Chris Jones of The Flycatchers Q&A with Jay

Photo by Sierra Haney

“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Roughly one year ago, while scrolling through my twitter feed, I stumbled upon a tweet by Dalton Domino. It said something to the effect of “Chris Jones and The Flycatchers are the TRUTH.” Dalton Domino is a hell of an artist. I would soon find out that he has an incredible ear as well. I downloaded The Flycatchers debut record that night, with a plan to listen on my ride to work the next morning. The next day as I backed out of my driveway, I started my listen. Within moments I knew that what I was hearing was unique that deserved my full attention. I couldn’t walk into work until I had devoured the entire record. Consequences be damned folks, some albums are worth being late to work for.

            “Songs For Red” was the only thing I listened to for the next week. I dissected it, analyzed it, and every listen revealed something new to be appreciated. The scope of the work is impressive. The band takes chances, dabbles in multiple genres, and all of it works. Jones paints a portrait of youth and the uncertainty that comes with it. It’s obvious that many of these songs were written during a period of his life in which he was at a crossroads, pondering his next move and questioning the ramifications that every decision could carry. Something that most if not all of us can relate to, to some extent. This recurring theme is scattered throughout the album, but that’s not all it has to offer.            

Over the course of 10 songs, Jones and his bandmates take you on a journey, both sonically and lyrically. As I hinted before, “Songs For Red” defies genrefication and showcases the diverse and wide ranging skillset that the band possesses. From its rock fueled opener, “Skin”, to the soft keys and weeping guitars of “Expectations”, to a song like “Covered In Red”, which is draped in both angst and pedal steel, The album keeps you on your toes. As soon as you get comfortable, they hit you with something like “Cowboy Memories”. With its perfect balance of banjo, harmonica, and trail ride lyricism, this is country music to its core. Just as you adjust to that, then comes “Try”. A tender ballad with an R&B vibe, which lyrically is at once both an apology and a promise to a significant other, and a deep cutting one at that. The albums crown jewel in my opinion is “Desperado”. Coming in towards the tail end of the record, The band harmonizes with a sense of familiarity that you expect to hear from a group that has been together for a lifetime, not on their debut. On first listen, this is the song that cemented to me the fact that I was hearing a band with a boundless future.

            Later this year, The Flycatchers will release their sophomore record entitled “Letters”. In the meantime, they have released a four song EP entitled “flowers & weeds” which found its inspiration midway through the writing process for “Letters”. The EP has a unique indie rock vibe, just as abstract with perhaps less cynicism than is typically found in the genre. Some of it is layered in synth, and Jones stretches his vocals to higher octaves. It’s experimental and genre bending. The Flycatchers prove with this release that they are unbridled by fear or even commercial viability. They are letting their art chart their path. What a path it will be.

            There came a point during my conversation with Chris in which I asked him how he would describe The Flycatchers music. He turned the question around on me and asked how I’d describe it. Without hesitation I responded with a one-word answer. Ambitious. It can be strange when an artist asks you point-blank to describe their work. You start scanning your brain for an adequate response that will do said work justice. In this case, the answer came to me swiftly, and required no effort to conjure. The prize will not be sent to Chris Jones. He will win it.

So, Chris, where’d you come up man? How did music come into your life?

            I grew up around the Tulsa area, in a family where everybody kind of played music because of my dad. He played piano and guitar. So, growing up we were always singing and playing with him. My mom was very religious, so we grew up going to church. I guess because of that, we always had a gig. Twice a week, every week, for a long period of my life. Back then I played drums, mostly. When I graduated high school, I couldn’t really take my drum kit anywhere, so I just brought a guitar with me from the house. I was about 18-19 years old, and that’s when I actually started playing guitar and writing songs. 

 It’s funny that you site church as a part of your beginnings in music. I’ve actually heard that a lot from other musicians as well. Seems to be pretty common.

            If you grow up in the central part of the country, or the Bible belt anywhere, or any of those cats coming out of Nashville, It’s a widely religious scene. A lot of people in those areas grow up in church. It gives kids the chance to be around music and learn how to play music. Music and church have always kind of gone hand in hand.

