Despite the dance rock band’s clever name, Flint Eastwood is actually based in Detroit. The band will play at Audiotree Music Festival this weekend in Kalamazoo.
Lead singer Jax Anderson says the name comes from three places the band members have called home: Flint, East—as in Detroit, and Wood—for Hollywood. The band has used these ties to spread their sound across Michigan and even on to the big screen.
Their song "Billy the Kid" was featured in the movie Renee, a film about the founder of the non-profit To Write Love On Her Arms. Flint Eastwood was also one of the bands captured in a documentary about regional music styles across the United States called New American Noise.
Spaghetti Westerns and Bolo Ties
The band describes its sound as “a spaghetti-Western cooked in the ovens of Detroit.” Lead singer Jax Anderson says, early on, the band was heavily influenced by scores in Westerns and even took a few samples from those scores in their music. Anderson says growing up she would watch spaghetti Westerns with her dad all the time. Even as the band has evolved, Anderson says they still throw on bolo ties and other Western attire for their live shows.
That Detroit Sound
Flint Eastwood is at times reminiscent of other Detroit greats like Jack White and disco rock band Electric Six. Anderson says, as a teen, the garage rock scene was huge. She says a lot of her vocal style comes from that rawness you can find in garage rock and punk music. Anderson says now there is a lot more experimentation and collaboration coming out of Detroit - everyone seems to be trying something new.
The Upcoming Album
Anderson says the new album is going to have more of a pop bent, but she thinks Flint Eastwood's fans will be happy with it. She says the album will also be a lot closer to their live show sound than their releases in the past. A few things that won't change are the raw honesty of the band's lyrics and the danceable, carefree feel to the music, Anderson says. Flint Eastwood is still in the writing stage, but hopefully we'll hear more in the next few months.
