2011. Its hard to say a sentence these days without having to censor yourself in order to be considered polite and politically correct. Brisbane pop-punk outfit the Flangipanis have been throwing caution to the wind and manners out the door for many years with low brow humour entwined with pop-punk melodies resulting in crass yet hilarious but most of all, rockin’ tunes.
Coming in third in our Spoonfest series, we spoke to their singer, Jodie, about the bands line-up changes, surviving and the Brisbane music scene. We also solve the mystery of what exactly a Flangipani is. It involves vaginas if you hadn’t guessed. You can also stream the track “Global Warming Is Making My Beer Warm” and check out the film-clip for “My Period Is Late.” Read the full interview here.
Flangipanis play Spoonfest on May 21 at The Step Inn (Brisbane, Australia). Pick yourself up a ticket here.
[Audio: Global-Warming-Makes-My-Beer-Warm.mp3|titles= Global Warming Makes My Beer Warm|artists= Flangipanis]
Can you give our readers a bit more background behind your band?
Formed in 2007 as a 4 piece drums, bass, 2 guitars. We lost a guitarist after the first gig and played as a 3 piece for a year or so. Then we got another guitarist. Then we swapped bass players a few times. Sometimes we have a different drummer. I think we are becoming like Blowhard (local band that‘s been together about 20 years)… But not as technically apt in music or zazz.
How does the song writing process work for you guys?
Hmm. Most of the time I (Jodie) will bring a song in and we will workshop with breaks and fills and structure. However, Hayden (drummer) did write a song all by himself once. Well, he wrote the lyrics and structure. It is a though composed a song about a porn star who only wears socks and watches when he has sex. Yay Hayden!
You guys love the term “fucking around.” What does fucking around involve for the Flangipanis?
Getting naked usually. Hybrid drinking / card / dress up games, swapping shirts, hot pants Saturday, bikini and punch Sunday, trying to play flange songs in either dub or blues from the deep south and learning covers like Transvisionvamp or John Farnham.
So if a flange is a vagina, what are the Flangipanis?
A paddock of vagina/flower mutants with human faces who sometimes smoke and try to stay behind a drum-kit. Either that or a frangipani with a vagina in the middle of it.
What guys are you currently working on?
Surviving. We recorded an album over a year ago now and it’s taken that long for flange to save up enough money to press the fuckin’ thing. We try not to ask for too much money because no-one has any, we’re all in it for the music. It’s just that we are at the stage where we can barely afford to live as individuals so we have been relying on gig money to move forward, and it turns out that we have probably averaged about $30 a gig over the last 12 months or so (with one or two paying up to $200 + for a 45min set). Without those, it‘d probably be about a $10 average — we play a fair amount of “benefits“. Part of us feels like we must not be worth anything if the money is so poor. However, lots of other bands are in the same boat, generally if the promoters CAN pay, they WILL. Also if no-one was interested, we wouldn’t have so many gigs, would we??
PLUS
We did an amazing video clip for “My Period is Late,” done by the one and only Mr Ben Nichols of Big Fry Photography. He was a complete champ about it, came up with amazing ideas and let us trash his house and pool.
What are the Flangipanis future plans?
1. Continuing to survive.
2. Debut album release in the next month or so.
3. Making a film clip to Hayden‘s porn star song. I (Jodie) put some knee-high socks on my boobs the other day and it looked hilarious. We will need to get resourceful though because they didn’t stay on for long. Maybe we can staple them on??
Brisbane is considered one of the best places in Australia for live music. What are your thoughts on the live music scene in Brisbane?
The quality of music is fantastic; there are always gigs on regardless of what style you want to listen to. I like the variety and opportunities we have in Brissie to experience new, old, local or interstate and even international bands. However, I have noticed over the years – both as a punter and being in a band – the venue hire, drinks, PA hire and even rehearsal rooms are becoming more and more expensive. I don’t mean to sound like all I’ve commented on during these questions is the price of things, but when you don’t have much, it really IS an issue. Even public transport and cabs are more expensive these days. So even though there’s this amazing talent and variety to choose from, you still need to be selective because it’s just not feasible to go to everything these days.
What are your favourite pop-punk bands in 2011?
Local: Ringpull. They added a second guitarist who goes off, their new songs are fun and they are tight and energetic live. That’s all I’m going to say for local, because some people get offended when you call their band a pop-punk band and they don’t feel like they fit into that category. Toughen up fuckers!
You guys have dealt with some line-up changes in the past. Do you find the band dynamic changes when you add/lose a member?
Absolutely. Unless there is a specific part to a song that needs to be played, we normally give the person free reign. We love the new experience with new people. It keeps the songs fresh and interesting for us, and we get to make up new bogus initiation rituals each time. Julie drank sock water. We made Josh dress up in a wife-beater and shorts and thongs (he didn’t own any of these, and we all dressed up too as it was for Australia day, but he looked and felt ridiculous and uncomfortable. It was awesome). Phil had to wear a kids batman suit. I don’t think we made Tim do anything though. If you have ideas, please forward them to flangipanis@hotmail.com.
What is the most heavily spun album at a Flangipanis party?
Sublime – deluxe edition of their Greatest Hits.
What are three things the world should know about Sunsets?
a. I got my first kiss during a sunset (it wasn’t very good).
b. They make the clouds go a pretty colour.
c. When the sunset finishes, that means you can stop drinking beer and start drinking scotch. A general rule in Flangipanis is “no spirits till dark” if we are playing a show. It’s to keep us sober so that we can still play. It’s not a very efficient rule.
Who are you most looking forward to watching at Spoonfest…and why?
The Nation Blue (VIC), Local Resident Failure (NSW) and Luca Brasi (TAS) because they are interstate bands, and I always love to see new bands, especially those who have put the effort in to travel, plus I’ve heard snippets of songs and conversations about these three and they look awesome. Also, Headaches because even though the singer [Shane Collins] looks like he wants to beat the shit out of everyone, I haven’t heard much music that’s similar, and they play it with such vigour. The Blasted Heath and The Quickening are can only be described as “bullshit good”. Plus Ringpull (see earlier notes). So yeah, I think I’m looking forward to seeing every band on the bill.
Any final words to the readers of Dying Scene?
Recently I saw a post from a stranger about our film clip. This person said something like “This song is late… by about 15 years!” Whilst initially taken aback, I actually agree. We have known this for quite some time and continue to play and write songs. We love it. Just because something first emerged a while ago, doesn’t mean we have to stop enjoying it because the cool kids are into something else now. Fuck that guy. He was accurate, but negative about it. Cheer up fuck face!
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