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| Photo by Jenn Emily |
If you long for the
glory days of punk rock, back when it made you feel unsafe and uneasy. You wanted to run from it yet you were
magnetically drawn to it. It gave you that same feeling in the pit of your
stomach similar to driving a '69 Camaro ZL1 100 MPH and suddenly realizing
the breaks don’t work. You try to explain
this feeling to others but you see in their eyes that within the first five
seconds of the conversation that they either get what you're saying or they never will. Flesh Rag bottles this mixture of adrenaline, rage,
anxiety and despair in a similar way Radio Birdman, The Stooges, and The Dead
Boys once did years ago. Only thing is, Flesh Rag
have a couple key ingredients those bands now lack: piss and vinegar.
Interview by J Castro
Who is currently in
Flesh Rag and what does everyone do in the band?
Eric Felgner - bass, cigarettes, and driving home at the end of the
night.
Nathan Burger - Drums, greens, and homemade pizza maker.
Matt Ellis - Vocals, guitar, and general bullshit.
How did you all meet and decide to play music together?
MATT: Burger and I (Ellis) had played in a number of bands
together. The only one worth noting was Rocket Reducers. We’ve been friends for
a real long time and decided we should get together write some songs and see
what happens. After a fun night working on some tunes we decided to recruit our
old Friend Eric who we knew from his time spent in The Vapids; a long running
Hamilton band.
What band or musician first inspired you to want to pick up an instrument and learn to play and/or write music?
MATT: I had always been into classic punk like the Dead Boys or Stooges
and all the proto 70’s stuff, but the turning point for myself was when I found
out about the garage punk heyday in the 90’s. Shit like New bomb Turks,
Teengenerate and the Candy Snatchers. Its bands like those that bridged the gap
between older punk and more modern stuff and really pushed me to start to play
and record music.
How would you describe you band to your grandparents?
MATT: I’ve always told them we were like Chuck Berry on speed. A
comparison I’m fairly sure my parents never appreciated.
What sorts of things do you typically enjoy writing songs about?
MATT: All the classic Rock n Roll topics like women, drugs, getting
messed up, and the constant pressures and stresses of trying to survive in the
modern world.
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| S/T debut LP released July 28th 2015 on Surfin' Ki records |
I’ve heard people say
that playing and writing music is therapeutic to them. Have you ever
found this to be true?
MATT: Absolutely. I’ve always used music to push out my
negative emotions and expel them out of my body. The last few years of my life
I went through some changes and I used Flesh Rag to push out those bad thoughts
and work through some things. If the band sounds negative to people that’s
because its a vessel for depravity. The bands name itself is about feeling as
low as you can be, down and out and useless. But its also a celebration about moving upward
and beyond that.
Does it annoy you or
distract you at all to see some of your audience members fondling their phones
while you’re up on stage performing?
MATT: Honestly I could care less. I believe people spend
too much time in front of screens so it doesn't surprise me when I see it. It’s
too easy for people to get a hold of you these days, everyone is so connected
it impairs our ability to spend real face to face time together and live life
in the moment. Do I get bummed out when somebody
snaps a photo to post later? No. Is it a bummer to go to a bar and hang out
with your friend and he/she spends the whole night on a cell phone? Yes.
After one of your shows, what sort of feeling or sentiment do you hope your audience walks away with?
MATT: That Rock n Roll is still here. There are still
people who care about music and self-expression. I'm not trying to change the
world, I just want likeminded people to know that there are some of us who care
enough to keep doing this. Every once in a while something happens and I feel
like all the bullshit we gotta put up with in life is worth it. A night out and
a good laugh with friends, seeing a band that’s having fun and cares. That’s
fairly simple and it’s what I’m looking for when I go to see a show and it’s
what I try to deliver.
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| Photo by Jenn Emily |
What is your favorite album to listen to from start to finish?
MATT: Stooges - Fun House. It’s
got everything. Its raw, ripping, pummeling three chord punk rock. Primal as
fuck but can still make your mind melt with all Ron’s psychedelic guitars
blazing, with Iggy howling and a relentless rhythm section. And that sax? C’mon
man! That album is 40 fucking years old and it’s still ahead of the curve.
Honestly it’s untouchable. “T.V Eye” might be the greatest song of all time.
I’ve been listening to Fun House
since I was a little high school stoner punk and it never gets old.
What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you that you still follow to this day?
MATT: Don't take yourself too seriously. Obviously it’s important to be
sincere and honest about everything you do but if you can’t have a laugh you
end up an uptight, out of touch buzzkill and nobody likes a buzzkill man.
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| S/T 7" released November 10th 2015 on Loose Lips records and It's Trash records |
What is the best way people can hear and get a hold of your music?
fleshrag@gmail.com to get in direct
contact with the band. If you wanna check out our tunes fleshrag.bandcamp.com
you can order records from us or the labels.
What lies ahead for Flesh Rag in 2016?
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