WHITE
FLAG
Pat Fear - guitar, vocals
Doug Graves - bass, vocals
Kim Crimson - guitar, organ, vocals
El Swe - guitar, vocals
Victor M. Surrounded - drums, vocals
For immediate release:
WHITE
FLAG, seminal stalwarts of the Los Angeles California punk rock and
roll scene, will embark on their very first tour of Italy, beginning
February 5th, at the Road To Ruins Festival, in Rome.
With a many faceted history that began in the small farm town of Sunnymead,
California in 1982 White Flag has released 23 albums, singles and
CD's, in countries as varied as South Africa, Japan and the Faro Islands.
This tour, a continuation of the group's "23rd Anniversary Magical
World Misery Tour," has taken the band to such unusual locations
as Greenland, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, Alaska, and Finland.
The band had the honor of being the ONLY American group ever to play
The Faroe Islands, as well Greenland, where White Flag headlined the
annual Asiaat Nipia Rock Festival, north of the Arctic Circle.
With their well known rotating roster of band members, this tour's
line up includes: Pat Fear and Doug Graves, (who founded the band
in 1982),12 year veteran Kim Crimson, 12 year veteran El Swe, and
the return of the band's second drummer, Victor M. Surrounded, who
has not performed with the group since 1982.
Other members of the "White Flag Army" who have recorded
or toured as a member of the band but are not performing on this tour)
have included Hole's Eric Erlandson, Jeff Dahl Group and Adz member
Bruce Duff, Javier Escovedo of legendary Los Angeles punk band The
Zeros, and Rancid's Tim Armstrong.
As a souvenir of the group's first visit to Italy, the band is releasing
a limited edition, hand numbered 8 song 10" vinyl album, on Roma
based RARO! Records, entitled "Piangi Con Me."
This release, named after the group's cover version of The Rokes song
of the same name (sung in Italian by Pat Fear)! marks the band's first
new material to be issued since the "Eternally Undone" CD,
which was issued in Italy on Valium Records, in 2003. A video for
the first track, "Somebody's Missing Too," will be seen
on Italian television beginning January 23.
A limited edition extend version of the "Piangi Con Me"
release will be avaialble only at the band's shows, and will feature
many extra songs not available on the 10" release. An English
language of "Piangi con Me" will be included, and guest
appearances by members of Arthur Lee's Love, Redd Kross, The Muffs
(which feature 2 White Flag Army band members!) and Paul Roessler
of the legendary Los Angeles band The Screamers.
Aside from their infrequent record releases and tours with White Flag,
the band members have a varied and colorful musical history.
Pat Fear has worked as a songwriter and producer
for such artists as Courtney Love's band Hole, NOFX, Pat Smear (of
Nirvana/Foo Fighters and The Germs fame), The Go-Go's, Bangles, Redd
Kross, Sean Lennon, Ace Frehley of KISS, and Swedish garage punk legends
The Nomads. He is also a technical advisor on the currently in production
film "What We Do is Secret," (starring two long time White
Flag fans: "E.R." actor Shane West, and Bijou Phillips),
as well as being vegetarian, and a member of PeTA.
Kim Crimson, (under his real name of Ken Stringfellow)
is a sought after producer, when not busy fronting his full time band
The Posies, and is one forth of the revamped lineup of the legendary
band Big Star, and tours as keyboardist for R.E.M.
Doug Graves is a professional surfer on the band
supported Team Clecoin Snow and Surf team, and a member of the internationally
known 70's disco tribute band "The Boogie Knights", who
were single handedly responsible for starting the campy disco revival
fad in The United States. The Boogie Knights are an established club
act, with a large "following," r or rock and roll and punk
fans who enjoy the band's irreverent approach to the once hated dance
music, as well as much sought after entertainers for private events,
They have performed for parties such varied public figures as Tom
Cruise, Mick Jagger, and former US President Gerald Ford.
El Swe is a member of the popular Swedish band Sator,
and is a well respected producer in Scandinavia, having worked on
releases by The Hellacopters, The Hives, The Nomads, and former ABBA
member Bjorn's solo albums.
Victor M. Surrounded was the drummer in the final
version of Goth punk pioneers Christian Death that featured the late
front man Roz Williams, and produces music for the "Teletubbies"
children's television series. He also played in the band Test Pattern,
which featured founding White Flag members Pat Fear, Pick Z. Stix
and Jello B. Afro. In 1980, when he was 14 years old.
Rave-Up Records in Rome will issue a vinyl album by Test Pattern,
of previously unreleased recordings, (including the never heard demo
produced in 1980 by The Germs' guitarist Pat Smear, that featured
Germs' member Don Bolles on drums) in late 2006.
The band is hailed as "The Beatles of Punk" and "Forefathers
of punk pop" in many countries in Europe ( a moniker the band
is quite embarrassed by...), due to their classic pop punk rock and
roll songwriting and trademark vocal harmonies.
Applying those vocal abilities to hard core fast paced punk rock music
established the group as a unique force in the then bland landscape
of punk rock in Southern California in 1982.
The 2006 tour will continue to Croatia, Slovenia, Russia, Japan and
Slovakia before the group returns to Los Angeles California and Gotborg,
Sweden, to record their full new album, an anti governmental corruption
concept album, to be titled "Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy vs.
Spy."
As White Flag only rarely and sporadically tours, fans from around
the world, known as the White Flag Army (Auxiliary Unit) are already
confirmed as attending the tour dates in Italy. Fans from Sweden,
Japan, Spain, Croatia, Germany and even the band's home of California,
USA are planning to follow the group's tour.