 So, you left home for college and that’s where you really dug in, correct? Is that when you really started writing secular material? Were you still performing Christian music?

            I quit playing music in church when I was about 17 years old. I would go to church super stoned and just play drums. It got old. In college I started writing songs about whatever I could think of. The main thing was, I just hated going to class. It fucking sucked. I hated all of the freshman year bullshit. So, I figured that if I was actually going to write songs and be a musician then I needed to write as much as possible. I skipped classes and started doing that. I walked out second semester. I told everyone that I was going to write songs and put out a record. It took me about five years from that point to actually put the first record together.

 Yeah, I lasted one semester in college as well. I left and thought I’d go build houses for a living. I was too busy partying and meeting people to show interest in my studies.

            I don’t know what I was thinking, going to college. I guess I just went because I thought I was supposed to. Because everyone else was going. I wanted to be a musician but I just told myself “That doesn’t pay”. I was really on the fence about putting on a suit, or being broke.

 Let’s talk about The Flycatchers. Obviously, you are kind of the focal point of the band. I’m curious as to whether the other members are a fixed group, or are the other members of The Flycatchers more of a rotating cast?

            That’s kind of hard to answer. It was definitely based around a set group of people when I started. But with this next record that we just finished, I wanted options for more sounds and just more possibilities. I asked everyone who I wanted to be a part of it, and everyone said yes. So, It is a different group for this one with the exception of Isaac Stalling on guitar. Isaac and I really worked on the new record a lot outside of the studio, behind the scenes. The Flycatchers to me, are more of a sound or an idea. There will always be some key people involved with that. Originally, we were called Chris Jones and the Flycatchers. That’s because when I was starting out, I didn’t know how to really put it all together. I didn’t just want to sell my name. But on the new record it just sounds like more of a band. So, I dropped my name from it all together. From now on were just The Flycatchers.

 I see where you’re coming from. You definitely have your own thing going on, sonically. So it makes sense that you’d drop your name from it, and let The Flycatchers name represent everything that goes into that. 

            It worked out well. It was kind of a random idea. I’ve had a lot of people tell me to switch it. To start using just my name. I think using the band name works better, especially after hearing the new album. I think “Songs For Red” sounds like a songwriter that put a band together and made a record. The next one sounds like a band that got together and made a record, if that makes sense.

 Yeah, that makes sense. It also gets me curious. One thing I liked about “Songs For Red” was how diverse it was. You weren’t beholden to any one style of music on that record. 

            Would you consider “Songs For Red” to be a country record?

 No. I don’t believe it is.

            I’m always interested in what people think music sounds like. How they try to categorize it. Genre is a curious thing to me. 

 Genre is a curious thing. When people ask me what type of music I listen to, I usually just tell them that I listen to American roots music. I mean whether its someone throwing some brass on a country record to get a more soulful feel, or someone climbing out of a holler in eastern Kentucky and strumming a banjo to communicate their experience, American roots covers all of it.

            Yeah, that’s pretty broad for sure.

 In my opinion, “Songs For Red” is an extremely relatable American roots/rock record. What do you consider it?

            Ha! I consider it to be a youthful record. I remember, a lot of those songs were written one after the other. That was a time in my life that I felt like I really needed to put out an album. I was trying to write songs that could make the cut. I remember writing “College Dropout” and being very jazzed about that one. After that the other songs just came quickly. Putting that record together felt like it took forever, but in hindsight it came together very quickly. The songs were written in a short amount of time. It’s an honest record. That’s really all that matters to me. 

 I remember hearing somewhere that “Songs For Red” was named after your grandpa. Tell me about him. Why did you want to name the album after him?

            My grandpa James “Red” Moore. Everyone called him “Red”.  He was a really great man. He was also a really mixed up man. He was human. He made mistakes just like all of us. He had a lot of influence over me, and I thought highly of him growing up. He was a dreamer. He was a kid that came from nothing. Dropped out in the 8th grade and became a successful businessman. If you spoke to him about big ideas, he would encourage them. It’s important to have someone like that in your life. He believed that consistency, hard work, and zero excuses pretty much always got you what you wanted in life. When I started writing songs, he was always very honest with me. He had great taste in music. I dedicated it to him because when I was making it, he was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. I was trying to get it done in time to show it to him. He passed away maybe 6 months to a year before the album was released. It’s the record that he would have wanted to hear. I think he would have been blown away.

