FLIPPED OUT PHIL :"I didn’t get into “trash” culture – it got into me! "

It's wonderful to do research on the internet... During one for “Les Monstres Sacrés” we came across the site that Flipped Out Phil dedicated to his radio show. What a discovery that was: a Canadian Bertrand Tappaz! He was super patient with us, and here at last are the answers to the questions we asked him.

Can you introduce yourself to the French people who don't have the good fortune to know you?

My name is Flipped Out Phil. I'm originally from Montreal, Quebec, although I've been living in Toronto, Ontario for the past twenty-five years. I've been involved in the garage scene since the mid-80s as a radio show host, DJ, fanzine writer, and lead singer of a couple of garage bands.

What have we missed out on by not knowing you? Tell us about your musical career.

Back in 1985, the arrival of the legendary Gruesomes on the Montreal music scene helped to kick off a real revitalization of rock 'n' roll in the local underground. I was so excited about it that when a friend, Edouardo Cabral, who owned the record shop I worked in, Rebop, had the idea of putting out a fanzine featuring garage bands from near and far, I jumped at the chance to contribute to it. The zine was called Lost Mynds and I ended up becoming the assistant editor. There were only three issues of Lost Mynds published between 1985 and 1990. I also wrote a column in Krak, a short-lived newspaper put out by McGill University radio station, CKUT-FM. In the '90s, I contributed to Montreal zines like Gravy and Fishpiss, and was the assistant editor of a one-shot publication, Popaganda, largely devoted to Sixties musical, cinematic, and political culture.

In the Fall of 1985, I started doing a weekly radio show, The Subterranean Jungle, on CKUT. I named the show after a Ramones album I dug. By the end of the year, I started DJing in local clubs and bars, spinning records between sets by The Gruesomes, Deja Voodoo, The Mongols, and other Montreal garage/rock 'n' roll groups. I did that for a few years, stopped for a stretch of time, but by 1997, I resumed DJing doing '60s nights devoted to garage, Freakbeat, psych, soul, and groovy soundtracks. After moving to Toronto, I continued playing vinyl at this city's '60s club nights on a pretty regular basis for a good number of years.

Back in late '92, I became the frontman of a Montreal garage outfit, Platon et les Caves. It was The Gruesomes' guitarist/lead vocalist Bobby Beaton who had the idea of forming a group to play Francophone '60s punk dressed in togas and wearing laurel leaves on our heads... and nothing else! Just kidding! We wore black turtlenecks, black jeans, and pointy black boots under those togas. The look was a nod to Montreal toga-sporting '60s beat combo, César et les Romains. Platon et les Caves covered a couple of their tunes as well as songs by other mid-Sixties Quebec garage bands like Les Hou-Lops, Les Chanceliers, Les Miserables, Les Napoléons, and Les Lutins. We also hammered out our versions of French numbers by Ronnie Bird, Antoine et les Problemes, and Jacques Dutronc, topped off by a few originals like “La moto de Platon” and “La revanche du cave”.

Platon et les Caves had their last gig at the end of 1996. We had had a lot of fun playing in local venues for four years and a couple of our songs were included on two various artist compilations. Our biggest regret was never having released a record under our name. But less than twenty-four years after our breakup, a French label based in Lyon came to the rescue in 2020 when Dangerhouse Skylab put out a four song 7-inch EP with picture sleeve consisting of four covers we had recorded in the mid-90s. Better late than never and that was very gratifying indeed!

Can you present your radio program The Subterranean Jungle to us?

Doing The Subterranean Jungle gave me the chance to spin the records I was collecting for Montreal listeners and hopefully turn them on to fantastic rock 'n' roll completely ignored by other local radio stations. I played original '60s garage, beat from Britain and beyond, psychedelia, soul, surf, '50s rockabilly and r'n'b, '70s protopunk and punk rock, and '80s - '90s garage revival bands. From Bo Diddley to The Cramps, by way of Link Wray, The Pretty Things, The Sonics, The New York Dolls, The Saints, The Fleshtones, and a gazillion more purveyors of rabid and raunchy rock. At the same time, I hosted the show in a way reminiscent of loud, fast-talking DJs from the '50s and '60s. I didn't want to speak "normally" and quietly over the air but prefered to be as in-your-face as the music was. I took my cues from such DJs as the wild and rhyming Mad Daddy and Los Angeles boss radio jock The Real Don Steele. I also threw in '60s jingles and old radio commercials. I did The Subterranean Jungle live; it wasn't prerecorded and let me tell you, it was one big blast of adrenaline to be behind the microphone and turntables!

