Featured Music Story

Almost Famous

Flickerstick kick the reality habit and quit their day jobs

by Amy Dunn

    With the advent of reality TV shows, it was only a matter of time before VH1 capitalized on the craze with its creation “Bands on the Run,” a program that pitted four unsigned rock bands (Flickerstick, Harlow, Soulcracker and The Josh Dodes Band) against each other in a race to win a chance at hitting the big time. At stake was $150,000 in cash, brand new equipment, a music video and an A&R showcase. Each band endured “missions” where they were judged on two criteria: how much merchandise they could shove down people’s throats, and the quality of their music (judged by various live audiences around the U.S.).

    The minute you saw Flickerstick, you just knew these guys were going to take the prize. Scrappy and rebellious, with the worst merchandise sales on the show, the band routinely laughed off each “mission” they were handed. They (mis)behaved like sailors on leave in each town they visited, and they were absolutely determined to make it on the merit of their music alone—or not at all.

    But ever since their victory, Flickerstick have developed a bit of a credibility problem. It seems that with all the spoils from the show has come a certain backlash; a sort of musical snobbery from the music industry. Rolling Stone magazine gave their new album three stars but ended the review with a jab daring O-Town (winners of ABC’s “Making the Band” reality show) to make the next move.

    So how do Flickerstick cope with a public that would just as soon watch an episode of “Behind the Music: The Milli Vanilli Story” as grant them artistic credence? What do they tell people who think they’re just another garden-variety makeshift corporate musical puppet?

    “How anyone makes [the O-Town] correlation is out of pure stupidity,” says lead singer Brandin Lea backstage at the band’s recent Quest performance. “O-Town was five dudes that got put together on a show; they don’t write or play their own music. We’ve been touring for almost five years. My four-year-old brother can tell you that.”

    Brandin and guitarist Cory Kreig admit that their national TV exposure has definitely proved to be a double-edged sword for Flickerstick, especially since “Bands on the Run” focused more on the personal lives of the band members than the music itself.
    “VH1 was not trying to put together a show about music, as much as they try to get you to believe that,” says Brandin. “It was a show about what it’s like to be in a rock band … not necessarily what we sounded like.”

    Consequently, the members of Flickerstick are in the awkward position of being both TV stars and touring rock musicians.

    “We are the most famous poor people that I’ve ever met,” says Brandin.

    But in the end, it appears that given a choice between being rich and being famous, Flickerstick choose … respect.

    “If I knew then what I know now,” says Brandin, “I would have [done] it on our own. But that’s hard to say when you’re sitting at home playing three shows a month, wanting to change your life and you know that this will immediately change your life and you’ll get to do a lot more things with your music. It was hard to say no.”

    Cory agrees, but points out that the tradeoff isn’t all-bad. “Since the day we left to film ‘Bands on the Run,’ I’ve not had to refill a motherfucker’s tea or ask someone what kind of salad dressing they want.” pulse