Harley Flanagan: Punk. Metalhead. Bassist. Author. Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Trailblazer. Cro-Mag. Knowing the life this guy has led, I’m sure there’s more titles I’m forgetting. These are just the ones that came to my head. In this brand new interview, Flangan reflects on Lemmy, live shows, and the importance of music during the current “Age of Quarrel”.
Let’s start in mid March of last year. You’re gearing up for the release of the first Cro-Mags album in 20 years, In the Beginning, when the world screeches to a complete halt. What was your initial reaction to all of this?
Harley Flanagan: It really came out of nowhere. We were literally practicing for the show that we had coming up that week. We were supposed to be playing with Body Count and obviously the reports were starting to come in that different countries were starting to lock down their borders. We were still being told that the show was on and then pow. 48 hours before the show was supposed to happen, the mayor and the governor said no more public gatherings. So we wound up putting together that live show on the internet which was actually very successful. Over 200,000 people watched it. Everybody was locked in their houses and it was seen all over the world. You just try to adjust. You figure out what you can do. We had a whole bunch of tours scheduled and all that got cancelled. So what did I do? I took that time and recorded the EP that we just put out, 2020.
If I remember correctly, weren’t you guys one of the first bands, if not the first, to do a livestream quarantine show?
HF: There was only one other band that did it. From what I understand, they had a record release party scheduled and when it got cancelled, they just did the same thing as us. If you have a creative mind, you’re gonna come up with solutions and ways to deal with things like this. Obviously I’m not the only person who came up with it. It was a way to deal with it, but I’ve used the time well. I’m really happy with the EP, as well as the album. Now we’re gearing up for touring this year. Hopefully the vaccines and everything else will permit that.
The current lineup of the band features yourself, Gabby Abularach on guitars, Garry “G-Man” Sullivan on drums, and one of my favorites, the great Rocky George also on guitars. When did you first meet Rocky and what’s it like to be working with him today?
HF: I met Rocky for the first time in the mid 80s, but I started working with him in ‘99. I recorded a Cro-Mags album with him, Revenge. And then I worked on several other little side projects and stuff with him over the years. Rocky’s one of my favorite guitarists and one of my best friends. Having him involved is always awesome. Him living in California makes it a little bit tricky, but we try to make it work. Then again, Garry lives in Germany, so my band is pretty spread out *laughs*. That’s one of the things that’s making all this difficult with this Corona situation, but at least we have a bunch of material that we’ve already been recording during the layoff. When we did the 2020 EP that we just recorded, which by the way has Joe Affe from Maximum Penalty on guitars with Rocky, we also recorded a bunch of additional material. I already have the beginning of this year’s album pretty much recorded.
So we’re definitely going to hear some new Cro-Mags music this year?
HF: Without a doubt. We’re scheduled to tour in June, so I will definitely have it done way before then. Whether it’s a summer release or whether it’ll come out at the end of the year, I don’t know. It really all depends on the record label’s timing, but I’m really happy with the direction the music is going in. In the Beginning, 2020, and this record we’re now working on really has a flow. It’s a definite trajectory that we’re on.
Yeah between the songwriting and musicianship, there just seems to be a real energy and chemistry with this lineup. At least that’s the vibe I get from these new releases.
HF: The one thing that has always held me back was not having a label behind me, not having finances. Now that I have two labels behind me, the goal is to try to put out as much music and record as often as I can. I love to write music. I love to record. I love to play. The more I can get in the studio, the better. If I could put out two records every year, I would, but the labels are not always willing to push that hard. They have their own timeline.
What’s the best show you’ve played with this lineup thus far?
HF: It would have to be the Misfits shows. Those were really the most exciting for me and for a lot of different reasons. Not just for the obvious “Wow we’re playing with the Misfits.” or whatever. Those guys are old friends of mine. To have Glenn Danzig personally reach out to me and ask me if I wanted to do the shows. It was a great time. It was a lot of fun. And to just see what the potential is. The Misfits are guys I’ve known since I was a kid. I’ve seen them play in front of less than 100 people. So for me to see them playing in front of 30,000 people and to be a part of that show was really exciting. It was fucking cool as hell man. I can’t even explain it. It was amazing.
