Thanks so much to Donald Larson for the interview! I had written about the superb New England band Flower Gang in the blog some time ago, and I was surprised when Don got in touch. Flower Gang was part of that scene that included legendary bands like Small Factory or Honeybunch and released two records that I highly suggest tracking down if you haven’t already.

Now join me in discovering more details about them!

++ Hi Don! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

I recall the first record I ever bought was a Queen “We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You” 45 when I was 6 or 7. I also have a vivid memory of going into a record store and being awestruck by the display for all four of the recently released Kiss solo albums a few years later. My first instrument was an inexpensive, no name acoustic guitar that I received as a birthday present when I turned 14. I took guitar lessons on and off throughout my teens with a handful of local guitar teachers. I gleaned valuable things from each of them that all came in handy when I started wrtiting songs and playing with others. My parents were not big music fans but they were very supportive of my musical interests.

++ Had you been in other bands before Flower Gang? What about the other band members? Are there any songs recorded?

My first proper band was Laverne. We formed when I was 18 in 1988. We were a trio with me on guitar and vocals, Alec K. Redfearn on bass and Art Tedeschi on drums. We played a handful of shows but did not do any recording. My next band was called Wavering Shapes, which also featured Alec on bass, Rick Ross on drums and Jamie Brolin on vocals (Bill Reed replaced Jamie on vocals and second guitar towards the end of our tenure, Art Tedeschi returned to his rightful throne on the drums and future Flower Gang drummer Matt McClaren joined us on additional percussion). We recorded a 4 song demo on a friend’s 4 track cassette recorder but I am unaware of any surviving copies. We played frequently at AS220 in Providence. Concurrent with Wavering Shapes, Alec and I started another band with Jen Dollard (guitar and vocals) and Phoebe Summersquash on drums (pre-Small Factory) called The Big Wazoo. We played one show in Providence and broke up. Matt and Jack had a pre-FG primitive Misfits/Horror garage combo called Mole People.

++ How was your Mansfield/Plainville at the time of Flower Gang? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Mansfield and Plainville are small, adjacent towns about 15 miles north of Providence, RI. There weren’t any other local bands in our immediate area that played even remotely similar music (mostly metal bands doing Anthrax and Metallica covers) with the exception of nearby Attleboro punkers Neutral Nation. They were a great band who showed me it was possible to be from the uncool burbs but still play original, left of the dial music. There was a good record store just one town away in Foxboro called Good Vibrations. They were a Mass based chain that had 8 or 9 stores and were the only local resource for punk, post punk and indie records.

++ How was the band put together? How was the recruiting process?

Wavering Shapes broke up when Alec K. Redfearn traded his bass for an accordian and began his lifelong journey as a critically lauded composer and band leader (Space Heater, Amoebic Ensemble, Alec K Redfearn and the Eyesores, D.U.M.E, SWRM, etc). I had already played with Matt in Wavering Shapes so we snagged Matt’s buddy Jack Hanlon as our bassist and Flower Gang was born!

++ Was there any lineup changes?

We added Erin Sharicz on vocals before recording our double 7″ for spinART but otherwise our lineup was stable during our existence.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

We practiced in the basement of my parent’s house in Plainville, Mass. I was 20 when we started and Matt and Jack were still in their teens.  I usually worked up some ideas on guitar in my bedroom and then we would flesh them out and see where they took us during band practice. It was a collaborative process. We were quite dedicated and rehearsed 3 or 4 times a week.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

As I mentioned earlier, the local scene in Plainville/Mansfield was mostly metal cover bands. Our initial plan for Flower Gang was to play impromptu acoustic sets in the parking lots of local American Legion/VFW hall metal shows under the name “Hairy Diarrhea” (an idea that sadly never came to fruition). When we had an opportunity to play a local “battle of the bands” event, we chose the wimpiest, least metal sounding name we could muster and it stuck. We embraced our outsider status as the only indie/punk rock band in Plainville and did our best to antagonize the locals.

++ My favourite song of yours is “Metzger’s Farm”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

That song was inspired by walking around my old baseball field at age 20 and remembering how it feft playing little league baseball as a kid. The baseball field was across the street from the farm that provided the song title.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Flower Gang song, which one would that be and why?

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We played every chance we got. In addition to AS220, Club Babyhead (formerly the Rocket) in Providence was one of the places we played often. We opened for Ween, Uncle Tupelo, Yo La Tengo, King Missle, Velvet Crush, Jad Fair, Sleepyhead and even a freakin’ King Diamond cover band at Club Babyhead. The band we shared the most gigs with was small factory. Our sounds weren’t that similar but we started around the same time and we turned out to be a pretty good fit musically and personally. We also really enjoyed renting out American Legion halls and playing truly local shows in Plainville and Mansfield.

++ And what were the best gigs in general that you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

We played a poorly attended but fun Sunday matinee show opening for Grant Hart’s Nova Mob at Club Babyead. We hung out with him after the show and when he found out the club stiffed us on our fee, he paid us out of his pocket. We were all huge Husker Du fans and having that kind of interaction with one of our heroes was memorable. I also vaguely recall a wild, drunken, ramshackle show at Wheaton College in nearby Norton, MA with small factory and Love Child that ended with our booze confiscated by campus police and the student from the college radio station who organized the show having her booking-on-campus-shows privileges rescinded.

++ And were there any bad ones?

We were scheduled to play with small factory and Heavenly on their first US tour at Club Babyhead in Providence. I was a huge Talulah Gosh fan and was psyched to be on the bill. However, Gang of Four had a night off from the Lollapalooza tour (or some similar shit) and wanted to play a club date so they were added to the bill and we were kicked to the curb. I still attended the show and Heavenly did not disappoint but it was a major bummer to get bumped from that bill.

++ When and why did Flower Gang stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

++ There was a reunion gig in 2012 supporting Small Factory and Honeybunch! What a lineup. How was that gig? And what prompted you to reunite?

There was a brief resurgence of interest in indie pop music from the early 90s around that time. I think Slumberland Records did a series of well received reunion shows with some of the bands on their label and that planted the seed. Dave from Small Factory asked us if we wanted to do a reunion show with them and Honeybunch and we agreed. A Small Factory/Honeybunch/Flower Gang bill was something straight out of Providence circa 1991 and it was a fantastic, very well attended night.

++ Was there any interest from the radio? You did a session at WFMU, right? How was that?

We did live-on-the-air sessions at WSMU (Southeastern Massachusetts University)) and WRIU (University of RI) that were lots of fun. We also recorded (not on the air but strictly playing live in one take) at the WERS studio (Emerson College) where Matt was a student. I’m unsure if any copies of those Emerson recordings still exist but they were the best example of what we sounded like live back then.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

The local press was very kind to us despite our relative youth and often snarky demeanor. Mike Caito was the local music writer for the Providence weekly arts rag The NewPaper and he gave us a fair share of favorable ink in his columns. We played an outdoor block party in 1993 organized by Providence subversive bookstore Newspeak that was reviewed by Creem magazine (the writer seemed smitten by our “Association style power pop”). I think we got reviewed by a few fanzines but I can’t remember any details.

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Just being three young, awkward guys with glasses from the uncool burbs who formed a band that put out a few 7″ records and made a minor impact in Providence was quite a thrill.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

As I mentioned at the start of the interview, I am an avid 45s collector. I don’t consider that a hobby – it’s more like a disease for which I never hope to find a cure. When I’m not obsessively digging through boxes of unsleeved 45s in some rando’s garage or basement, I can be found reading, hiking or spending time at the beach with my wife and partner in crime Anya.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?