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"A.V. Sessions: Flatbear's "Sea Of Monsters""

By John Wiedenhoeft July 31, 2009

Flatbear
Welcome to A.V. Sessions, a new video series in which The A.V. Club and Madison's DNA Studios team up to interrogate local bands and capture them playing exclusive live-in-studio tracks. In our first installment, we ask the members of Flatbear (formerly Jentri Colello) about their recent name change, and they perform the song "Sea Of Monsters" from their debut full-length, Flying Days. They'll also celebrate the album with a show this Saturday at The Frequency.

http://www.avclub.com/madison/articles/av-sessions-flatbears-sea-of-monsters,31004/
- The Onion


"Madtracks: Rattled by Flatbear (Flight)"

MadTracks: 'Rattled' by Flatbear
Jessica Steinhoff on Tuesday 09/15/2009 1:00 pm , (5) Recommendations


Related Articles:
Flatbear: Flying Days
Related Files:
Rattled - Flatbear.mp3
Related Events:
Forward Music Festival with Ra Ra Riot, Sleeping in the Aviary, Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, Flatbear, Princeton
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Confidence is a great thing to have, but only if it�s balanced by a little self-doubt. Occasional bouts of less-than-optimal self-esteem can give you the humility you need to empathize with others and keep you from becoming a snob -- if you don�t let them get the best of you.

Jentri Colello, the face and voice of Flatbear, knows this well. In fact, it�s the sentiment behind the group�s single �Rattled,� the first song on their new album, Flying Days.

�It�s about trying to find perspective in order to keep yourself in check before it�s too late, trying to avoid ending up shaken with guilt and regret for not living as truly and fairly as you can to the people you love,� she explains. �It�s also about making huge, life-changing decisions and being intimidated by being alone in that, knowing you�re the only one who can make yourself feel at peace with those choices and, more importantly, the motives behind them.�

As you might expect, the song isn�t a fast-paced electropop tune full of cheery melodies and beats fit for an aerobics class. It�s not completely morose either, though. In fact, it�s quite uplifting in that epiphany-at-a-coffee-shop sort of way.

The track starts off with a pure and simple guitar line full of ringing tones, then adds an edge when Colello�s voice comes in, low and slow with the slightest hint of rasp. It�s a voice that could easily take a turn toward trip-hop or Kathleen Edwards-style alt-country. For now, though, it hovers somewhere between Suzanne Vega and Poe, folk rock with some otherworldly accessories.

Colello says these sounds came together spontaneously at a rehearsal, when Colello was seeing how well she could strike a few different chords.

�The chord progression emerged, and then Phil [Feutz] was all of a sudden there, ready and chimed in with a drumbeat,� she says. �I came up with a melody soon after, and that turned out to be the only thing we did that night.�

The song will be just one part of a full night of music this Friday at the High Noon Saloon, when the Forward Music Festival shifts into high gear. Flatbear performs in a lineup that includes Ra Ra Riot, Margot and the Nuclear So and So�s, Princeton and Sleeping in the Aviary.

Colello says the band�s particularly excited about this gig since it represents an opportunity to celebrate the community that�s supported and encouraged them while rubbing elbows with other musicians they love.

�We can't wait to play with Margot again, and I've never seen Ra Ra Riot live so this is like Christmas for me,� she says.

An MP3 of �Rattled� is available in the related downloads section at right. More music by Flatbear is available on its MySpace page. The band will perform as part of the second annual Forward Music Festival at the High Noon Saloon on Friday, September 18.

MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message. - ISTHMUS


"Flatbear: Flying Days (ALBUM REVIEW)"

Flatbear: Flying Days
Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 08/14/2009


Flying Days, the debut album of Jentri Colello's newest band, proves that the local singer could be the ruby in the dust Neil Young wrote about in "Cowgirl in the Sand." It's an album that shows a Colello who's lived enough life to make her world-weary lyrics plausible and who's indeed, as Young sang, old enough now to change her name — or the name of her band.

While some fans have questioned the group's name change, calling attention to the whole band rather than just its leading lady makes Colello's vocals stand out even more. The band's other members — Josh Harty on lead guitar, Tony Messinger on bass and keys, Phil Feutz on drums — create the haze that gives Colello's sultry pipes a sense of mystery.

