The Flatliners–fans of Mr. Freeman. Photo courtesy of Fat Wreck Chords
Is there a particular memory that stands out for you of hanging out and being on tour with him?
(laughs) Yeah, I’ve told the story a few times, but the first time I met him was in Reno because that was the first date on tour with him. I was going to a 7-Eleven down the street from the venue and saw these taquitos and the line was huge. I didn’t see who was at the front, but I heard the them order taquitos and saw the guy at 7-Eleven grab the last two taquitos and give them to him. I was so bummed, I was like “God, this sucks. I really wanted those taquitos.” Then I turned around and it was Tony Sly. I ended up walking back to the venue and introduced myself to him and we talked for a few minutes and finally I was like, “I got to tell you, man, I’m so jealous you got those taquitos. That’s why I went to 7-Eleven.” He was like, “Eh, they were disgusting.” So I thought, “You know, you’re probably saving me a lot of trouble by telling me they were disgusting.” It’s kind of weird, but that was my first time talking to Tony Sly. He was so cool and generous. A very wise man. I feel privileged to have gotten to know him.
Having now covered another artist, what band would you want to cover The Flatliners?
Oh man (laughs). That’s a good question. I’ll say that one year we toured with The Menzingers down to Fest in Gainesville and played at the same time. They covered one of our songs and we covered one of their songs. So as far as our friends in active bands who are totally killing it and stuff…we were so honored that they did that. They were good, too. So I feel like we’ve already accomplished that, which is rad (laughs).
Which celebrity or musician do you wish could see The Flatliners live?
Hmmm, a celebrity or musician….good question…hang on one second, let me ask one of the other guys (pauses)…
(returns to phone) Paul, our drummer, says Bill Murray right away.
Any reason?
Paul says he’s killer, so that’s why.
When you’re traveling from venue to venue on tour, how do you guys decide who the driver is?
Actually, Paul does a lot of the driving. He delivers stuff when he’s home so he’s always driving no matter what he’s doing with his life. I think he enjoys it (laughs). But yeah, we usually have a rotation set out on tour for driving after the show, mostly for “letting loose” purposes, so you know what night you have to drive and be responsible and take care of everybody and you also know what nights you can do whatever you want. But during the day, there’s no real schedule. It’s just whoever is feeling up to it.
Tell me about your tattoos.
We all got Autobahn tattoos in Europe a few months ago – check another one off the tour tattoo list. I enjoy it. It’s exciting getting to travel and tour around a lot. Music and tattoos have always kind of gone hand in hand. It’s great to meet tattooers from all over the place. You can even swap tattoos for merch or tickets. It happens more often than you’d think. It’s rad. It’s a great way to meet people. It’s a great art form. I have a buddy named Franz Stefanik who lives in Toronto and has tattooed a bunch of us. He’s great. After a while, they don’t have as much meaning each of them – not to say that none of them do – but at this point, I’ll get a goofy tattoo just because (laughs).
Before I let you go, the year is wrapping up. Of the top of your head, what are your top 5 albums of 2013?
Sure. It’s tough to put them in any order, but the top five records that I liked that were released this year…
A Whilhelm Scream – Partycrasher
PUP’s self-titled record. They’re a band from Toronto. P-U-P.
The Night Marchers – Allez Allez
The Bronx’ new record is fucking killer.
…that’s four…(pauses)
There’s a guy from Victoria called Northcote. He put out a new record this year. It’s a self-titled record. It’s awesome.
