Flipper (the band): Resurfaces in 2012 and Announces SXSW Show(s) and Upcoming European Tour

After a quiet couple of years, Flipper has resurfaced in 2012! The band is playing a local warm-up show in Oakland on March 2 with East Bay Way & the Killer Smiles which is a precursor to playing SXSW in March and Europe in April.

Flipper's last studio disc Love came out in 2009 on MVD Audio.

"LOVE, the brand new studio album from the incredible Flipper was recorded with the great Jack Endino at the helm, known for having recorded many of Seattle's greatest Grunge albums, including Nirvana's Bleach. Recording took place at the Murky Slough Studios, on Krist Novoselic's property in Washington. Bruce Loose, Ted Falconi, and Steve DePace would regularly travel to Krist's for writing and recording sessions, and affectionately referred to it as 'Band Camp." With Krist providing bass, the band dug in and recorded one of their best efforts yet combing noisy guitars with that perfect low end bass and the grind of life and love. LOVE was designed to be a twin and companion to FIGHT. A well balanced experience from the one and only FLIPPER."

Links:
Flipper

Flipper - Blow N' Chunks CD Review (ROIR)

Blow N' Chunks was originally a cassette-only release that came out eons ago. As both this tape and my cassette deck have been collecting dust for the last decade or so, the Water Records reissues of the first four Flipper albums finally motivated me to pick this up on CD. I also hadn't heard the four bonus tracks that ROIR added when they re-released this on CD.

Listening to this "show" for the first time in years, I'm 'on the fence' regarding my feelings about this release. On one hand, it is a reasonably representation of Flipper's live set but, on the other hand, I had always thought this was a full recording from one show. The edits between the songs stand out a bit prominently as this isn't a complete show but (according to a Flipper discography site) rather a compilation from two nights/three sets that Flipper played at CBGB in November 1983.

On the positive side, this is a more coherent live document than Public Flipper Limited as there is somewhat of a flow between the songs (edits aside). There are also a couple songs on this recording which are unique to this disc (Bruce improvising "Ice Cold Beer" to the tune of "You Naught Me" and the previously unreleased "In Your Arms" and "In Life My Friend". The negatives are that the songs have been rearranged and don't follow in the order that they were played (set lists are below). The stage banter has also been edited out which is disappointing as this was an important and hilarious part of the Flipper live experience.

Here is the full set list from the two shows (from Flipper/Negative Trend Concert Chronology) that were used for Blow N' Chunks:

- 11/18/83 NY, NY -CBGB'S w/Live Skull, (S)Cornflakes
Set One:
The Lights, The Sound, The Rhythm, The Noise/Way of the World/Shed No Tears/ We Who Survive The Plague/Flipper Blues/Life/

Set Two:
Ice Cold Beer(Bruce's improv over music to 'You Nought Me')/Love Canal/Sacrifice/Ha Ha Ha/ (a much drunker set a couple of hours later)
Note: Part of this show used for the Blow'n Chunks cd.

- 11/20/83 NY, NY -CBGB'S
In Your Arms/Life Is Cheap/In Life My Friend/Get Away/
Note: Part of this show used for the Blow'n Chunks cd.

For Flipper fans, Blow N' Chunks probably falls into the "nice to have" category (but not 'essential'). Casual fans or anyone curious about the band are better served by starting with the Water Records reissues.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile

Flipper - Public Flipper Limited: Live 1980 - 1985 CD Review (Water Records)

Flipper's double live set is a perfect send-off to the original lineup of the band. Mostly recorded between 1980 and 1982, this set captures the band in all of their sloppy, drunken, drugged-out glory. Songs start, stop and "wander off" in all sorts of directions and all of this is punctuated by some of the funniest onstage banter this side of a Fear show.

The reviewer that described Television as the "Grateful Dead of punk" obviously never heard Flipper play live. While Flipper isn't going to go off on a 20 minute (technically precise) version of "Marquee Moon", "Sex Bomb Baby" goes for over ten minutes and other songs like "If I Can't Be Drunk" and "The Game's Got a Price" come pretty close to the 10 minute mark as well.

Most of the songs on this set were previously unreleased and there is a lot of great material here that will hopefully surface in studio form some day. The selection of unreleased tunes range from the punkish "New Rules, No Rules" to the blues grind of "Flipper Blues". In true Flipper fashion, the second disc closes with what sounds like Bruce saying "Are you satisfied yet, can we leave?"

Water Record has done a great job of reproducing the board game that came with the original LP version of this release. You can "tour" the US with Flipper and "every time you come to a town, you must stop there." The game cards were written by Will and have phrases like "Will Get Free Drugs - Plus 15 Points" or "Burned By Drug Dealer - Minus 5 Points".

Flipper is supposed to have a new disc in the can (produced by Jack Endino) so hopefully they settle on a new label soon.

Here is a live performance of "Shine" (which is one of the few songs from Generic Flipper that was repeated on the live disc) . This was recorded at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco when the band was opening for the (then) final performance of Throbbing Gristle.



On this note, tickets went on sale today for Throbbing Gristle's first ever New York show. The show is April 16th at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple and tickets are $35.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile

Flipper - Gone Fishin' CD Review (Water Records)

Flipper's second studio album, Gone Fishin' (originally released in 1984), takes the original band in a more 'commercially accessible' direction. There is a lot more structure to these songs as compared to Generic Flipper, and the (somewhat surprisingly) clean and clear production and unified flow of this disc highlight Will and Bruce's lyrical and musical abilities. Mny of the songs are still anchored by a throbbing bass line, but the bass is no longer the focal point of the songs. Complementing the expected bass, guitar, drums, Flipper uses a xylaphone, synare, clavinet, congas, piano and alto sax on different tracks on the disc.

