THE
THE
The Flurries are a New York-based band on the cusp of hitting the big time. Already under their collective belts are Desert Flower, an eye-dazzling CD-ROM produced by BAM! Software that fleshes out the title track by using animation, real-time video, and individual interviews with the band members, and a lively self-titled EP produced by iconoclast alternative-rock knobsman Wharton Tiers (Helmet, Sonic Youth, Quicksand, Teenage Fanclub, et al).
Currently they're shopping around for a recording contract.
Vocalist Alison Johnson, guitarist Thom Kettrick, bassist Michael Gelfand, and drummer Rob Fitzpatrick recently sat down with rock scribe Mike Mettler (Guitar Player, Musician, Car Stereo Review) at the CBGB Pizzeria, located right next door to fabled punk nightclub CBGB in lower Manhattan, to discuss how a young band comes together to pursue their dream amidst the big-machine-driven music world of the Nineties--and how they interact with the ever-changing face of technology.
Meeting Grounds
URBAN DESIRES: Let's start at the top. How'd you all wind up together?
THOM KETTRICK: It all started at C.W. Post, in Greenvale NY, where Michael and I went to
school together. We met in '84 or '85, and played a bunch of things
together--you know, "In The Rat" gigs, that kind of thing--then Michael transferred
to Syracuse and I joined another band. But we lost our drummer, and Rob
came out of the blue by way of a friend who said, "Hey, I have a friend who
plays drums." Then that band broke up, and we all kind of divided for years,
and didn't hook up again until 1990. I was at a fraternity get-together and
Michael was there, and he and I started talking about getting back together. We
had a drummer who was one of those "exploding" type of drummers--
UD: What, in a Spinal Tap kind of way?
TK: Yeah, right. Every band he was in, he'd do it for three months and then say, "I don't like this band, I'm gonna quit." On a whim I called the operator to find Rob--I asked her if she had a Fitzpatrick listed in Levittown [New York]. So she went through all these different streets...
UD: Now you can just call 1-800 COLLECT.
TK: Yeah (laughs). So we got Rob in on it, and then we started auditioning singers...
FITZPATRICK: No, you had Alison before you had me.
TK: That's right.
ALISON JOHNSON: You had a couple of singers in the band already.
TK: We had a couple of steady ones... there was one guy, once we had chosen the name The Flurries, who wanted out.
AJ: Although it [the name] was quite appropriate for him, I'd say.
UD: What were you looking for when you auditioned singers?
TK: Somebody with power and conviction. We weren't going to be feeding them lyrics, so somebody could come in with their own music or lyrics already written. They could throw whatever they wanted in there, as long as the thing gelled.
AJ: When I came in, I was petrified. I didn't know Thom, and there was another drummer there, not Rob.
MICHAEL GELFAND: Alison and I knew each other from Syracuse.
AJ: Right. We had met there in '86. At the audition, I sang "Sweet Emotion," and that was all I could croak out. I had never even sung before.
UD: So why did you go to the audition?