For quite a few years, the show was on for two hours a week. I eventually cut it down to one hour as I had less time to devote to it, and began zeroing in more exclusively on obscure '60s sounds, including the spy film soundtrack material I had become passionate about. The garage sounds of the '90s were also in the spotlight as that decade saw a ton of excellent releases by The Mummies, Thee Headcoats, The Mystreated, Fortune and Maltese, and The Loons, among many other bands. The Subterranean Jungle went off the air at the end of 1999 after which I moved to Toronto where I did internet radio for a while. A small sampling of my Montreal radio shows are available to listen to online by clicking on www.flippedoutphil.com.

Flipped Out Phil MCing

Tell us what the Gruesomes mean to you.

The Gruesomes were the first local group I saw playing authentic ‘60s garage in June 1985. I caught them at their very first club gig and, right off the bat, they were fantastic! They wore matching black turtlenecks and Beatle boots, and their lead singer, Bobby Beaton, also had a medallion around his neck. Very Music Machine-like. But, even better, when the Gruesomes began to play, the sound that they emitted was raw and snotty teenbeat of the type found on the Back From the Grave compilations. Appropriately enough, the Gruesomes were teenagers at this point. My jaw dropped as soon as they broke into their first tune and from that moment on, I was hooked. As were the friends I was with that night. Later that summer, I started working on the first issue of the garage zine, Lost Mynds, and decided to take photos of them and interview them. The Gruesomes were the first group I ever interviewed and a few months later, after I had started doing my Subterranean Jungle radio show, they asked me to DJ at a couple of their gigs. It was the first time I had ever spun records in a club. Fast forward to the Fall of 1992: after the Gruesomes had broken up, Bobby asked me to be the lead singer of a new group he was forming, Platon et les Caves. So let’s just say that the Gruesomes mean an awful lot to me! They helped to change my life.

How did you discover Garage music?

By hearing it on the radio. I’m referring to original Sixties garage. The ‘50s - ‘60s oldies radio shows I’d listen to in Montreal would occasionally play garage numbers that had been Top 40 hits: songs by Paul Revere and the Raiders, Count Five, the Standells, the Seeds, the Shadows of Knight, and the Blues Magoos, for example. Those tunes strongly resonated with me. I was already a big lover of the ‘60s Stones, Kinks, Who, Byrds, etc. and I began to pick up 45 rpm reissues of the garage hits I had caught on the radio in a major downtown record store. I also read and was inspired by a couple of great articles on ‘60s garage in Creem magazine. Those articles came with helpful discographies, and it was only a matter of time before I found a second-hand copy of the Lenny Kaye-compiled Nuggets album. That helped to seal the deal when it came to my fascination with Sixties garage and after getting Nuggets, I began buying comps like Pebbles, Back From the Grave, What a Way to Die, Scum of the Earth, and so on. I also got my hands on compilations by the Chocolate Watchband, Love, the Standells, and Sam the Sham on the Rhino label. By the early-mid ‘80s, I was also reading fanzines that delved deeply into Sixties punk: great publications like Greg Prevost’s Outasite, Mike Stax’s Ugly Things, and Billy Miller and Miriam Linna’s Kicks. I also got ahold of back issues of Greg Shaw’s essential Bomp! Magazine.

Flipped Out Phil DJing

When it came to the garage revival, the first group that caught my attention was the Fleshtones out of New York City who are still going strong almost fifty years after they were formed. I fell in love with them, and the Lyres, Chesterfield Kings, and Nomads followed, not to mention the Gruesomes, of course. Being involved in the garage scene gave me a sense of community in which I met like-minded people, a number of which became close friends.

You used to make compilations from your radio recordings. At the time, you couldn't afford to buy records. Do you still have these recordings, or do you ever listen to them again? Does nostalgia play an important role in your life?

As a kid I’d tape songs off the radio: tunes by Curtis Mayfield, the Guess Who, Alice Cooper, etc. I no longer have these cassettes. When it comes to nostalgia, sure, I look back fondly on my involvement in the garage scene, but I’m also very much in the here and now. When it comes to pop culture, I definitely have something of a “retro” mindset since I remain obsessed by mid-20th century pop culture and its music, movies, TV, and aesthetics. I’m also continually intrigued by the youth rebellions of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Since then, you must have amassed quite a record collection. Can you tell us a few anecdotes about your most prized collector's items?

