All that jazz: Flap! plays Torquay Bowls Club this month.
By Cherie Donnellan
CAUGHT in the jazz groove, a punter reproduced his very own Roaring ’20s when he stripped as Flap! played a Fitzroy dive last year.
Singer Eamon McNelis recounted how the rest of the audience followed the stripper’s lead before undressing the band members as well.
McNelis attributed the incident to Flap!’s 1920s-inspired jazz and alcohol.
“It was really quite funny,” he told the Independent.
“(Bass player) Mark’s parents had come to watch us for the first time. After the audience made us strip Mark’s parents were the only ones still clothed.
“Mark’s dad commented that he regretted not bringing his glasses.”
McNelis said Flap!’s gig at Torquay Bowls Club later this month would be fun but clothes would probably remain in place.
“If the weather’s good we’ll play barefoot bowls before the gig. That’ll be fun.”
The Melbourne band describes its music as a quirky blend of “old and new”, mixing prohibition-era jazz, English folk, gypsy brass and calypso influences.
McNelis also plays the cornet alongside fellow band members Jess Guille, Don Stewart, Ben Hendry and Mark Elton.
He said Flap! retained Australian themes in its songs.
“We write our own songs and often talk about Australian stories within our lyrics.
“(Banjo player and singer) Jess and I lived together around the time we formed the band and we were listening to a lot of Paul Kelly’s music. Our songwriting is quite influenced by him.”
McNelis said the band had an eclectic fan base.
“Sometimes we’ll play to hipsters, sometimes to older people, sometimes to drunks….or sometimes to older, drunk hipsters,” he joked.
But the music always encouraged dancing.
“We’re all pretty happy people,” McNelis said.
“We like to have fun, be lively and tell jokes while on stage. I think our audience responds to that.”
Flap!’s first gig was at a cafe in Copenhagen in 2007. Since then the band’s continued travelling.
Domestic performances have included music festivals in Queensland, Apollo Bay and Melbourne.
Flap! will play Torquay as part of their national tour after the release of latest album A Great Day for the Race.
