Flipper: the saga continues

Bruce Loose, Seattle, September 2008. Photo: Gillian G. Gaar

During the past 30 years, there have been any number of times when then San Francisco-based noisemeisters Flipper could’ve folded. Founding member and original vocalist Ricky Williams — who gave the group its name — was gone before the band’s first recording session. Williams died of drug-related causes in 1991; by then, Flipper’s vocalist/bassist Will Shatter had succumbed to the same fate in 1987, as would Shatter's replacement, John Dougherty, a decade later. Vocalist Bruce Loose developed severe back problems, a serious impediment to any touring. And drummer Steve DePace tactfully notes that “bickering amongst the living members” also contributed to the band’s occasional spots of “down time.”

But despite the departure of yet another bassist (and longtime Flipper fan) Krist Novoselic in September 2008, there’s been a flurry of activity on the Flipper front. The past year has seen the release of a live DVD, and the reissue of the band’s long-out-of-print catalogue. Now comes the first new studio album since 1992’s American Grafishy, Love, along with a live album, Fight (DePace explains the titles and the all white and all black cover art as reflecting a “yin and yang concept”). With further releases due, a website in the works, and more touring, Flipper is more active now than at any other time in their career.

Krist Novoselic, Seattle, September 2008. Photo: Gillian G. Gaar

Flipper’s atonal, but weirdly compelling charms were first unveiled in San Francisco in 1979; Album (aka Generic), stands as a seminal release of the period. But things fell apart after Shatter’s demise. American Grafishy, released on Def American, didn’t jump-start the band’s career as hoped, and the group also lost control of their catalogue in the process. By the mid-‘90s, Flipper’s run seemed to have come to an end.

But a desire to sort out the business mess left behind got the band members talking again, and in August 2005 a new lineup, with Loose, DePace, original guitarist Ted Falconi and new bassist Bruno DeSmartass was formed. DeSmartass only lasted until the end of 2006, and quit at a most inopportune time, when Flipper was scheduled to play Britain’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. Knowing of Novoselic’s fondness for the band, DePace asked Thurston Moore, curating that year’s ATP, if he would ask Krist if he’d be interested in joining them.

Bruce Loose, Seattle, September 2008. Photo: Gillian G. Gaar

Novoselic readily agreed. “The plan was to do the ATP Festival and see what happened from there,” DePace explains. And after playing some warm up shows and a short tour with Melvins along with ATP, the new lineup decided to try writing new material together. “I don't think we ever thought Flipper would make another album,” DePace admits. “But when we got with Krist and it seemed to be the thing to do, we did it.”

Former Nirvana producer Jack Endino was approached to see if suitable recording facilities could be rigged up at Novoselic’s farm in Southwest Washington. “They asked me point-blank, ‘Can we do it here? Can we record professional quality without going to a studio?’” Endino recalls. “And I said, ‘Sure, absolutely!’ Recording at the farm was fun. We called it ‘band camp.’ Krist had a basic ProTools setup, and I knew I could bring down a ton of stuff too, and that the ‘barn’ had pretty good acoustics. We would stay for a week at a time and record what we could, then do it again several months later.”

Love has a clean, punchy sound, with lyrics tied in to the current zeitgeist of anxiety; "Triple Mass" was inspired by the Virginia Tech killings, and “Be Good, Child!” touches on economic woes. Endino recorded live shows the band played in between recording dates, with nine songs culled for Fight, a mix of new songs and Flipper classics like “Way of the World.”

But then in late 2008, on the verge of a European tour, Novoselic decided to bow out, having grown tired of the touring grind. “I was surprised and disappointed by Krist's departure,” says DePace. “But I understood his situation.” A replacement was quickly found in Rachel Thoele, a veteran of such bands as Frightwig and Shrodinger’s Cat, who was also fully tuned in to the Flipper aesthetic. “I started seeing them way back,” she says. “I was an avid fan. I would go to as many shows as possible and immerse myself in the thing that is Flipper!” “We knew it was going to be important to get someone that knew who the hell we were,” DaPace concurs. “Someone who knew us and knew our history and our songs. Rachel fit the bill and it just worked.”

The new lineup has hit the ground running, playing dates in California, next undertaking their first jaunt to Australia this past summer, joining the Warped Tour, and further touring in Europe and the US. Three decades on, Flipper remains the band they’ve always been: producing troubled music for troubled times.