In early September, indie-rock five-piece, Flipturn, set off on their debut ‘Warmth in the Rain’ tour. I sat down in the green room with the band prior to their October 2 show at Brick and Mortar Music Hall to learn more about the band, their current tour, and their hopes for the future of Flipturn.

The band’s lineup consists of: Dillon Basse (lead vocalist), Madeline Jarman (Bass), Tristan Duncan (lead guitar), Mitch Fountain (synth), and Devon VonBalson (Drums). 

Anna Armstrong: Since this is your debut tour, talk to us a little bit about what that has been like. How are you all feeling? 

Madeline Jarman: You know, we are from a really small town in Florida, so it has been super cool. It is wild to drive up and just realize ‘Wow, you’re in San Francisco!’ 

Dillon Basse: We have never played California before, so every city has been our first city. There have been a lot of firsts this tour, so that’s pretty cool. 

Devon VonBalson: What’s really special about it is, because this is our first time, every city has been exceeding our expectations. 

DB: Oh yeah. People are actually singing back the lyrics to us. 

AA: What is everyone’s favorite song to play and why? 

Tristan Duncan: I love playing the new songs, which we are playing tonight. The latter one, called ‘Space Cowboy,’ is my favorite to play. Playing it live is really allowing us to showcase it and finetune it. 

DB: My favorite to play live is ‘Did I Love You (Like I Promised To)’. It’s the last song we play, and our live version is a lot different than the recorded version. It is more drawn out instrumentally, which is really fun. 

Mitch Fountain: I think mine would be ‘Nickel.’ It’s like the classic garage band sound and I love that sound. The crowd’s energy with that song is unmatched. 

DV: I really like playing ‘Glistening.’ It almost feels like a reset button in the set. It’s a breath of fresh air. It is also really fun from a drummer’s perspective. 

MJ: My favorite is also one of the new ones. I like ‘Playground,’ which is the other new song we are playing. It has a fun bass line in it. 

AA: Just have to say a female bassist is pretty badass. 

MJ: Thank you!

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AA: Do you guys want to share a bit about where you guys are from and how you guys got together?

MJ: Dillon, Tristan, and I started a band in December of 2015. We were still in high school. Tristan and I were studying at a Starbucks, definitely not doing our work haha. We were talking about music and thought it would be really cool to start a band, because why not? Then we were like, ‘Well, we know Dillon has a great voice.’ We were in the same friend group. Then we just sort of found other musicians and played locally for a while. Fast forward five years and now we have Mitch and Devon.

MF: I met Tristan in college. We had an 8AM class across the hallway from each other, and he was carrying like a Nintendo Switch or something. Then I walked up and was like ‘Yo is that a Switch?’ After that, he showed me his band and at that time, I had no idea about Flipturn, but then I was like ‘Damn! This is really good!’ I went to a show about a week later and just thought to myself ‘Wow!’ 

DV: I met Mitch via Instagram. He popped up on my explore page. I thought ‘This guy is a shredder and he lives in the same city as me.’ I slid up on his story and asked him to collab. We did and then we just hit it off really quickly. I had known Flipturn from playing on the same bills with my local band at the time, and I got to know them through various shows. When Mitch hopped on, I wasn’t really involved with any groups. One thing led to another I guess. 

AA: And now you guys are in San Francisco on tour. 

Flipturn: Yeah!

AA: I do have to tell you all… You could not walk through our freshman year dorm hall without hearing ‘August’ blasting from one of the rooms. We are really culturing people over here. You’ve definitely got a little Berkeley fanbase now. 

AA: So, if you were to introduce yourselves and could only suggest one song as sort of your introduction song, what would it be? What song would you recommend to someone interested in Flipturn’s music? 

DB: That’s a really hard question, because there are so many different styles of songs. They don’t all sound the same, so I guess it really depends.  

MJ: I think you make a really good point, Dillon, especially with all of the unreleased music we have. 

DV: Now, I would say one of the new songs we are writing and getting to test out and play live right now. Those probably represent the group the best, because it’s what it has evolved into. The answer to that question will always be changing, though. 

DB: The answer to that question has yet to come.

AA: So the answer is basically “We are just getting started!” 

Flipturn: Yeah! 

DB: Woo! 

AA: What have been some memorable moments from the tour so far? 

MF: CHICKEN!

DB: Mitch is gonna talk about Jalapeño.

MF: We have a new band member and it’s a rubber chicken – the kind you squeeze and they just sort of go “AGHHH.” Well, we named him Jalapeño and made an Instagram account for him. He got like 100 followers in a day. We have brought him up on stage with us now. Someone actually yelled out and asked to see him. 

DB: Last night in LA – fucking LA of all places – someone yelled out “Where’s the Chicken? Where’s Jalapeño?!” We were like – 

DV: ‘You know Jalapeño?!’

MF: He gets more engagement than me.

AA: Is he making an appearance tonight? 

DB: He might. 

AA: Well you said it, so we might have to hold you to it. Sounds like he is going to develop his own fan base. 

MF: He already has. 

DV: I can also recall after one of our Texas shows, we were all exhausted, and we were driving back to our hotel. We stopped at a Buc-ee’s and got Dippin’ Dots. Everyone was absolutely exhausted and we were all sitting in silence. Then out of nowhere, Mitch just yells “These Dippin’ Dots are BUSSIN’!” I don’t think I have ever cackled that hard in my life. I think about that moment like every night. 

DB: Have you ever been to Buc-ee’s?

AA: No!

DB: It is the biggest gas station I have ever seen. 

MF: They are fucking awesome! The most Southern thing you have ever seen.

TD: It would take up an entire San Francisco city block. 

DB: It’s like if Walmart was a gas station. Those were great. We were able to make our 2AM stops there after shows. 

AA: Okay last question. Do you guys want to talk a bit about your writing process? Your lyricism is something that has always stood out to me. 

MJ: Since the very beginning, we start with the music. We’ll make up a cool riff or idea and jam on it. We jam on it for a long time. Basically, and I don’t want to speak for Dillon, but the lyricism comes from the emotion that the music gives us. 

DB: Pretty much. It is a combination of random things, stuff that is happening in our daily lives, stories, and some of it is very loosely based off events that have happened to us. Madeline was pretty spot on really. Depending on how the song feels, is the beginning of where the lyricism comes in. The music narrows down what I want. 

AA: Thank you. I guess the most important question I could ask, though, is will I get to hear ‘Poppies’ tonight?

Flipturn: Yea! 

AA: Alright, well I think that is it. Thanks so much for chatting with us. We’ll let you get ready for the show now! 

 

     Article by Anna Armstrong 

     Banner Photo Contributed by Flipturn 

 

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