Flagrante Delicto

OTTO ROSS
Tucson Citizen

Erik Ketchup, bassist and vocalist of local band Flagrante Delicto, hunches over the Club Congress bar, nursing his hangover with a Bloody Mary.

A fedora of sorts sits back on his head and his stretched ear lobes are plugged with eternally preserved beetles encased in glass. The rest of his wardrobe is drab and torn except for his immaculately clean neon green converse kicks.

After discussing various mustache waxes, drummer Aharon Wonky arrives and we move outside where the two can chain-smoke their hand-rolled cigarettes. Perhaps the only thing stranger than Ketchup himself is his music.

"Man, I've tried to be a singer-songwriter for years and every time I try to write a song, it's like cartoon music," he says with a hint of self-loathing. "I should call Warner Bros."

After a pause he lifts the sleeve of his shirt to reveal an upside-down Warner Bros. trademark tattooed on his arm. On the other arm a crude tattoo of the devil fornicating with a woman peaks out from under his sleeve.

After being in a number of bands that Ketchup describes as "terrible," in 2006 he started Flagrante Delicto, which is playing in this year's Spring Club Crawl on Saturday. The group takes the stage at 1 a.m. at Club Congress, one of the 30 venues featuring 80 bands in the biannual club-hopping extravaganza.

Ketchup discovered the name for the band while watching divorce court. In legal terms it means, "to be caught in the act," but the direct Latin translation is "while the crime is blazing," he says.

"We're writing from a different place. I feel like we're infiltrating the music scene and it's like a crime."

While a variety of different local musicians play with Flagrante and record on their albums, the only official members of the band at this point are Ketchup and Wonky.

The duo met during a show that Flagrante was performing at Vaudeville before Wonky had become a member. Wonky, who worked sound for the venue at the time, was blown away after hearing Flagrante play.

"I've heard and mixed just about every local band and when I heard Flagrante they were the only band that I was like, "I want to drum for these guys. ' "

Over the next few months Wonky continued to voice his interest in playing with the band but Ketchup dismissed him as just a fan. It wasn't until a mutual friend brought Wonky and Ketchup closer that Ketchup would seriously consider Wonky for the part.

"I was like, 'Yeah whatever, dude. You work at Vaudeville.' Then we started hanging out because we found out we were sleeping with the same girl and I was finally like, "OK, I'm going to give this guy a chance.' "

Ketchup gave Wonky a copy of his CD and a week later Wonky returned, having memorized every drum part on the album just from listening to it. He was in.

Together, Wonky and Ketchup goof around like schoolboys, constantly cracking jokes and laughing with each other. It is this same playful and ridiculous camaraderie that shines through in Flagrante's music.

The songs are comprised of a cacophony of various instruments including horns, keyboards and even marimbas with occasional vocals, all emulating the absurd nature of Wonky and Ketchup. The style of the music ranges from experimental to circus to dance rock and beyond. Perhaps the most surprising element of Flagrante is how genuine and thoughtful the members are about their seemingly erratic music.

"You can't limit yourself when you're writing music," Ketchup says. "It's just what comes out of you, and that's what's inside of my mind - it's this cartoon music."

Part of this "cartoon music" style came from a desire to buck against the confines of what Ketchup and Wonky call "the Tucson genre." They preferred to create their own niche in Tucson music rather than follow in the footsteps of other local bands, Ketchup says.

"I was really tired of the name for the Tucson music genre being like desert-rock-alt-country-desert, so I just got angry and started writing love songs about coulrophilia (a term referring to sexual attraction to clowns) and clown sex."

While Flagrante's music may not be accessible to everyone and is probably a long way from getting them signed with a major record label, Wonky and Ketchup are simply concerned with making music exactly how they want - regardless of what others think.

"Now is the time for the independent musician," Ketchup says. "Major labels are dying and it's kind of a beautiful thing."

This transformation is giving musicians freedom from trying to meet the demands of major record labels, Wonky adds.

"It puts way more creative control and power into the artist's hands. You can build a fanbase online and people can get your stuff instantly. You can reach the world," he says.

