Flipper comes back to Phoenix and an art show breaks out

By Tom Reardon

My buddy Jeff and I used to sing our own version of the lyrics to Flipper’s song, “Ha Ha Ha,” from the excellent 1981 Alternative Tentacles compilation, Let Them Eat Jelly Beans. During the chorus—which is a series of “Ha ha,” “Ho ho,” and “He he” laughter sounds—we would switch it up and drop in the theme from the classic Phoenix children’s weekday morning show, Wallace and Ladmo, singing: “Ho ho, ha ha, he he, ha ha.”

We were clever.

The thing was, at least for me, listening to that compilation led to buying the Generic Flipper record (or Album - Generic Flipper, if you want to get technical), and a forty-year love affair with the band began. One of the things I love most about the legendary San Francisco group is that you’re either a Flipper fan or you aren’t—there really isn’t any middle ground. Call them an acquired taste, maybe, but to paraphrase what Henry Rollins wrote in Get In the Van: Flipper is just “heavier than everyone else.”

They really were, too. If you think about the music coming out in the early 1980s—especially in the punk rock world—no one was heavier than Flipper. Their songs were and are abrasive, clever, challenging, deceptive, and fucking awesomely beautiful yet ugly rock and roll.

Flipper was the complete package for a guy like me looking for something that didn’t sound like every other punk rock band in 1985.

Why does this matter now? On Tuesday, October 13, at Hello Lincoln (850 W. Lincoln), you can catch Flipper, with local support from Sneak and Treacherous Dogs, starting at 7:00 PM. In addition to the live sets, DJs TK Nicholson and Chase “HellaHammer” Mason will be spinning tunes throughout the night.

Almost as cool as seeing the mighty Flipper perform, drummer Steve DePace—the band’s sole surviving original member—will be hosting a special showing of a collection of Flipper-related art and ephemera, complete with a talk about the band’s iconic logo.

Let’s put it this way: if you’ve never heard Flipper, but you appreciate music and experiences that don’t fit into a neat little cultural box, this show is for you. The venue at Hello Lincoln is one of the coolest things to happen to Phoenix in the last decade, and music fans (myself included) should be deeply grateful for what the good folks at Hello Merch and their crew are putting together just south of Downtown Phoenix.

Last week, I went down to the venue to chat with Chris Parsons, who runs customer relations for Hello Merch, and Jason Woodbury—the excellent writer and podcaster who also works for Hello Merch in multiple capacities. They gave me a tour of their super cool space, showed me the Hello Lincoln venue where the art will be displayed, and filled me in on what they’re building in this hidden-gem spot. (I encourage everyone to check out what these guys and their ~30 employees are up to over at hellomerch.com.)

Parsons, who estimates he’s played in around 30 different Phoenix bands over the years (including direct support for this show, Sneak), helped set up Flipper’s recent September 4 gig at Firecreek Coffee and struck up a friendship with DePace.

“Honestly, the greatest thing about a band like Flipper is that they’re a band that’s just going to be so good live. When you hear their records, you just know you’ve gotta see it live,” says Parsons.

For DePace, he’s thrilled that Parsons was so keen to help put on another show as the band wraps up a second short West Coast tour leg—and to bring over the Flipper art installation previously hosted in Los Angeles at the Goethe-Institut.

“I had too much stuff just sitting around my place, and I decided to start showing it. With the 50-year anniversary of punk rock happening, I figured it was time. I framed up a bunch of posters and album art and put them on the wall. It looks pretty cool. I mentioned it to Chris, and he asked if I wanted to do an art show in Phoenix,” says DePace.

DePace went on to share that while Justin Pearson (Deaf Club, The Locust, Retox) has been handling vocals on recent dates, he won’t be able to make the Hello Lincoln show. So the band is calling in a few favors from local Arizona musicians to make the night even more of a spectacle. While DePace couldn’t reveal everything, he did share that members of the Meat Puppets will be hopping on stage to jam on a few Flipper tracks—with even more surprises in store.

Possibly some very big ones, but you’ll only find out if you head down to Hello Lincoln on Tuesday night. The show is all-ages, which is very important to Parsons and the folks down at Hello Headquarters. If you haven’t checked out one of the coolest venues in town, now is the perfect time.

What else are you gonna do?