For the first time since their 40th anniversary celebrations in 2019, famously erratic noise rock outfit Flipper have announced another birthday tour! This time for the less commonly recognised 43rd anniversary. The band will be touring the UK and Europe this Summer as a trio joined by Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges) joining the founding members, Stephen DePace on the drums, and Ted Falconi playing the guitar, as the bass player and vocalist. You can check out full tour information, and try and bag yourself tickets to the extensive UK and EU tour, here.
The trio will hit the UK first with a run of shows starting at the end of July, they will then head off to the European mainland to round out the 3-week tour period. In total, there will be 21 shows as planned at this time with Mike Watt. Along the way, Flipper will be announcing future shows with guest singers and musicians, as a part of “’Till the Wheels Fall Off” Flipper World Tour.
As noticed earlier, “Flipper will be out making new friends and rekindling old friendships with guest vocalists and musicians along the way.” – comments Stephen DePace, drummer and co-founder of Flipper for Brooklyn Vegan.
For this summer tour, the founding members, Ted Falconi and Stephen DePace reached out to Mike Watt to invite him to join them marking the 43rd anniversary of Flipper. The band’s interactions with Mike Watt go back to the 80s, when Flipper and Minutemen played their first show together, in San Francisco.
With a history just as disjointed as their music, Flipper has spent a large portion of their career on Hiatus, regularly reforming for a tour or two over the years. Since their formation in 1979, the band have kept new music to the bare minimum. But their debut, Album – Generic Flipper, has since become a bit of a staple in the punk community. It also seemingly gave them enough traction to send out an offer to any bassist they wanted to be involved with for a few years. Kris Novoselic (made famous from his years in Nirvana) joined in 2006 to record their latest effort Love – before swiftly departing prior to the tour kicking off – and now the inclusion of Mike Watt just adds to the bands running lineup of world-class bassists.
See below the dates for the UK leg of Flippers tour:
28.07.22 – Salford – The White Hotel
29.07 – Glasgow – The Hug & Pint
30.07 – Newcastle Upon Tyne – The Cluny
01.08 – Stoke On Trent – The Underground
02.08 – Cardiff – The Moon
03.08 – Portsmouth – Wedgewood Rooms
04.08 – Huddersfield – The Parish
05.08 – Liverpool – Invisible Wind Factory Substation
06.08 – Bristol – The Exchange
07.08 – London – New Cross Inn
Photo credits: Manfred Rahs
