Flickerstick

As the winner of the breakthrough Emmy nominated VH1 reality series, Bands on the Run (2001), Flickerstick converted national viewers seemingly overnight to its style of emotional rock music. Following the series, with a video for the song “Smile” airing, sold-out shows, and a major label bidding war, the band eventually signed with Sony/Epic. Welcoming Home the Astronauts, the band’s debut album, was released in November of 2001. Recorded at Todd and Toby Pipes’ (Deep Blue Something) studio, Bass Propulsion Laboratories, WHTA was co-produced by YouTube megastar Rick Beato and mixed by Tom Lord-Alge (Weezer, Blink-l82, Marilyn Manson). The album debuted in the Billboard top 200 and reached #2 on Billboard’s Heat Seekers. The first single, Beautiful, reached #26 on modern rock radio. Astronauts received 3.5/5 stars in Rolling Stone and, in their review of the album, Spin Magazine proclaimed, “Tough guitar scrimmages, soaring supergroup moments that last a lifetime, boner-like intensity, roto-toms--Astronauts has it all.” On 9/11/2001 the band was in NYC preparing for a sold-out label launch show at Irving Plaza when everything in the world changed. The music industry landscape shifted overnight with radio and label reps moving or being laid off and key executives overhauling their marketing strategies. For most of the largely unproven bands at the time, like Flickerstick, this meant getting lost in the static with little to no label support. The relationship with never recovered. Reclaiming their independence after buying out their Sony/Epic record deal, Flickerstick signed with indie label Idol Records in 2004 and released the much-anticipated Tarantula LP in October 2004. The album was produced by Keith Cleversley (Flaming Lips, Hum) and features some of the fan’s favorite songs including “Bleeding” and “Teenage Dope Fiend”. Over the years, Flickerstick has also released two live albums (Causing a Catastrophe, 2002 and Live in Atlanta, 2007), an EP/DVD (To Madagascar and Back, 2003), and a Singles, B-Sides, and Rarities album (When We Were Young, 2021). Widely regarded for their energetic and emotional live performances, Flickerstick’s extensive touring schedule began in 2001 and included sold-out headlining shows across the country. After 8 years of non-stop touring, releasing music, and multiple departures of original band members, the band began to tire of the grind and made the difficult decision to retire from writing and touring in 2009.