We recently got a chance to a pretty funny/informative interview Chris Cresswell and Scott Brigham of The Flatliners at the Asbury Park stop of their Fat Tour with Useless ID, Dead To Me, and Lagwagon. We talk about the band’s plans for a new album (when we can expect it and what it will sound like), vinyl collecting, what their favorite Fat Wreck Chords releases.
Check it all out and more here.
DS: First and foremost, it has been over two years since you guys released a new album. Have you been writing anything?
Chris: Nope, not at all.
Scott: I didn’t know we had to do another one. That’s our third one, we did three. We tapped out.
DS: So when the hell can we expect some new material?
Chris: Probably in the spring. I’ve been writing a lot, ever since we’ve been recording Cavalcade which was more than two years ago. Touring a lot doesn’t really allow a band to record stuff very often or easily. Recording is also a very expensive thing to do, so we’re basically just going to try and finish it for a spring release or something. We have a lot of songs and we need the time and money to do it.
Scott: We kind of had plans to have it all ready by now, but then stuff comes up. We get all these tours you just can’t say no to. It was pushed back a lot.
Chris: We ended up touring a lot more than we thought this year.
DS: So, can you tell readers anything about the music you have been working on?
Chris: They have a beginning and an end, there is a middle part, kind of.
Scott: They are definitely songs, there are two guitars at least.
Chris: Bass and drums, not many vocals.
Scott: The songs are actually a lot shorter, I find.
Chris: That’s your first serious answer.
Scott: Most are like three and a half to four minutes long. And there are a couple that are just over a minute. It will be cool.
Chris: I feel like we’ve got the longer songs, experimentation if you will, which is a pretentious way to put it, out of our system. It’s pretty concise.
DS: You recently re-released “Destroy To Create” on vinyl, are you vinyl enthusiasts yourselves?
Chris: Totally, that’s why we did that. We always wanted to put it out, and we’ve been kind of like almost been able to do it for the last couple of years, and then it never really panned out, and then we were like “Alright, we should really make it happen this year”. We made a push for the album because we know a lot of our fans buy that stuff, and we do ourselves. On tour when we’re walking around we spend most of our money on food and buying records. It’s cool, you take it home and it’s not just a CD that sits in your room, or your car, or whatever. It is something that has a story to it, hopefully.
Scott: Like the mug that says “Asbury Park” or whatever. I already have like five of them anyway.
Chris: It’s cool, you know what I mean? And like it forces you to take good care of the music you own. Rather than just throwing a CD in your friend’s car and it getting stomped on or broken. CDs are honestly basically fucking worthless at this point. I think so. Vinyl is cool, it’s collectible, it’s a great way to listen to a full record.
DS: If you could add one more Fat Wreck band to this tour who isn’t on it now, who would it be?
Scott: Tough question.
Chris: Mine is kind of like a three way tie, just off the top of my head. Three way tie would be None More Black, Lawrence Arms, and Dillinger Four. That would be cool.
Scott: Every band on Fat Wreck Chords, that would be sweet. But so far, I think this lineup is pretty awesome.
Chris: We all grew up on Lagwagon.
Scott: So that’s really cool, and Dead To Me are really good buds of ours.
Cris: I love that band, they’re so good. And Useless ID is cool, because we grew up on them too kind of. We listened to them when we were younger and like, it was awesome. And we heard that they were one of the bands doing this tour. It’s awesome. I never thought when I was listening to that Ataris/ Useless ID split as a kid that I would be touring with them.
DS: And The Ataris just played here last week.
Chris: Well everyone knows what happened there.
Scott: What happened there?
Chris: Oh, you know, I think someone just freaked out and they just got into a screaming match or something. Throwing some drums around.
Scott: Nirvana did it.
Chris: Nirvana didn’t do it.
Scott: Well, they didn’t throw the drums at the members, but they threw them.
Chris: That’s true.
DS: So, what’s your favorite Fat Wreck release?
Chris: Oh fuck, favorite Fat Wreck release?
Scott: Ever?
Chris: That is so hard to choose.
Scott: Well I would say collectively one of our favorite bands on Fat Wreck is Dillinger Four.
Chris: Yeah, for sure.
Scott: They only put out two records on that label, and they’re both awesome. So one of those I think.
Chris: I don’t know if they’re my favorites, but I think it’s some of the coolest shit Fat did was the quirky stuff. Like “Short Music For Short People” was pretty rad, and NOFX’s “The Decline” was pretty sweet. That’s obviously an incredible song, that’s pretty bad ass. There’s a lot of good ones, it’s a tough question.
DS: Who is your favorite band to sing along to when you are alone in your car?
Scott: Celine Dion, or Bryan Adams.
Chris: I feel like most of the shit I listen to alone will come in waves. I keep listening to the EP from a band from the UK called “Gnarwolves”, just for like the last month or so, and it’s really good. It’s really cool. They’re a trio, but they sound way bigger than that. They don’t sound like it’s only three people. They’re clearly really good musicians, and they write really interesting songs and it’s a cool mix of music. I can’t really go more into explaining the band because I feel like it’s useless usually.
Scott: Guided By Voices, I’d say they’re one of the bands right now, I keep on throwing them on, singing and fucking ruining theses guys’ day.
Chris: The other guys will put on the new Propagandhi record every single day, which is fantastic. It’s so great.
Scott: I think they listen to it at least three times a day.
Chris: Yeah, it’s getting a little ridiculous.