My most prized records aren’t necessarily the ones which are the rarest, but off the top of my head, there’s the 1966 Canadian pressing of the first Ronnie Bird album which I found at a flea market for only a dollar in the ‘80s. I had heard of him, but had never listened to his music so imagine my delight when I put the album on the turntable and was serenaded by excellent French covers of killer songs by the Pretty Things, the Turtles, and the Hollies, among others. Then there’s a hard-to-find 7-inch single from 1968 by a Wichita, Kansas garage combo called the Blue Banana: “Spicks and Specks”/”My Luv”. The A-side, a cover of a Bee Gees number, is nothing special, but the flip side, a group original, is an ace fuzz guitar and Hammond organ-powered go-go groover! It came in a nice full color picture sleeve and was given to me by a guy I met in Brussels over thirty years ago. He had found a number of pristine copies of the single in Belgium, of all places! I also cherish my copy of the Fleshtones’ Roman Gods album that the group autographed when they were guests on my radio show in late 1990, the night before they tore apart a club with a blistering performance.

The Whammies

How did you get into Trash culture? And what is it to you?

I didn’t get into “trash” culture – it got into me! When I was a child, I loved the Batman and Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series along with comic books, and as a teen caught erotic French and Italian films when they showed up on television late at night. But it was really in the 1980s that the artifacts of mid-20th century “trash” culture became more accessible to people like me, starting with the availability of, for example, Roger Corman, Russ Meyer and Hershell Gordon Lewis movies on video cassettes. Michael Weldon’s 1983 book, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film and his subsequent magazine, Psychotronic Video, were crucial sources of information on B-movies which the wonderful Something Weird company has released in droves since the early ‘90s. Lux Interior and Poison Ivy of the Cramps were also a big inspiration to me when I’d read interviews with them, and they’d talk about the B-movies they loved. That would make me want to see them! The Eighties and Nineties also saw the reprints of all those wild Fifties E.C. comic books like Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror which I delved into. I also fell in love with fetish pin-up model Bettie Page and started collecting men’s magazines from the ‘50s and ‘60s. So, yes, “trash” culture is more a matter of “treasure” culture for me.

Can you recount some of the great Canadian moments for us?

I’m not sure what you mean by “Canadian moments”, but off the top of my head, a small list of great Canadian groups I’ve seen over the years include Deja Voodoo, the Gruesomes, Ray Condo and his Hard Rock Goners, Les Mongols, the Sherlocks, the Cryptics, and Les Incapables. These groups all hailed from my Montreal hometown. Then there are the Smugglers from Vancouver, U.I.C. from London, Ontario, and the Sadies from Toronto.

You spent a lot of time with the music of the 80s and 90s, but were you less inspired by the decades that followed?

I admit that I haven’t been quite as inspired by some of the garage music of the 21st century, but I still have to give bands like the Loons, the Higher State, the Urges, the Len Price 3, the Dirtbombs, Freddy and the Four Gone Conclusions, Le Chelsea Beat, the Sadies, the Primordials, and the Lemon Twigs their due. And, of course, my beloved Gruesomes are still at it making a terrific racket.

Flipped Out Phil is a pseudonym, so why not use your real name? What does it mean? Do you have any others?

I answered part of this question when describing my Subterranean Jungle show above. I was inspired to use a pseudonym by ‘50s – ‘60s DJs like the Mad Daddy, Poppa Stoppa, and Murray the K. Like them, I wanted to be bigger than life behind the microphone. Flipped Out means going nuts or going bananas which was indeed how I’d react to the music I played. Flipped Out is my only pseudonym and it also made sense to use it for my fanzine writing and DJing in bars and clubs.

On your show, you had jingles. Can you tell us about them? What makes a good jingle?

Since my show, The Subterranean Jungle, aimed to recreate the energy and the vibe of vintage Top 40 radio, it was only appropriate to play jingles from the ‘60s on it. I got them from the Who’s Sell Out album as well as from the legendary Los Angeles AM radio station, KHJ. I also played many ‘60s commercials on The Subterranean Jungle including spots for Coca Cola recorded by everyone from Jan & Dean to the Easybeats, B-movies like Shanty Tramp and Psych Out, potato chips, and deodorant! I found a good number of these ads on compilations of ‘60s novelty songs, surf, and garage obscurities. The commercials added spice to my shows and were instrumental in my efforts to recapture the feel of AM radio from back in the day.

When you're as active as you are in the music world, don't you ever get a little bored? What has been your formula for maintaining your enthusiasm over so many years?

Bored? Me? Never! My enthusiasm comes naturally, and music’s been my lifelong passion.

