Flipturn, the Band on Florida and Their Future
Written and photographed by Mariel Wiley
Flipturn, 2021. From left to right: Devon Vonbalson (drums), Dillon Basse (vocals, guitar), Madeline Jarman (bass), Tristan Duncan (lead guitar), and Mitch Fountain (guitar, keys). Photograph by Mariel Wiley.
The sky is heavy with spring rain as I sit in the corner of one of downtown Gainesville’s beloved coffee shops, tea in hand. I hear the gentle whoosh of the door opening behind me, and I turn to see each member of the band Flipturn file into Wyatt’s Coffee, emanating a post-show glow despite the gloomy weather.
In between back-to-back weekend performances at Gainesville’s Heartwood Soundstage before heading out on tour with Adam Melchor, the band graciously agreed to sit down with me for a chat about the present state of their music, and the future they hope for as our world begins to reopen.
Mariel Wiley: How does it feel to be back out on the road again playing music after a year of lockdown?
Dillon Basse: Amazing, so amazing. I mean — we spent our time during the pandemic writing music, but it’s amazing to finally take those songs we’ve been working on and play them live. We played five new songs last night and we’re going to keep trying to work them and see how the crowd reacts. It’s a really good feeling.
MW: So the band started in 2015 when you guys were in high school, and it was just three of you at first (bassist Madeline Jarman, lead guitarist Tristan Duncan, and Basse). I heard that you guys started playing out of a garage, is that true?
Madeline Jarman: Yeah, my garage!
MW: What was it like forming the band at that time?
Madeline: We went to a pretty small high school, so when we started the band — it was like Tristan plays guitar, I play bass and Dillon sings — we didn’t have too many other young musicians around us.
Dillon: Well, Fernandina [Beach] wasn’t like Jacksonville, which has so many more people and more young kids — the more people you have, the odds of someone being a musician are going to be higher, so theres a music scene. But in Fernandina, it was really hard to find kids our age that were interested in playing music and wanting to create original stuff —
Madeline: — and we were in the same circle of friends at school, so we were into the same things. It was a natural coming-together.
Dillon: We’re lucky to have found each other, it’s really cool.
MW: I grew up in a small town too, so I definitely get that pressure of having a hard time finding creative people in your specific niche to work with!
Dillon: Yeah, there’s plenty of creativity in Fernandina Beach, it’s just mostly populated by an older generation.
MW: Do you guys feel like starting out in such a small town influenced your writing process or your sound — was it a challenge, or did it have some benefits?
Madeline: It was definitely a bit of both. There was a challenge in the fact that there aren’t any true venues in our hometown, so we ended up getting our start in Gainesville. We had to branch elsewhere to establish ourselves as a serious band. We used to play a few three hour shows —
Dillon: — which is like a normal bar gig —
Madeline: — yeah, which is crazy long! That’s double the length of our show last night. But the small town was beneficial due to its strong community. Our families and friends were all very supportive. They helped uplift us.
Devon Vonbalson: I would say it also offers experience — music is based on experience and the insight that gives you.
Madeline: Yeah, and I guess even though we had to do those three-hour gigs, they helped to build our endurance. If we can get through that, we can do anything.
MW: So, I know a couple of you went to the University of Florida —
Madeline: Yep, me and Dillon.
MW: Do you think being in the college setting helped or hindered your development?
Dillon: Helped, absolutely. I mean, Gainesville, we have a reason to keep coming back here — the cool thing about a college town is that most people that live here, aren’t from here. So, if we played a show here during the year that means people will see us, and then go home and spread the word. That’s why when we’re touring we try to hit college towns, they’re just home to people from all over the country and the world.
MW: Do you think the base of your following is centered in Gainesville then?
Dillon: I think it started here, but now it’s more spread out. But this is still our favorite place to play because it’s like a second home.
Madeline: Yeah, we consider it a hometown in addition to Fernandina and Jacksonville.
MW: What have been your other favorite places to play?
Tristan Duncan: I mean have we ever had a bad show in Philadelphia?
Dillon: Nope, Philly is pretty great. I think just the music scene there, people just love to go out to shows. Like, Mt. Joy, the Districts — they’re from Philly. I think it’s just a great spot for music.
MW: That culture of appreciation for live music must lend itself to a good reception of your work on the audience’s part — something that must feel good.
Dillon: Yeah, and it’s great because it’s so random — none of us have ties to Philly and yet we still love it.
MW: I heard you guys are working on your first full-length album. When did the process for that start?
Tristan: When we got home from tour last year (before the pandemic)! We were done for about two weeks when we realized we needed to take advantage of this — it’s time to dig in. Let’s just do music as much as we possibly can.
Madeline: Yeah, we took a writing trip to Phoenix in August. We drove out there and stayed for two weeks in this cool cabin surrounded by cacti. We wanted to be in a completely different geography.
Dillon: We needed to get into a different environment; a different headspace.
Mitch Fountain: It’s crazy how a different environment can impact the style of your writing, like you feed off of your surroundings. You can hear it through the new songs.
Dillon: A lot of the songs on the album — some of the ones we’ve been testing live — started in that cabin. It’s cool to see what we were able to do out there, and who knows if we’d have had the same ideas just here on the east coast.
MW: So being in the desert was a source of inspiration for you guys?
Devon: I want to go back and do it again!
MW: What stage are you in right now with the album?
Dillon: Right now we have a good amount written and we’re about to move into the demo phase, but there’s definitely a lot of work to do still.
MW: Does the whole thing have a theme or a story yet, or is that something that reveals itself later in the process?
Madeline: We kind of have an idea — but it’s definitely something we hone in on once more of the songs are put together.
Tristan: Like macro-wise, it definitely has a direction: the feelings are there.
MW: Other than the album, do you guys have any plans or hopes and dreams for the next year?
Dillon: The album is our biggest project yet, so that’s the main focus. But we definitely want to play more shows and travel around to whatever place will have us! ◆
Looking for more? Keep up with Flipturn on Instagram and follow the band on Spotify. You can find tour dates and merch on their website.