 Man, that’s a great answer. Really does your grandpa justice. It’s great that you had someone that both encouraged the dream and was brutally honest with you along the way. 

            Man, I try to surround myself with people that are honest with me at all times about my songs. It’s just great to have people around who’s feedback you can trust.

 Wes Sharon produced the first one. I’m a big fan of his past work with John Fullbright and obviously the Turnpike Troubadours. He’s worked with a who’s who of artists over the years. How did you get hooked up with Wes? Is he involved with the new project?

            I met Wes pretty randomly. I was looking at studios in my area, and just found him. I looked up what he’d worked on in the past, and of course I was a huge Troubadours fan. I just decided I was gonna walk in there and see if he’d let me record there. I went and spoke to him, and we picked a date to record. It was real casual. When I recorded with him, the songs just came one after the other and we had a great time. I learned a ton of things from him. And yes, he’s on the new record as well. He plays bass as well as produces on the new one. So, he’s got an even larger role this time around. 

 When covid struck in 2020, I noticed that on your social media you were pretty pissed off about it! I have to ask, was that because you were finally at a point where you were pursuing music fulltime? 

            Yes! Haha! I threw my fit. I did. We finally had enough shows booked so that I couldn’t work full time and do both. We had just booked an entire line of shows. Like 30 shows. Great ones. Then everything got dropped at once. I was definitely pissed initially. Once I realized everyone else was going through the same thing, I tempered down. It was just the timing. We were just breaking out. People were just getting to know us. It was tough having the rug pulled from underneath us. Now with the second album, we’re not starting over by any means but it kind of feels like we are in a way.

 Before we even get into the next full album release, can you tell me a bit about the “flowers & weeds” EP? That was a surprise.

            There’s a bit of time between now and when the second album, “Letters”, will be released. I didn’t want to just sit on my hands in the meantime. The songs for the “flowers & weeds” came to me right in the middle of working on “Letters”. I thought it would be cool to release it during this idle time. The EP sound nothing like the record we’ve been working on. But the record we’ve been working on sounds nothing like “Songs For Red”, if that makes any sense.

 When did you start writing the songs for “Letters”? 

            I’d say that 75% of the songs were written throughout the pandemic. There’s a couple of older songs that are in the mix that really fit. There’s a couple that were written after we started recording. Most were written over the past year.

 So, the new effort paints a more cohesive picture than your prior work? Is there more of a consistent narrative weaving its way through “Letters”?

            For sure. It will be really obvious. Once you hear it in context, and the way we’re going to release it, it will make a lot of sense. It’s consistent throughout and well… This will be easier to explain once you’ve heard it haha! 

 Sonically, what can we expect? You’ve hinted that you’re experimenting with the sound a bit. 

            Definitely. That conversation started once we heard John Moreland’s newest record, “LP5”. Just what he did on that one was so different. Really stretched his boundaries. It was incredible. His approach was great. After discussing it with Isaac, we actually called John Calvin Abney and he came and did work on the new one as well. You can expect a lot of diversity, and maybe a little bit more mature approach overall on “Letters” compared to “Songs For Red”. There’s a little bit of rock, R&B, some funky stuff. Everyone in that room brings something different to the table. Jake Lynn plays drums for Jason Boland and the Stragglers. Jake is an incredible drummer. He’s also a great singer and piano player as well. Abney is so talented, man. He’s even better on the keys now than he was a year back. Isaac is a killer guitar player. I knew Wes could play bass but I had no idea how great he really was.  It was kind of a super team really. Having such a diverse group of musicians really helped shape sound on the new one.

 Well Chris, I’m stoked for the next one man. Thanks for taking the time, and I look forward to seeing ya’ll take it to another level.

            Absolutely man! Anytime! Thanks for reaching out!