Well now, when I painted that interpretation of the Flipper cover a couple of days ago I had no idea that the remaining members of Flipper were actually on their way over for a show or two. A whole European tour actually including a London date (overseas over in the South) at the New Cross Inn. I’ve loved Generic since a re-issue came our way in the Organ postbag with no warning back in the 90’s, I admit I mssed out on it and them first time around, but that glorious yellow and black debut album bit right away, pure (post) punk rock electricity and yes, it always had to be part of the series of Electric Paintings (a series of fast paintings, interpretations of album covers painted during the time it takes to have just one very loud listen to that album)

“Originally started by members of No Trend and The Sleepers in the spring of 1979 and with only two original members left today – Stephen De Pace (on drums) and Ted Falconi (on guitar) – Bay Area´s “punk rock” legends Flipper need no introduction. Heavily influenced by The Birthday Party, The Velvet Underground, Chrome, PIL, Joy Division and The Stooges to name a few, they have, throughtout their 40+ year spanning career, inspired a large number of bands with their unique slowed-down, bass-driven, heavily distorted and repetitive style of “punk” .

Some of the bands that mention them as a major influence and have both covered their songs and collaborated on different projects, are The Melvins, Terminal Cheesecake, REM, Mudhoney, Unsane, Jane´s Addiction, Unwound and last but not least Seattle´s Nirvana, whose bass player Krist Novoselic played and toured with the band in the 2000s.

In “GET IN THE VAN”, his memoir of the early 1980s punk rock scene, Henry Rollins from Black Flag/Rollins Band described the Flipper experience this way:

“They were just heavy. Heavier than you. Heavier than anything. When they played they were amazing!

As a matter of fact, Flipper will be touring the UK and Europe this summer as a trio with Mike Watt on both bass guitar and vocals. Mike joins founding guitarist Ted Falconi and founding drummer Steve DePace. The trio will hit the UK first with a run of shows, then off to mainland Europe to round out the 3 week tour. This year marks the 43 year anniversary of the band and for the special occasion, they are bringing San Diego’s sludge metal veterans 16 (Relapse) as direct support on all the dates!”

The London date is at the New Cross Inn is on August 7th, here’s the Facebook event page, support comes from The Shits, Predeceased and Crushed By Pimps alongside San Diego’s sludge metal veterans 16 (the support on the whole tour)

The Shits – “Dirty and unkind downtuned riff chaos from The North” so says the promotors, they sound rather wholesome to us, the band that is, don’t know the gig promoters.. This is the 2020 album from the wholesomelynamed band from dirty Leeds.

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Predeceased – Noisy 90s-style post-hardcore/grunge born from the ashes of Thee MVPs, here’s a taste of thier calm before the storm…

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And London’s own Crushed By Pimps, who I really must thank for pointing the gig out after I posted that latest Electric Painting of the Flipper cover (don’t you jsut love social media) “Raging post punk poetry. Pimps will continue to run free” so says the promotor, and yes, they are poetic, they’re angry, they’re raw, they very much now and sealed in behind bolted door, there to be tracked and traced…

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Here’s Flipper with David Yow (The Jesus Lizard / Scratch Acid) playing live at Brooklyn Bazaar in New York City on October 24, 2019.

The UK tour and those European dates iin full then

Flipper will be touring the UK and Europe this Summer as a trio with Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges ) joining the founding members, Stephen DePace(drums) and Ted Falconi(guitar) as the bass-player and vocalist.

“Flipper will be out making new friends and rekindling old friendships with guest vocalists and musicians along the way.” – so said Stephen DePace, drummer and co-founder of Flipper via a piece in Brooklyn Vegan.

For this summer tour, the founding members, Ted Falconi and Stephen DePace reached out to Mike Watt to invite him to join them marking the 43 anniversary of Flipper. Band’s interactions with Mike Watt goes back to the 80’s, when Flipper and Minutemen played their first show together, in San Francisco.

The trio will hit the UK first with a run of shows, then off to the European mainland to round out the 3-week tour period. In total, there will be 21 shows as planned at this time with Mike Watt. Along the way, Flipper will be announcing future shows with guest singers and musicians, as a part of Till the Wheels Fall Off” Flipper World Tour.

The UK:

28.07   UK – Salford @ The White Hotel
29.07   UK – Glasgow @ The Hug & Pint
30.07   UK – Newcastle Upon Tyne @ The Cluny
01.08   UK – Stoke On Trent @ The Underground
02.08   UK – Cardiff @ The Moon
03.08   UK – Portsmouth @ Wedgewood Rooms
04.08   UK – Huddersfield @ The Parish
05.08   UK – Liverpool @ Invisible Wind Factory Substation
06.08   UK – Bristol @ The Exchange
07.08   UK – London @ New Cross Inn

EUROPE:

08.08   FRA – Le Havre @ Mc Daid´s
09.08   FRA – Paris @ Supersonic
11.08   ITA – Milan @ Circolo Magnolia
12.08   ITA – Verona @ Colorificio Kroen
13.08   ITA – Terni @ Anfiteatro Romano Baravai
14.08   ITA – Bologna @ Freak Out
16.08   AUT – Vienna @ Chelsea
17.08   GER – Munich @ Rote Sonne
18.08   GER – Karlsruhe @ Alte Hackerei
19.08   GER – Coesfeld @ Fabrik
20.08   NL – Rotterdam @ Baroeg

So, those Electric paintings and something I just posted on my own website

The Electric Paintings series goes on with Yes, Flipper, Roxy Music and kraftwerk…

The “Electric Paintings” series was originally as a response to the theme of last May’s Electric edition of the Art Car Boot Fair. A series of fast paintings, interpretations of very electric albums painted in time it takes to listen to that album just once. It is strictly just once, put the album on, play it loud, fill the room with it and just paint, when the album ends that is it, no refining, no going again, raw painting, as raw as the music. I am being very (very) picky about the albums selected, it is very much about the electricity, some of my favourite albums just don’t fit the brief, that electricity is needed, it can’t really be explained but it must be there. The first thirteen pieces were painted ahead of the Art Car Boot Fair, there are limited edition prints of those first thirteen available, the eighteenth and nineteenth and in the very much ongoing series were painted at the end of last week, I see no reason for the series to end…  

the eighteenth and nineteenth and in the very much ongoing series were painted at the end of last week, an interpretation of the 1978 Yes album Tormato, a rather precise rather lean (41 minute album) by their standards, and as much as it isn’t the most interest album cover to paint, the Flipper album really had to be part of the series, the 1982 debut album from the San Francisco post punk band Flipper, loved this album from the very first note of the very first play when a re-issued version of the album that was sent in to Organ back in the 90’s, not sure how I had missed out on it when it originally came out. 

The Roxy Music album is very obviously alive with electricity, it was painted on the day that marked 50 years since the release of the debut self-titled Roxy Music album. I do believe Bowie released Ziggy Stardust on the same day..The Roxy album needed to be dug out on the day, there’s something very magical about it, something they never quite repeated . Not sure if the painting worked, but that is what this series of paintings is about, fast interpretations of the cover painted during the time it takes to play the album just once. Roxy Music’s first album was genuinely electric, the first I heard Ladytron was magical, it wasn’t 50 years ago for me but Virginia Plain was one of the very first singles I ever bought and the album does stand up as one of the greatest ever made. The Kraftwerk album really does explain itself doesn’t it?

I am debating with myself (and others via social media) about the next album that needs painting, I am still being very very picky, it isn’t about painting my favourite albums or classic albums, it has to be about that electricity, that certain something that crackles there in the sound, the energy, the magic of it all.

The whole series can be viewed here, the prints are here in the Cultivate shop