Can you tell us which rock bands (garage or otherwise) have been the most interesting to you from decade to decade?

Favorite groups from the ‘60s include the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Who, Byrds, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Standells, Sonics, Yardbirds, Animals, Pretty Things, Small Faces, Outsiders (from Holland), Easybeats, and Velvet Underground.

From the ‘70s: the MC5, Stooges, Flamin’ Groovies, New York Dolls, Ramones, Heartbreakers, Real Kids, Saints, Radio Birdman, Clash, Vibrators, and Undertones.

From the ‘80s: the Cramps, Gun Club, Dream Syndicate, Barracudas, Fleshtones, Lyres, Chesterfield Kings, Prisoners, Milkshakes, Gruesomes, Wylde Mammoths, and Plasticland.

From the ‘90s, the Kravin’ A’s, Headcoats, Mystreated, Kaisers, Aardvarks, Mummies, Others, Loons, Conquerors, and Fortune and Maltese and the Fabulous Pallbearers.

When it comes to bands since the year 2000, I mentioned them in answer to an earlier question.

Can you tell us about Les Whammies ?

The Whammies was a group I fronted off and on from 2001 to 2005 here in Toronto. We were something of a ‘60s “frat” garage band influenced by the Kingsmen and Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs. I even wore a turban like Sam the Sham! The Whammies covered material by the Kingsmen, Don and the Goodtimes, and Huey “Piano Smith” and His Clowns, among other purveyors of festive rock ‘n’ roll. We also played a number of original songs mainly written by our drummer Dave Pauwels. The group basically played clubs here in Toronto but, unfortunately, never got around to recording and releasing any material. We had a lot of fun, though! Dave and the Whammies’ bassist, Ryan Lalande, went on to form the excellent freakbeat outfit, The Primordials, that released an album on the Screaming Apple label. These days, they’re in a superb power pop combo called the Brink.

Which garage activists have influenced you the most? Was there a newspaper, radio or TV show that you didn't miss? Do you have any special memories of it?

I’d say that among the garage activists who’ve I’ve found to be most inspiring and influential include the late great Greg Shaw of the Bomp! magazine and record label, Billy Miller and Miriam Linna of the Norton Records label, Mike Stax, Tim Warren of Crypt records, Greg Prevost formerly with the Chesterfield Kings, Jon "Mojo" Mills of Shindig magazine, Glynis Ward of the Feline Frenzy zine and Domenic Priore, author of various books including Riot on Sunset Strip. When it came to radio shows, two that I really enjoyed were Dans le garage with Mimi La Twisteuse which aired in Montreal in the mid to late ‘90s, as well as Real Cool Time with Rocky and Deena. That Toronto show graced the Toronto airwaves between 2008 and 2018.

Lux Interior, Montreal 1997

You've known the Cramps and even traded with them. Can you tell us more about them?

I’ve loved the Cramps for decades and met Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, the cool couple at the heart of the group, back in the Fall of 1997 before one of their Montreal gigs. My wife and I, along with a friend of ours, chatted with them for a few minutes. We came bearing gifts, including records and a tape of a couple of my radio shows. Lux and Ivy were as cordial as can be and we exchanged addresses. I promised to send them a video cassette of TV appearances by ‘60s Quebec garage bands, presumably stuff they had never laid eyes on. I delivered on my promise, and in exchange, Lux sent me a VHS tape of Cramps videos I specifically requested. We became pen pals for a while. I’d mail him and Ivy tapes of The Subterranean Jungle, which they’d play while driving around LA, where they lived. I was very flattered to learn that. One of the things Lux sent me was a tape of shows by the legendary DJ, the Mad Daddy, one of his heroes. His letters were always witty and a pleasure to read.

Wouldn't you like to recount your passion in a documentary or book?

I’ve never thought of that, but, yes, if somebody asked me to.

Cassette from Lux Interior

What are your current and future projects?

In early January this year, I began publishing a Substack called Painted Dayglo Smiles. Every two weeks, I post a write-up on one of the many groups from the ‘60s I love, garage or otherwise, including bands I think could benefit from greater appreciation. I discuss the group’s history, give my opinions on some of their recordings, and provide YouTube links to a few of their tunes. So far, I’ve discussed Paul Revere and the Raiders, Thomas and Richard Frost, the Five Americans, P.F. Sloan, and Herman’s Hermits. https://flippedoutphil.substack.com/

Thank you very much for your answers.

Cette interview est dédiée (sans ironie) à Olivier et Julie.