flanelhed

There is a band with a fiery force that has a powerful hunger for loud amplifiers filled with grungy guitars and soaring vocals, throbbing basslines and heart-stopping drums. This force is a band called Flanelhed, and it slams itself out of Novato, California, blowing its way out of suburbia for over 25 years in order to let loose the power of its hard-driving, edgy, and wickedly original rock & roll.

Guitarist John Murphy and vocalist Chris Matthews met over 30 years ago and established a strong musical connection within their friendship, and in 1993 both men created Flanelhed. The history in short: the band gigged, put out many albums and changed various members throughout the years, but they persevered with a lot of hard work, a continued refining of their sound, and a fine-tuning of their chops. Along with drummer Evan Frank, who returned to the band in 2008 after originally joining in 1998, and with the recent addition of bassist Jeff Cox, Flanelhed has a solid lineup that creates the explosive sound they have become renowned for.

With the 25th anniversary of the founding of the band, Flanelhed released their newest album, Seven, and rocked its birth at HopMonk Novato. Covering the new album in its entirety, the band opened with the pulsating grunge of “Don’t Look Down” and the slow but throbbing “Light Speed.” They then jammed it into high gear with the thundering, good-riddance breakup song “Cold,” the heavy-metal vibe of “Last October,” and the hypnotic groove of “Away.” The band didn’t skimp on old favorites from prior albums, such as “Tornado Woman,” “Fall To Earth,” and the epicness of “Static.”

The show was pure Flanelhed: crashing drums, searing guitars, deep bass lines, soaring vocals, and an intense sonic depth that all forms itself into intelligent and deep rock and roll. It proves that, even after 25 years, the sound of Flanelhed can still rearrange your neurons. Flanelhed is a band committed to their music as much as they are committed to creating a cohesive dynamic that combines the equal efforts of all players, for that is what keeps the music real and true. - Carolyn McCoy

Longevity in a band is somewhat of an anomaly. So when a band finds itself in its 25th year of being a band, it’s cause for celebration. Guitarist Murf and vocalist Chris Matthews met over 30 years ago and established a strong musical connection within their friendship, and in 1993 both men created the Novato-based hard rock band Flanelhed. “I had no idea the longevity of this,” says Matthews, “At that time, I wasn’t really thinking about where we were heading. I just thought ‘this looks fun, I’m gonna do this.’ ”

The Flanelhed history in a nutshell: the band gigged, put out many albums and changed various members throughout the years, but they persevered with a lot of hard work, a continued refining of their sound, and a fine-tuning of their chops. Along with drummer Evan Frank, who returned to the band in 2008 after originally joining in 1998, and with the recent addition of bassist Jeff Cox, Flanelhed has a solid lineup that still creates the explosive sound they have become renowned for. Says Murf, “When Chris and I started writing songs together, the creative momentum started to flow and the music scene was really happening. I was motivated to keep going.”

With the 25th anniversary of the founding of the band, Flanelhed released their latest album, Seven. “We have always stayed true to ourselves,” says Murf, “We explored a more acoustic/singer-songwriter sound for a while towards the end of the 90’s through the early 2000’s. The scene was changing and we changed with it. I’m very proud of that period; however, we had some personnel changes around that time and decided to go back to our roots and progress into where we are now.”

Seven is an amazing collection of hard-driving, hard-rocking songs that are all pure Flanelhed. Although there are hints of personal and professional growth within the sound and vibe of the album, it seems that there is still that dark and crunchy, head-banging sound. “Lyrically, there’s still the usual boy/girl breakups, a hooker, lost at sea, genocide, gossip, more break ups. We’re on maybe a harder trend, but we still tie the record together creatively,” says Matthews.

The opening track of “Don’t Look Down” starts almost like a “warrior call to war” then bursts open into a pulsating, grunge-fest. “Light Speed” is like a razor blade to your ears with Murf’s aggressive guitar, and Matthew’s lyrics, “Shine the light straight down, help me out again”. The band rocks it hard with the thundering, good-riddance breakup song “Cold,” and they bust out the heavy-metal vibe with “Last October.” The hypnotic groove of “Away” is mesmerizing and dreamy in a “slay it with heavy metal” kind of way.

Working with engineer/producer Snake at Berkeley’s Greendot Studio for the recording of Seven was a different, challenging and rewarding experience for the band. “He had a different way of recording than we were used to and was aggressive in getting the right performance out of each of us. I also think that technology has improved since our last studio album and that also translated to a really modern big sounding recording,” says Matthews. “Creativity and performance-wise I’m feeling the most comfortable I’ve ever felt. I’m getting older so the high notes may not be as crisp, but the confidence is there.

Says Murf on the vibe and sound of the album, “I think it was just a natural progression of playing for this long, refining our tone & sound. From the beginning, we never set out to write a particular song or style for a particular demographic. We always just came in with ideas as we felt them come in and that’s why nothing feels forced."

Even in getting older and becoming more “adult,” Flanehed still gives it up in the hard and furious way we fans know and love.

To find out more about Flanelhed and their awesome album Seven, check out their website: http://www.flanelhed.com/ - Carolyn McCoy