Interview
with
Story
behind the name:
We
were getting ready to perform for the first time. One of the guys
was
trying to explain the drum part of a new song to Tyler. "Your part
sounds
like the fa-dum-fa-dum-fa-dum sound you get when you're
driving
on a flat tire," one guy said. Flat tire — the words stuck in Jon's
head.
Kind
of music:
Simply
put, we play music that swings and moves and takes everyone
along
with it. Our songs cover 70 years. We play the '40s big band
swing,
jump blues, Chicago blues and '90s West Coast swing.
Members
and their roles:
It
takes five lug nuts to hold a tire on a car. That's what keeps a car
rollin',
even with a flat tire.
Jon
Todryk:
On stage, Jon plays guitar, and he's our main storyteller.
He
does a lot of the singing. His gritty voice mixed with his sense of
humor
give his songs "grit and grin."
Jim
Schustedt:
Jim is our musical technician, the voice of reason. He's
the
guy who listens to the original song we want to play and decides if
we
can do that song justice. On stage, Jim plays guitar and takes lead
vocals
on various songs, including "Minnie the Moocher."
Tyler
Kobs:
Tyler's drumming drives the rhythm section. He takes lead
vocals
on "Your Love is Real."
David
Le May:
Dave plays upright and electric bass or, as Dan puts it,
the
largemouth and smallmouth bass. His vocals drive home the song
"Satisfy
Susan."
Dan
Gilgenbach:
Dan and his sax leave their mark on every song —
and leave the audience wanting more. And that, says
Dan,
is the long and the sax of it.
How
would you describe your band to a person with no ears?
It's
everything moral, ethical and legal that feels right, makes you move and keeps
you happy.
What
to you do when you're on a break?
It
feels great to rub elbows with the people we've been singing to all night.
They've been listening to us — break time is our
chance
to listen to them. They inspire us. And they energize us.
Day
jobs?
Yep,
we've got 'em. To us, they're our offstage alter egos: Dan, band instrument
manager at Mike's Music and Sound;
David,
project manager at J.F. Ahern; Tyler, health care assistant; Jim, senior guitar
publications editor at Hal Leonard
Corporation;
and Jon, sales engineer at The Toolhouse.
CDs
available?
We've
recorded two: "Broke Down in Oshkosh" (August 2003) and "Pump'd
Up" (December 2005). Our CDs are both
recorded
live with all of us set up in the studio at the same time, playing together.
What's
your personal philosophy toward music?
We
have two: "Let's do this." That's how we look at everything we're not
sure of. We try it. If it works, great. If not, learn from
it
and move on.
"Enjoy
it." Enjoy what you're playing. The best thing about Flat Tire is that we
all have a sense of humor. Most of our songs
are
funny to listen to because we pick 'em and play 'em that way.
Any
rituals before performing?
There's
a whole lot of strumming, tweaking, blowing, tapping — we're talking equipment
set up sound here! Then there's
Jon,
taking care of his baby … the finest vintage amplifier.
What
wets your whistle?
Nothing's
sweeter than a round of ice cold beers with a "crowd that wants more"
chaser.
If
your band could jam with anybody, who would it be?
Brian Setzer Orchestra.