna Touch the Ground,” and quickly became a live show staple and crowd favorite. After relocating to San Francisco, the song seemed to have a life of its own and demanded to be jammed. Rawls decided he needed to form a band based on that song, and the dream of Still Flyin’ was born. He asked virtually everyone he knew in his new city to join the rocksteady-inspired project, and to everyone’s surprise the first practice had 15 people at it.

Soon the band was taking its good vibes message to the people. Using rocksteady as a starting point for their up-tempo pop, without any pretension of playing “authentic reggae,” Still Flyin’ crafted upbeat and danceable jams naturally suited to the huge crowd sing-a-longs that followed. After a series of successful shows, Rawls was ready to take things to the next level. In April of 2005, Still Flyin’ organized the Mind Zap Festival, an all-day party in San Francisco’s McLaren Park featuring makeshift hot tubs, beer helmets, a mystery tent and a bar shaped like a joint... as well as performances by Still Flyin’ and scenemates Erase Errata, Okay, Je Suis France, Chicken on a Raft, and Whysp, amongst others. Following the Zap things began to take off for Still Flyin’, and the band was soon on a West Coast tour opening for Architecture in Helsinki.

And what might have begun as a lighthearted nod to good times soon evolved into a large, ever-shifting international collective, boasting members of bands such as The Aislers Set, Ladybug Transistor, Love Is All, Maserati, Dear Nora, Trackstar, and many more.

But even without the stellar indie rock pedigree, Still Flyin’ would be a force to be reckoned with. The band’s hybrid of rocksteady and danceable pop plays out in energetic and joyfully chaotic live shows that have gotten even the most skeptical and frumpy indie rock asses shaking. The party atmosphere is infectious and their ever-shifting live lineup has included Jens Lekman as well as Isobel Knowles and Tara Shacknell (formerly of Architecture in Helsinki) plus countless others who simply couldn’t resist the jam.