Punk rock band Flipper, currently composed of Bruce Loose (vocals/bass), Ted Falconi (guitar), Steve DePace (drums) and Rachel Thoele (bass), recently concluded a tour that touched several cities of the U.S. and Europe.

Formed in 1979, Flipper is a seminal band of the San Francisco punk scene, and it has been a huge influence for many bands pertaining to different musical styles, including bands such as Nirvana and The Melvins. Flipper took a break of ten years from the mid-90s to 2005, when they came back to the scene. The band’s latest release is a twin album; the first record, “Love,” contains studio material, recorded with Krist Novoselic (ex-Nirvana) who was the bass player at the time, while the second album, “Fight,” is a live album.

For the joy of fans, the band is now working on new songs, together with the new bass player Rachel Thoele (ex- Frightwig, Mudwimin, and Van Gough’s Daughter). The material is only at the first stage of creation though, not going beyond initial jams. Drummer Steve DePace told Toonari Post that the band will not head to the studio for recording a new album at least until the second half of the year, with the new record being released next year at the earliest.

However, another exciting release is coming soon for the band. According to DePace, Flipper intends to release this year a complete album recorded back in 1983, previously unreleased. The tracks are outtakes from “Gone Fishin’,” the band’s second studio album released in 1984. The new album will contain the original recordings of 1983.

Toonari Post had also the chance to attend one of the band’s concert during their latest tour. The performance took place in Vienna, Austria, on April 20. With the occasion, Flipper gave an intense performance, creating a raw and powerful atmosphere for about one hour.

The band showed to be completely united in the flow of the performance. Rachel Thoele fitted perfectly and elegantly with the rest of the band, Bruce Loose kept the stage in an intriguing way, with his strong personality enriching the musical performance. Steve DePace elevated the whole sound with an intense drumming performance and Ted Falconi did not miss the chance to show his extraordinary musical capabilities.

The peak of the show was probably reached during the encore, which saw Rachel Thoele asking the crowd to join the band on stage to perform “Sex Bomb,” the song contained in “Generic Flipper,” the first album released by the band in 1982. A fan got on stage to accompany Rachel Thoele in singing the song, while Bruce Loose got the bass, as in the early times of the band, when he was the bass player together with Will Shatter.

Another fan got on stage dancing to the song; the whole performance created an atmosphere that installed in the concert attendees the feeling of being out of time, recreating the environment that used to be the core of rock concerts, but that seems to have been lost by many.

Flipper showed to be in perfect shape and to maintain the feeling that has always lain behind the band’s concept. With this energy and music experience, we look forward to the new releases, and to have the chance to see them touring again soon.

Image Courtesy of   Kevin Warnock
Photo Credit : Kevin Warnock

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About the author

Veronica Cinti
Italian native, extremely passionate about music in general. Although she appreciates a wide variety of music genres, her strongest field of expertise is Rock music, Grunge and Punk among its styles. Contact the author: veronica.cinti@toonarimedia.com; Follow Veronica on Twitter: @VeronicaCinti

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