Colello uses her voice and lyrics as a scalpel and a sword, emerging from this fog with delicate strokes, then jabbing straight at the heart. It's a jab that's rhythmic, almost percussive in "Sea of Monsters," as she utters, "But I still can't believe / Still can't believe that I / Still can't breathe / Around here," and "Will you take my hand / If I take your side?"

The path is more roundabout in "War, in Sequence," which uses a folk-rock treatment of carnival music, complete with accordion and woodwinds, to waltz you into a dark and dreamy place where a Ferris wheel gate is a metaphor for moving on.

The slow-burning "NY" shows Colello's Cat Power side, while "Disco Ball" recalls the moody pop of Aimee Mann, filtered through Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker. Meanwhile, the short and sweet "Faultline" bridges the gap between Edie Brickell's still-great 1988 debut, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, and the country-tinged Canadian rock of Kathleen Edwards, Sarah Harmer and even Shakey himself.
- ISTHMUS


"5 Questions with Jentri Colello (of FLATBEAR)"

http://www.muzzleofbees.com/2008/11/05/5-questions-with-jentri-colello/

One of the best things brewing in Wisconsin local music is Jentri Colello. If you’ve yet to see her at one of the venues about town or hear her gorgeous Bird of Prey EP, you’re missing out. I trust her success to continue well beyond the boundaries of the state line and was happy to have some of her time for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of the Bird of Prey EP? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

The process was, by todays standards, about as conventional as you can get. we booked time at a local studio and payed them to record us. Not as unique as a lot of home recording options we had, but it was fun as hell and probably better that we chose someone who hadnt heard our stuff before. We worked at DNA Studios here in Madison with Mark Whitcomb. It was like being on vacation. We kept calling it “summer camp” because all we had to do that week was wake up, grab coffee, meet at the studio, play, tweak, play, blow through 9 hours that felt like one, go home and get up the next day and do it all over again. It was amazing.

Although theres a certain magic in recording at somebody’s house, we feel really lucky we were able to work where we did and with who we did. We had plans to record in this leaky warehouse on Park, when this guy from my painting class started talking about a label he was starting. He offered to pay for all of our studio time and insisted that we do it in a room that wasnt moldy and infested with mice. So we took him up on it.

What artists and/or records would you consider influential in your musical upbringing

Blind Melon: Soup
Neil Young: After The Gold Rush
Pearl Jam: Vitalogy, No Code, Binaural…pretty much all of their B-Sides
Beatles: Rubber Soul, Revolver, White Album
Soul Coughing: Irresistable Bliss
Radiohead: Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief
Cat Power: You Are Free
Cold War Kids: Robbers and Cowards
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

In your opinion, what has been your most successful show to date?

Our show with Mason Jennings at Majestic sounded great and I think we played well. Huge crowd with really great energy. But its a toss up between that night and a more recent show we played with The Championship, The Alarmists, and Blueheels a couple weeks ago. Earlier that night Josh and I played as a duo supporting Yael Naim at the Union Theater and I think it was a great warmup for our set with the whole band at Montmartre.

As a Madison resident, what are some of your favorite restaurants, venues, hangouts, etc?

Mickey’s Tavern, Crystal Corner, Eating: Laredo’s…and lately Kushi Bar Muramoto (but only bc employee discount), as far as rooms to play in The Frequency, Montmartre, Majestic (when the sound is good)

What was the last local and non-local band you went to see as a fan?

Non-Local: The Acorn … great show until the lead player punctuated their set with a drunken faceplant. We all thought it was some brave stage antics until we looked back up at his bandmembers who were clearly worried by the amt of booze he’d consumed.

Local: Classic Tawnies (my buddies’ cover band: Blake Thomas, Josh Harty, Shauncey Ali and Chris Sassman) at Crystal.
- Muzzle of Bees


Discography

Flying Days (LP)
Bird of Prey (EP)

Photos

Bio

FLIGHT (formerly known as Flatbear led by Jentri Colello)

Here's why [Jentri Colello] stirred up all that talk among local writers, record-store clerks and show-regulars this year. Colello and band actually know how to create a mood with grace and starkness." -- The Onion A.V. Club

"One of the best things brewing in Wisconsin local music...I trust their success to continue well beyond the boundaries of the state line."
-- Muzzle of Bees

"Colello's crew builds the dramatic arc of each of her moody folk-rock tunes with startling control."
-- ISTHMUS