Flipturn: Florida’s New Indie Music Legacy
Photo by Austin Townend
Flipturn is on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest alternative bands in the country. They are currently on tour with Wilderado and set to play a multitude of festivals over the spring and summer. The young fivesome, Dillon Basse, Tristan Duncan, Madeline Jarman, Mitch Fountain, and Devon Von Balson, started playing music together in a garage in their hometown of Fernandina Beach, Florida. Embracing the DIY approach, the group soon began to tour around their home state and up the east coast, building their fan base one rambunctious live performance at a time. I had a chance to catch up with Flipturn at The Egyptian Theater in downtown Boise before their highly anticipated Treefort debut.
AM: How has being a part of the DIY music scene influenced how you operate and make music? How do you think that scene differs today from when it first became prominent in the early ‘90s?
Madeline: We got our start in a really small town, and honestly, no one was really doing what we were doing. We had to pave our own way in what we were trying to do until we got to the Gainsville and Jacksonville, Florida scene. In following the whole DIY approach, we were able to find our own sound without feeling constricted by what people expected us to make. We did our own thing, and we still do our own thing.
Tristan: With the internet, now everyone has access to streaming platforms, editing, and production tools, which allows people to create as much as they want to in high fidelity, and that has been really cool.
Dillon: Basically, it is just easier; it is easier than it was in the ‘90s. When people talk about record labels now, they refer to them as piggy banks, a piggy band with connections. Now it is a lot more sustainable to do it DIY. We are still very independent in most of what we do.
AM: Florida has a very diverse musical lineage that champions everything from southern rock to club and dance music; how has that variety of sound informed your music?
Madeline: I have never really thought about how vast Florida’s music scene is, but you are totally right. Where we are from, there is a lot more surf rock.
Dillon: The club scene did not influence us because we grew up in a beach town. Maybe that influenced us, but even then, I would not say it did that much.
Devon: Personally, the scene that influenced me the most was north Florida’s DIY music scene. My dad was always playing in bands when I was growing up, so I got to go to a lot of small club shows and see bands that probably were pulling inspiration from other iconic Florida artists.
Mitch: The big thing in north Florida is southern rock, but the music we create goes against the grain of what we see in the local venues. I mean, I love these artists; when I was learning to play guitar, I would play Derek Trucks and Widespread Panic. All those bands are great, but I would not say we take inspiration from them; I still really love that music, though.
Tristan: There is also a big punk and hardcore scene that we are not really aligned with, but it is cool to see the parallel of those different genres in Florida.
AM: Right now, there is a wave of younger bands like yourselves, The Regrettes, and The Linda Lindas that have taken the lead in the indie rock scene. What do you think has facilitated this rise of younger bands?
Madeline: I just wore my Linda Lindas shirt yesterday. It is super inspiring. We started when we were in high school; obviously, The Linda Lindas are much younger. I think that is so cool. The earlier you start making music, the stronger of a band you are going to be if you stay together. We have grown so much just in the past six years. Thinking about the things we first wrote, oh my gosh, embarrassing, but we had to start somewhere.
Devon: What is cool about today’s upcoming artists is that most of us have had access to computers and smartphones with streaming services, which makes it so easy to put out whatever it is you are making within a moment's notice. There are a lot of artists that have popped off just from that. Since there is so much music readily available at any given moment, that gave birth to a whole new scene of people who do not have to fit a mold and put out whatever it is they are creating, and I think that is why a bunch of young artists are coming up and crushing it right now.
Madeline: It is so inspiring to see young artists doing that. When I was their age, I did not think I was old enough to make music. It offers a different perspective, and that is awesome.
AM: Besides Treefort, you have also played South By Southwest and are continuing with several other festivals through the spring and summer. How has the festival experience been for you? How has this tour been different than others?
Dillon: This is the first year this has happened, so we are very excited to do all these festivals. It is different now in that everything is scheduled; our lives are scheduled out a year in advance, we know what shows we will be doing in December. Also, we are learning a lot more about how to take care of ourselves while we are on tour.
Tristan: We are still dealing with imposter syndrome a little, now that we are doing things we have been talking about since we were little.
Madeline: We had been trying for South By Southwest for a while and got to play it this year. Just a lot of pinch-me moments, like being here is super cool, I never thought I would be playing in Boise, but I frickin love it. It is just really cool, and we are really thankful to be in this position.
AM: What music are you listening to right now that you are excited about?
Devon: Mt. Joy’s new single is really good, we threw that one on the playlist the other day, and we are so stoked for whatever it is they are working on.
Madeline: Another artist we all really love is Big Theif. They are a huge inspiration for us. Just how different all their albums are and how different their sound is, it is honest and inspiring. They are incredible musicians and an incredible band.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
