Table of Contents Introduction
The next big thing. A number of bands have coveted the label. Some have lived up to the hype, Oasis and Garbage are two in recent years and some have disintegrated from the burden of high expectations. With this idea in mind, Cascading Noyze correspondent Chavez trekked through Europe with Flint, a band that embraces the pressure of being called the next big thing.
There's been a lot of talk, maybe too much talk, about Flint and their upcoming debut album White Trash Folklore. The industry is waiting anxiously to gage the public's reaction to the boys from St. Titosburg and so it was decided that I should track Flint through a few shows as they showcased themselves for European distributors for their upcoming album. It will prove insightful as one day Flint could be the biggest band on the planet or they could end up as barely an afterthought in pop culture consciousness. At the very least, it was a paid vacation for me.
Flint already has down the superstar act. At the very beginning of our journey, Juwan Pilgrim let it be known he would not be interviewed or photographed for our magazine because of a quote in an earlier issue that said Pilgrim is "sexy in his resemblance to a Hawaiian Larry Hagman" (CN 09/96). He didn't take too kindly to an obvious complement. At this point, I began to question if this band and my sanity would survive three weeks away from the great U.S. of A.
It got better and I quickly found a new appreciation for Flint frontman Cody Jackson. He may not have the abundance of musical talent that bandmate Pilgrim enjoys but he is much more than the charismatic, profanity-spewing lead singer of a southern state rock band. Jackson involves himself in the business side of the business and talked with all the reps from various labels. In the past, this magazine has saved its harshest criticism of Flint for Jackson's style on and off stage but on this trip I harbored a new respect for the notorious 'swinger/songwriter'.
Jackson also showed a great deal of class as Flint's first order of business was to persuade ex-bandmate Doug Cherokee to return for a second tour of duty. Flint is definitely a stronger package with Cherokee's keyboard and drum machine expertise in the fold. Luckily, Cherokee wanted back in Flint badly. His band, or what he now refers to as his 'side project', Tartan Joy failed to land a major U.K. record deal and was restricted to a four song demo EP, Kiltwearin'. Cherokee said "It's hard for me to leave Rowdy Roddy [Burns, Tartan Joy's piper] but Flint are my lads from way, way back. I got to listen to some of the takes from Trash and it's obvious they are on the verge… I'm sick of playing the small shows. We've played Dorking, Godalming and Leatherhead about fifty times. I'm glad to rejoin Flint and I think that's mutual between us."
Tartan Joy's final gig was at an Edinburgh club Revolution's and it was a good show since everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, influenced by either alcohol or ecstasy. Cody and Juwan watched the show from the perspective of the audience but that didn't last long. Midway through the set, Juwan strapped on his Fender and Cody swaggered to the mike. "As Scots we're all cheeky bastards but I'd like to introduce you to the most arrogant assholes around" Cherokee proclaimed about his pals from Flint. To which Jackson responded "You guys drive on the wrong side of the road". With that, Cody, Juwan and Tartan Joy whipped the crowd into a frenzy with songs called - and I'm not making this up - 'Corduroy Kilts Rub Me Funny', 'Gargle My Haggis' and 'The Prince of Darkness is my Favorite Movie'. The three song spectacle left the mostly goth crowd breathless and Jackson thinking of possibilities. "I really like the Tartan Joy songs" Jackson said. "Doug's lyrics do have a Howard Jones quality to them. 'Corduroy Kilts Rub Me Funny' is a song I'd like to record with Flint, perhaps as a B-side on one of our singles. It is a song with a presence. I think Doug is trying to use a corduroy kilt as a metaphor for a woman he has had a one-night stand with. At first, they both might feel good on your ying-yang but eventually you just don't want to deal with it… or her." When I relayed this quote to Cherokee he laughed and said "As usual, Cody relates everything to women and as usual he is full of sh*t."
It was Flint's turn to play as a collective unit at the Hockaleugen festival in south-central Switzerland. Half of the crowd were industry types sniffing around while the other half were curious fans longing for a look at an American band. For this show, Flint experimented as a four-piece outfit with Pierre Young joining the trio to play the kazoo and ukulele on a few tracks. When Young was introduced, Jackson told the crowd Young was of Swiss descent but any crowd could tell from Young's short-long haircut what side of the Atlantic he was from. Jackson also alienated the crowd early by screaming at the crowd "Welcome to the White Trash Picture show. Are you hvit seppelkasse"? He obviously was given some wrong information except in the case of the sparse Norwegian in the crowd who understood white trash in his native dialect. Other than that, it was a strong show and the band showed no signs of nervousness despite the fact that Flint's two contending suitors, Jean-Luc Bernon of Three Francs Please Records and Dieter Kunstschmelleich of Monstercheck Records, were among those in attendance. It was an important gig for Flint as they needed to prove they could deliver at a pressure-packed show.
The trip seemed to go smoothly. Of course, it did have a few bumps. Doug Cherokee injured himself falling out of bed the night after the Hockaleugen concert. Doug, Cody and Pierre were escorted out of a restaurant in London for refusing to pay its seven pound per head minimum, hours after the Tower of London guards kindly asked them to take their afternoon drunkenness elsewhere. But that is just life as usual for the boys from St. Titosburg. Jean-Luc Bernon of Three Francs Please records, who successfully persuaded Flint to sign with his European distributing label, had this to say about Flint, "I expect Flint to be massive. Unaware crowds have been very receptive to their performances".
Will Flint be the next big thing? To Cody Jackson, it is a foregone conclusion. To Doug Cherokee, success would be part of a welcome return to stateside rock. To Pierre Young, it would mean he could stop living off his model girlfriend and to Juwan Pilgrim, no one at this magazine will ever know as he kept his promise and refused to cooperate for the entire trip. Flint is backed by industry buzz and an ability with their live show to win over prospective fans but whether or not that translates into record sales will determine if this band becomes the next big thing.