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Soon, the idea of
reforming 20/20 was discussed, and Belknap insisted that if they
reformed, he had to be the drummer; still all the same age, they
wisely opted not to update the name to 40/40. Nevertheless, the time
finally seemed right for the band; far from being forgotten, 20/20
actually had the first nationally distributed power pop fanzine,
Yellow Pills, named after one of their songs. So in 1993,
20/20 contributed a track "Song of the universe" on the first Yellow
Pills Volume of American Pop compiled by Jordan Oakes, editor of the
Yellow Pills fanzine and released on the New York based label (now
defunct) Big Deal.
Securing a record deal
with Oglio Records in 1995, the band recorded its first release in
over 10 years, 4 Day Tornado, at Belknap's studio in
Tulsa. The band played South by Southwest showcases in 1996 and 1997,
and headlined power pop festivals around the country, where they
played to packed houses who were blown away at both their ability as a
great rock band playing the old favorites and the new songs which
highlighted their sets. During this time, they were asked to
contribute a track to the excellent Badfinger tribute "Come & Get
It" (Copper Records, 1997). Flynt, Allen & Belknap recorded "Day
after day" for the tribute in 3 different studios: Austin, Nashville
and Tulsa. 20/20 recorded their fifth album,
Interstate 20/20, primarily via Federal Express, with basic tracks
for some songs being cut at Belknap's Long Branch Studio in Tulsa,
but most vocals and hundreds of overdubs being done at both Flynt's
Jumping Dog Studio in Austin and Allen's Blue Planet Studio in
Nashville. Fans and writers alike agree that the new album is the best
work the band has ever done.
Recently, Flynt also
began work on his first ever solo record "Big Blue Heart", including a
duet with Dwight Twilley "I See Blue" - a natural when a musician has
his own home studio. In only three years, Flynt's Jumping Dog Studio
has been filled with local musicians on a daily basis. Like many of
us, he's fallen for Austin. "I love Austin," he gushes. "I've never
been more at home anywhere. I like living in a lot of different places
-- New York, L.A., Tulsa, Dallas, but I've never been happier anywhere
than in Austin. The music scene is so great. A lot of times people
talk about it as the "Velvet Rut", you can get into it and it's so
comfortable here that you can just sorta let time go by and you don't
work. But it's had just the opposite effect on me. I've never worked
as much, since we got here and I got a little bit established. Since
then, I've just been busy all the time. I've been so lucky to get to
record with so many great people. My kids like it here. We're all just
so happy!"
In addition to
recording and producing Blue Cartoon's first local release in
1997, Ron Flynt has also been playing keyboards for Scrappy Jud Newcomb
as part of the local guitar slinger's Southbound Monarchs. Flynt has
also been doing a lot of songwriting with several local musicians.
Around 2001, Steve Allen released his own solo album "In &
Out Of The Light".
A well played mix of
blues-based rock, a few mellower numbers (the inspired "Surfin' with
Jimi" could have been titled "The Wind Cries Jimi") and the obligatory
reggae spiked ditty ("Completely Free" - good tune), the songs all
have solid craftsmanship and come alive thanks to Allen's fretboard
magic. Allen gets playing/writing assistance from notable dudes like
Bill Lloyd, Tommy Heath and former 20/20 teammate Ron Flynt.
"We're going to
continue to work the 20/20 album for a year," Ron Flynt says. "We're
getting radio adds like crazy in the last few weeks, and we'll
continue to do more short tours. We're already part way into recording
the next album, too. We'll probably bring in a fourth musician in the
studio, and use some guest artists next time. I like being able to
record in different places, but still have a very unified sound. "One
thing I would like to do the next time is cut the album quicker, and
do less of it by myself. I'd like to be with Bill or Steve, or we're
thinking about having another person come in and play, so that there's
more bouncing around of ideas. There's something magical that happens
when two people record something together. Something I've gotten from
Scrappy is that you really can interact and make a moment better when
you're together."
There is something
magical that happens when Flynt makes music, actually. But in a final
touch of irony, some radio programmers and writers continue to tag
20/20 as "power pop" and say it's not commercially viable. Try telling
that to Tom Petty. You'd think Flynt and 20/20 would be called ahead
of their time, not retro, now wouldn't you?
In 2005, solo
album from 20/20 Ron Flynt is an astonishing piece; a document of
exceptional power pop, a coherent concept album and a literal and
metaphorical take of survival in the music business. Joined by his
original 20/20 partner Steve Allen and `90s drummer Bill Belknap,
Flynt makes the same kind of brainy, breezy yet darkly-lined pop that
established his reputation two decades ago.
back to 20/20
first part 1975 - 1983 (source:
Bomp Magazine, Ron Flynt, Steve Allen, Chris Saligyi,
Austinchronicle.com) |