Flagrante played Club Crawl in 2007 and Wonky and Ketchup consider the event one of the best opportunities for local musicians to spread their music.

"It's really fun to play for drunk people who live - Tucson Citizen

Saturday, Feb. 28

What were they called before they became known as bohemians? All those visual artists, performers, writers and musicians of modest means that are always shaking the roots of established paradigms? In every generation and every place, they establish thriving, underground communities, exchanging ideas and inspiration.

On Saturday night, Bohemia: An Artisans Emporium was host to more than 100 of Tucson's bohemians and their admirers. Experimental music-carnival purveyors Flagrante Delicto swapped sets with models showing off the artistry of Tucson fashion designers, under a screen showing live-action, overhead-projector graffiti by Mel Dominguez.

According to Bohemia proprietor Tana Kelch, the economy inspired the theme for the show, "Surging the Mend."

"We were thinking about the Depression--the need to pull together, mend the community and be resourceful," she says, "and about what people did for entertainment back then." The result was part-vaudeville, part-couture runway parody, and all over-the-top creativity--with a lot of wearable art.

Models in all shapes and sizes vamped, danced and teased their way through the crowd. Many were pre-accessorized with tattoos that accented their outfits as much as the fanciful necklaces and bracelets--often using unexpected materials--made by Tucson artists. Dada Contemporary's hair stylings, mounded, airy and loaded with extensions, perfectly balanced the gorgeous spectacle of Preen's vaudeville-influenced designs, with their radically deconstructed hemlines, poufs, bustles and multiple textures. Preen co-owners Erin Bradley and musician Emilie Marchand helped organize the event and were among their collection's models.

Like Preen's, the outfits from Wandering Star (designed by Keli Carpenter of the Tryst), Siobhan (designed by Elizabeth Albert of Skrappy's) and Chintzy Couture (designed by Amanda Frame-Wawro, wife of the Deludes singer Larry Wawro) featured recycled fabrics in lighthearted combinations of stripes and florals, knits and tulles. The show ended with a series of indie couture "formals."

Flagrante Delicto's sets were inspired features of the event. Like the evening's fashions, their music deconstructs and recombines influences, from jazz and rock to comic opera. Both dark and whimsical, their experimental sound pushes boundaries and flouts conventions.

Linda Ray

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com Flagrante Delicto - Tucson Weekly

I had earlier described closers Flagrante Delicto as "Tom Waits meets the Insane Clown Posse." I was partially correct. They did bring a clown dancer, though I also heard similarities to Marilyn Manson, Manu Chao and serial killer/clownartist John Wayne Gacy. When not singing about clown sex and carousels, FD shifted gears with spacey electronic-enhanced instrumentals, sounding like the Secret Machines, Radiohead and even Rush. Oddly, in one tune, the group quoted Oingo Boingo's "Weird Science."

As I excitedly pointed out the reference to a girl at the bar who was earlier doing some odd mirror-dance with her friend, I got the response I feared the most. "Oingo Boingo? Is that the name of some clown?" You can guess what the next question was.


**side note: we did not, in fact, bring a clown dancer. she brought herself... - Tucson Weekly

Kicking off this weeknight of weirdness was Tucson’s Flagrante Delicto, an eclectic bass-keyboard-drum trio of shabby-chic hippie musicians who specialize in “pirate-gypsy-swing-circus-punk” that’s got a worldly-yet-otherworldly vibe to it. It’s kinda like a mix of Oingo Boingo and Mr. Bungle with a chaser of Weird Al, or better yet, Gogol Bordello without the Eastern European influences. - Phoenix New Times

go here: http://issuu.com/arizonadailywildcat/docs/9.9.09bpdf - az daily wildcat

Dan Shapiro writes:

Flagrante Delicto is slowly moving up through the ranks of live bands to check out in Tucson. In fact, they are having the official release party of their first full-length album right here in Tucson at Club Congress this Friday, May 2.

The name of the new album is Piss & Ink and yes, it will be released under Flagrante D’s own label, Medical Records.

