Flipron Biography
From Glastonbury, UK
Flipron's music is eccentic English rock'n'roll, taking its cue mainly from classic 60s pyschedelia & freakbeat bands, folk rock, 70s glam & powerpop, but also a little from Chicago Blues, 20s Hawaiian steel guitar stomps, French cafe music, Dixie jazz, & 70s new wave rock. Flipron's songs are notable for their highly idiosyncratic lyrical content, covering subjects such as old age, death, regret & remorse, obsession, dreams & occasionally sex & love, typically with surreal imagery, densely rhymed wordplay & flashes of dark humour.
Although a comparitively wide variety of of instruments are used by the band, the main focus of the sound is based around a guitar/vocal, organ/piano, bass, drums format, (eg 'Gravity Calling' & 'Raindrops Keep Falling On The Dead') with lap steel & mandolin regularly featured (eg 'Book of Lies' & 'Hanging Round the Lean-to With Grandad'). However, more unusual instrumentation finds its way into prominence on some tracks, such as a length of rusty chain dropping to the floor repeatedly on 'Ball & Chain', wind-up toys & clock chimes on 'Clockwork Blues', an egg slicer & other kithchen implements on 'The Egg Slicer, The Cheesegrater, The Knife' & human wheezing, grunting & moaning on 'Zombie Blues'.
They signed to Tiny Dog Records in 2003, with whom they have released three LPs, Fancy Blues & Rustique Novelties (2004) Biscuits for Cerberus (2006) and Gravity Calling (2008).
Members:
Jesse Budd - Vocals, guitar, lap steel, accordion, harmonica, ukulele, mandolin, dobro & clarinet
Joe Atkinson - Organ, piano, some guitar, accordion, backing vocals.
Mike Chitty - Drums, percussion & backing vocals
John Thompson - Bass guitar (The bass player, not the zither man)
Some gigs the bass is provided by Nick Walkling.
Previous band members:
Greg Shepheard 2006-2009- Bass guitar & engineer of Flipron recordings
Mark Wingfield 2003-2006 then 2009-2010- Bass guitar
Here are some reviews...
"Brilliant but frankly unclassifiable." Daily Telegraph
"The best wordsmith in the UK....immerse youself in their world and celebrate a true national Treasure."
Mick Mercer
"Its a treat to encounter a genuinely uncategorisable group..." Charles Shaar Murray, Observer Music Monthly
See www.myspace.com/flipron or www.flipron.co.uk for more info.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
Read More
