Friday 7th March 2008 @ Trinity Centre, Bristol
Playing Alongside: Slow Club, Laura Marling

Johnny Flynn is the young, fresh-faced mother folker on the tips of everyone’s tongues at the moment and touted for great things in the near future. With a debut album on the horizon, Suit Yourself catches up with the inspired musician on the Bristol leg of his tour supporting the divine Laura Marling.

Johnny Flynn leads Suit Yourself around the back of the Trinity Centre and onto the shared tour bus where, after pushing toothbrushes, magazines and demo copies of his pending album aside, I ask him if he can remember how many times he’s played Bristol now:

You were here about a month ago at the Louisiana right – how’d that go?
Yeah, good. That was a great night, it’s so purpose built there, totally all about gigs. And we had the infamous Jeff! We were chatting with him and he said he goes to eight gigs a week. Full on.

He’s great! It’s not a good gig in Bristol unless Jeff’s there getting the crowd going.
I’m really excited about the possibility of him being there tonight. Last time after the gig we went straight onto facebook and found the ‘Jeff Appreciation Society’ and saw the legend of Jeff. He’s brilliant. If he’s not there it will just feel empty. He was just going insane, even for the slow numbers.
That’s our Jeff. No drugs, no alcohol, just pure love of the music!

Had a chance to look around Bristol much at all?
No; basically we got a bus straight to the sound check today. We had a Radio 6 Session this morning then had to go do a showcase for my label. Just playing songs in front of the corporate people; it was just terrible really, just depressing.
But yeah I do really like Bristol. When we were here before we went on a big night out with our friends who live here who were working at the Bristol Old Vic. They took us to this place where all the theatre lot go – Renato’s?

Yeah, you’re involved in the world of theatre aren’t you? I understand you thesp?
Ha, yeah. I was an usher at the Bush Theatre in London.

- Suit Yourself explains to Johnny the current plight of BOV.
That’s terrible. It’s such a big, important theatre. I just noticed the decline in Bristol Old Vic touring productions over the last few years.

Was it true you were in Taming of The Shrew?
Yeah, I played various small parts like Curtis. It was an all male Shakespeare theatre company. It was pretty full on. We were doing that and Twelfth Night at the same time. I was playing Sebastian and we toured all over, went round the world for a year.

When was that?
We finished last summer basically.

Was the band going on at the same time as all this?
Yeah kind of, the band was set up but on hold while I went off and did that. We were doing late night gigs and stuff but I can’t really remember. We got the deal from Vertigo then so the band must have been going if the record label signed us!

You must enjoy the crazy, non-stop lifestyle then; touring and performing non-stop with the theatre and now with the band.
Yeah, basically I feel like I’ve worked so hard over the last few years, and that’s a good thing. I’m just looking forward to basically some time to go away to a mountain and become a hermit.

Ha! Have you got some time set out or is tours all you can see at the moment?
Well our album’s coming out in May so they’ll be loads of shit to do around then. But it’s good you know, it’s good that this is happening and the album is coming together and everything.

The album’s done then, all the artwork and everything sorted?
Yeah, I did the artwork and a couple of contributions from fans. I just thought it would be nice to get people to come together; I’m always trying to create some creative forums, I thought drawing and stuff was quite a cool way to encourage that. We’re definitely including some of them.

What sort of style did you go for?
I used to be obsessed with ‘outsider art’ – it’s basically art produced by either insane people or people who haven’t been trained in any way and just felt that had to do it, like it was their calling. Like they had to put pen to paper and so it was all coming from within. It’s kind of divine, people didn’t learn how to do it they just had these visions and had to put it down. A lot of it looks primitive but something about the naivety of it is striking. But anyway, that’s just one thing I was into.

Cool. The Trinity Centre; you’ve never played here before have you?
No. I see it’s an old church but it looks like a squat from the outside.

Well you’re no stranger to playing in churches, you used to be a choir boy right?
Yeah that’s true. I guess it’s what started me on the road to music. I was a choir scholar from about the age of 8 for a long time.

Did that come before the instruments?
Well I started playing violin when I was 6, then started playing trumpet and piano and then it all just followed on basically, but it was really intense. We were just a touring choir basically, we sang at about eight services a week in a chapel in Winchester, just really canned it.

How’s it touring with Laura Marling?
We’ve playing 3 or 4 four times together quite a few years ago when she was just starting. Everyone who’s playing tonight played a Noah and the Whale Christmas Party thing together in December so we’re all old friends.

And on with the gig! First to take to the Trinity stage is everyone’s new favourite band in-the-making, Sheffield indie-folkers Slow Club. Charles and Rebecca burst through a short set of fantastic duets at the expense of guitar strings and knackered kitchen furniture, pumping the room with warm vibes from their utterly brilliant songs. I am so excited about the future for these two and can’t wait for them to come back to Bristol for Dot to Dot Festival in May.

Up next is Johnny Flynn with his backing band The Sussex Wit, made up of cellos, mandolins, ukuleles, all round nice guy and funny man Matt on drums and sister Flynn on backing vocals. The collective draw on a century’s worth of folk, country and blues to create new, honest music, full of rich melodies and all undeniably English, like on the delectable Leftovers and Tickle Me Pink.

A few songs in though and it’s clear Johnny is unhappy about something; “Where is Jeff? He’s not at Newton Fawlkner is he? I feel offended!” Big Jeff must have had a pretty awesome excuse to miss this one.

The night is closed by the beautiful pixie Laura Marling. Dressed in a baggy shirt with a huge guitar slung over her shoulder she captivates every set of ears in the Trinity Centre and tops of a fantastic evening.

www.johnnyflynnmusic.co.uk

Matthew Whittle www.matthewwhittleblog.blogspot.com