So many different things come to mind when considering Piss & Ink and that is exactly what Flagrante Delicto had in mind when they cogitated their crazy circus music. It’s hard to say if there has ever been a band to funnel more influences into a single record and, even though their sound may remind you of Tom Waits, Oingo Boingo (“Beetlejuice” soundtrack Danny Elfman) and Mr. Bungle, their contrasting musical elements hold every groove together.

In a similarly multi-faceted fashion, Piss & Ink includes the likes of Dave Smith a.k.a. Don Fiasco, (currently of Mucca Pazza and formerly of The Baltimores, Blue Meanies, and various other amazing projects) Carl Sondrol, (who also been a part of various amazing projects, including music composer for films and is currently of the band Nuclear Biologist Rocket Surgeons) and Brandon Wojcik (currently of Division and Honore, various other amazing projects, and also a legendary pie-eating contest champion). Rob Kleiner, currently of Tub Ring, Edison’s Arm, Super 8-Bit Brothers and who has produced two solo albums and film scores – and is formerly of Mindless Self Indulgence, Daiquiri and a crap-load of other musical endeavors – also makes a guest appearance.

The only member we are missing is Erik Scott Ketchup, who sat down to talk with AZNightBuzz about Flagrante D’s past, present and future. As a side note, this goes down as one of my finest interviews all thanks to Ketchup, who gave me the best answers. There’s definitely piss and ink that went into this one ladies and gentlemen, so read away.

AZNB: How long have you guys been in Tucson?

Erik Scott Ketchup: I have been in the whimsical desert landscape known as Tucson for about four years and am still in culture shock. Adam Scott Pants has been in and out of Tucson throughout his life, perhaps only leaving to remind himself of why he likes Tucson so much. Nathan Scott Teufel is a native of “Planet Tucson,” and likes it here very much. Oh, in case you were wondering, “Scott” is every member’s REAL middle name.

How long has Flagrante Delicto been around?

Ketchup: Flagrant D met each other while working at The Grill, a lovely, quaint 24-hour diner in downtown Tucson that you should take grandma to. The band has been performed under various names over the past three and a half years, with Flagrante Delicto being the most recent alias for the past two years…FD used to be a Motown “fusion” band called Lolo Veve and the keyboardist, Adam, played guitar. The first show ever performed was at Sharks on Congress Street and he was electrocuted in his face. Twice. After some drastic lifestyle changes and over-exposure to the Tucson sun, the name was changed to Flagrante Delicto and attention spans drifted towards forgotten musical styles of the past, and finding new ways to approach some of those ideas.

What should listeners expect from your new CD?

Ketchup: We were listening to a lot of musical theater composition when we made this album. It’s our own “Cartoon Hell.” We’re not sure what the listener is going to interpret this as, but we hope it doesn’t entirely suck…what if Cab Calloway was a robot? What would that sound like to you?

You recorded your album in Chicago. What was that like?

Ketchup: Chicago was one of the most intense and rewarding experiences of our lives. The food is amazing, the people are friendly and accepting, and the art…music is refreshingly unique and brilliant. If you haven’t been there, I recommend dropping whatever it is you are doing and visiting immediately. They even have a White Castle.

Who is Rob Kleiner and what was it like working with him?

Ketchup: Working with Rob was like having a personal Sensei in the art of ROCK. He’s like Splinter from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” except less hairy, less old, and not a rat or a cartoon.

Piss & Ink looks to be your fourth release (even though you call it your debut album on your Web site). Are those fake records or something?

Ketchup: Good question, sir! Actually, everything we’ve released up until now has been more of an EP. We recorded and packaged those EPs ourselves and they were handmade in limited quantity. “Piss & Ink” will be our first full length release with a barcode and “professional” packaging.

*Your EP entitled Flagrante Delicto: Live @ The Knitting Factory
(Nov. 21, 2007, Medical Records) seems like a really interesting venture.*

Ketchup: We never really had that for sale. It was just something we put online. We played at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood in support of our last EP titled “Whores of Blameless - aznightbuzz.com