The disc starts off with the punkish, "The Light, The Sound" (and there is a live version of this song on Flipper's Myspace Profile - link below). Moving further into the disc, on songs like "First The Heart" and the headphone-trippy "Talk's Cheap", Will has a tendancy to sound somewhat like mid-80's Richard Hell. There is still the sludge/dirge sound of the previous release on tracks like "Survivors of the Plague" and the still topically relevant "Sacrifice". "You Nought Me" is a chaotic wreck (which never completely breaks down) and the last song on the disc, "One By One", starts with a long buzzing guitar riff that sounds like something lifted from Rocket From the Tombs/early Pere Ubu.

The overall production adds an intriguing dimension to the songs - "Sacrifice" starts with the marching sounds of soldiers before Steve kicks in with a military beat, Will has a 'conversation' with himself that bounces between speakers on 'Talk's Cheap' and the chaotic 'You Nought Me' has a tinkling piano in the background.

King Buzzo from The Melvins wrote the liner notes for this disc and and he sums Flipper's accomplishments as "...the most important thing is the music. If you get Flipper, no explanation is necessary".

This record has been out of print for too long...

Water Records has faithfully reproduced the original LP art so you can cut out and assemble Flipper's tour van and stand-ups of all of the band members.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile
Water Records

Flipper - Generic Flipper CD Review (Water Records)

Generic Flipper has been cited as inspiriation by numerous bands across genres ranging from dirge, grunge, drone and hardcore. In 2007, Blender magazine ranked Generic Flipper as #86 on their list of the 100 greatest "indie rock" albums of all time.

Flipper's nihilistic vision and sarcastic wit comes together on Generic Flipper to form a realistic, yet hopeful, portrayal of the human condition. Alan Vega (from Suicide) once said "Suicide was always about life. But we couldn' t call it Life. So we called it Suicide because we wanted to recognize life." and this quote is very applicable to Flipper's first full length as well.

The disc starts with a studio version of "Ever" that is significantly different from the shambling live version that was previously released on an early 7" (which is found on Sex Bomb Baby). The studio version is a pretty upbeat take, complete with hand claps, on a pretty dark song. Bleak lyrics like "Ever think you are smart. And then find out you aren't? Ever play the fool. And find out that you're worse?" set the mood for the majority of songs on this disc.

In the same groove as "Ever" are songs like "Life Is Cheap", "Shed No Tears" (for the fall of the authority figure) and "Nothing" (which is the closest Flipper comes to sounding like their West Coast hardcore contemporaries). Even with all of these dark images, there are still a few moments of light with songs like "Life" (which is the only thing worth living for) and the disc ends with an eight minute version of "Sex Bomb Baby".

Here is a live version of "Sex Bomb" from NorthSix in Brooklyn which captures the song as it was usually played live - just shy of a complete mess, but never completely breaking down. As you will see, Bruce handed off the mic (and isn't to be seen in the video) and the audience sings along.



All four of Flipper's original releases are now out on Water Records. Generic Flipper should hold a prime place in any aging or aspiring punk's music collection.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile

Flipper - Sex Bomb Baby CD Review (Water Records)

After being out of print for years, Water Records recently reissued Flipper's first four CDs. Taking a look at these discs in chronological order, Sex Bomb Baby contains the band's earliest recorded material.

Sex Bomb Baby documents the band's singles and contributions to compilations over the period 1979-82. There are a handful of song that were rerecorded for Generic Flipper but the songs are in radically different versions between the two discs. With so many bands using Flipper's sound and style as a jumping off point, Sex Bomb Baby is just as essential as Generic Flipper.

Tracks are:
1) Sex Bomb: From the "Sex Bomb" 7" (10/81)
2) Love Canal: From the "Love Canal" 7" (2/81)
3) Ha Ha Ha: From the "Love Canal" 7" (2/81)
4) Sacrifice: From the "Maximum Rocknroll Presents: Not So Quiet on the Western Front" complilation LP (8/82)
5) Falling: From the "Live at Target" compilation LP (2/24/80)
6) Ever: From the Eastern Front compilation LP (1982)
7) Get Away: From the "Get Away" 7" (12/82)
8) Earthworm: From the "SF Underground" compilation EP (11/79)
9) The Game's Got a Price: From a flexidisc in "Take It" magazine (1982)
10) The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly: From the "Get Away" 7" (12/82)
11) Brainwash: From the "Sex Bomb" 7" (10/81)
12) Lowrider: From the "Live at Target" compilation LP (2/24/80)
13) End of the Game: From the "Live at Target" compilation LP (2/24/80)

Even though members of Flipper came out of the punk scene, it is fascinating to hear the band start off with the droning dirge of "Earthworm" on their earliest recording. In an interview with Steve DePace last year, he said "[Flipper] went against the grain. Once everything went hardcore thrash, we were grungy and slow." While there are still some punkish elements in the early recordings, you can hear the band starting to slow down (like an impending train wreck).

Try to forget the numerous times "Sex Bomb" has been covered over the last 25+ years and you can imagine the impact this single made in 1981 where the only lyrics over the entire five minute song is "She's a sex bomb, my baby yeah". When you add the 6+minute dirge "Brainwash" to the flip (where Bruce Lose repeats the lyrics are "Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway" over a punkish riff that repeats itself over and over), Flipper was standing out from the crowd.

As Sex Bomb Baby is a compilation, it doesn't come across as a coherent body of work but this disc contains all of the classic Flipper music, wit and sarcasm. There is the audience baiting and fighting, which seemed part of all the early Flipper shows that I saw, captured in the live performance of "Ever"; there is psychotic reading of "The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly" and live version of the anti-Reagan anthem "Sacrifice" smolders.

This is a great disc for fans and a guidepost for bands just starting out.

Links:
Flipper's MySpace Profile