I imagine it really must be a shock for anyone who grew up with or remember the Misfits in the 80s. Now they’re doing arenas and stadiums and every show is a sellout. I think it’s really a testament to the music.
HF: Absolutely. The longevity and also…it’s pretty wild. This was a really underground genre. To be able to fill venues that size just goes to show that that’s not the case anymore.
2020 closes with an intense jam entitled “Cro-Fusion”, that features some absolutely wicked bass work. Which bassists most influenced your playing?
HF: That’s a hard one because I have a really wide range of musical interests. I listen to everything, literally. Jazz, reggae, funk, rock. All day long, my music is changing. I could tell you the bass players that probably influenced my style of playing the most. Lemmy, Geezer Butler, and Darryl Jenifer were all huge influences on me. Even Cronos from Venom, believe it or not. Obviously there’s your Jaco Pastoriouses and Stanley Clarkes and so on. There’s some amazing players out there that I love, but the guys I mentioned definitely were a big influence on my style of playing.
I definitely hear it!
HF: *laughs* I always try to give them credit because those guys really shaped me.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Cro-Mags debut album, The Age of Quarrel. Are there any special plans to commemorate this milestone?
HF: There’s a lot of stuff in the works, but I can’t really let any of it out of the bag just yet because nothing is set in stone. We’re trying to put some special events and special things together. *laughs* I wish I could say more, but 35 years is a big one.
Are there any songs on that album that stick out to you today as favorites to play live?
HF: I still love playing that whole album, honestly. It doesn’t matter what song. I enjoy it. It brings me right to that feeling. Obviously a song like “We Gotta Know”, just the intro. As soon as you start, it’s just like “Alright, here we go!”
From the audience’s point of view, it must be the equivalent of a powder keg going off.
HF: Exactly. When I’m writing new material, I try to get that same feeling myself. And the last two records I feel real good about.
I know you had a close relationship with Lemmy over the years. What was the biggest lesson you learned from him?
HF: He’s actually the reason that the band is functioning. I had a dream and he told me, “Take it back mate! It’s yours. You started it.” I woke up and I was like, “Woah.” This was pretty much after I had started to just forget about it. I thought, “This is just too much. It’s too complicated. It’s too messy. There’s too much shit. There’s too much bullshit, conflicts, people and drama.” And I had that dream and said, “You know what? This shit is mine. I’m taking it fucking back.” The lesson that I got from him was you don’t fucking give up, you stay true to who you are, and you fucking fight for what’s yours.
And that’s a man who did exactly that until literally the very end.
HF: Yeah, til the fucking end. There’s certain things about his lifestyle and his behavior that I’m not trying to emulate, but there are things about him that I definitely try to take with me. If I can be the Lemmy of my genre, in another 10 years or whatever, why not? I’m looking at my Rickenbacker right now, which is actually what I played on “Cro-Fusion”.
Is that your favorite bass?
HF: No, I like all of them. Each one has something unique about it that I like. I try to bring them all into the studio and see which one wants to be played.
Like a trial and error approach?
HF: Yeah, there’s some instruments that just make your approach and playing a certain way, just because of the way the neck is shaped or the feel of the neck. So depending on what it is I’m trying to achieve, that’ll often dictate which instrument I pick up.
There are literally thousands of hardcore and metal bands today whose entire sound and ethos is rooted in what bands like yourself and Agnostic Front started in the 80s. Are you surprised by the influence of Cro-Mags all these years later?
HF: Yeah, absolutely, especially when I think back to when I was first writing this stuff. Not to quote our lyrics, but we were literally “Livin’ in burnt out buildings, livin’ in the streets.” I was shocked back then when we actually signed a record deal and put an album out. We were the first New York hardcore band to sign an actual record deal. Of course it bit us in the ass and they totally fucked us over, but I just did this because it felt good. It was a way for me to express myself. I’ve always been a musician, but I had no idea or clue that I’d even still be alive, never mind that my music would still be influencing people.
And I imagine that despite the current “Hard Times”, no pun intended, it still feels good today.
HF: Yeah, in a lot of ways it feels better than ever because now I appreciate things a lot more. After everything I’ve been through and to land on my feet, I’m very grateful and that keeps me going.
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