Further twists and turns abound in the narrative of the iconic punk band Black Flag. In addition to hiring a professional skateboarder as their latest vocalist, the group is apparently recording new music and preparing for a tour later this year.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Black Flag’s manager Mike Vallely announced that he was stepping up as the group’s new vocalist. It shouldn’t be too surprising considering the project that he and Greg Ginn undertook, Good For You, before the Black Flag reunion. Not to say that the newly formed Black Flag hasn’t had its share of surprises and confusing turns.
To be brief, the reincarnation featured Ron Reyes as lead vocalist, the lineup which produced last year’s What The…. Greg Ginn ended up suing those ex-bandmates of his who formed the group FLAG, an injunction which he ultimately lost. To cap it all off, Reyes was fired mid-set. Not a lot is completely clear with multiple statements issued by various people associated with similar permutations of the Black Flag name, but Reyes is no longer a part of it.
Vallely was largely apologetic in the Rolling Stone interview and expressed dissappointment with the initial reunion:
We feel that, generally, the band fell short in 2013 because of a difference in the philosophies of Ron and Greg — it just led to dysfunction… It could have been better. [Black Flag] can be a stronger, more cohesive, tighter band. We want to prove that.
After discussing plans for new material and a tour that should hopefully begin in May, Vallely went on to say:
Greg just felt like, ’I don’t want the Black Flag name to fizzle out with this or be tainted with this record that’s proven to be subpar compared to what the expectations for it were.’ He told me he made a mistake by working with Ron and trying to pander to a sort of old-school thing. He just thought that I was the guy for the job… I’m not gonna say no to that.
Here’s to stability.
via Stereogum
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