Randolph Flagg

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The web site of RANDOLPH FLAGG and Robert Brunt.
Note that Randolph Flagg - the band - is on hiatus at the moment; but founder, frontman and chief creative force Robert Brunt is still very active as a solo musician. Check back here often for news on Rob's latest projects.

Rob now has his own pages at Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/robertbrunt.

Randolph Who?
Randolph Flagg is not a person - it's a band, but one unlike anything heard on the UK music scene in recent years.
Randolph Flagg has existed in various forms since 1996, playing an intoxicating and unusual blend of Rock styles that defies any attempts to pigeonhole, although someone once applied the description "Gothic Country" to their sound, which the group thought summed things up nicely!
The special ingredient? A touch of the "Progressive" sound and arrangements that made early 70s music so exciting and unpredictable.

Founder and frontman Rob Brunt has more down-to-earth concept of Randolph Flagg:-

"We're essentially a Rockers' Rock Band - keeping alive the True Spirit of Rock, without ever sounding like a nostalgia act."

What about the dreaded "C" word?
Yes, Country music has played an important role in the formation of the Flagg sound; but they have moved away from their Country cover band roots to produce a sound that is a unique blend of 50s, 60s, 70s and newer musical styles. Only the hats remain (occasionally) as an indicator of from whence they came. Geographically, too, there is a strange blend of American and British influences which still manages to sound "right". While all this variety would seem to be a good thing, an inability to attach a convenient label to the band does cause problems in today's music industry where everything needs to be pre-packaged and easily understood, for mass consumption.
Many in the industry would prefer it if all artistes fitted nice little compartments: this is a Rock band; this is a Country band; this is a pre-teen pop band; this is a punk band, and so on. Falling between two (or more!) stools, Randolph Flagg have sometimes faced an uphill struggle to reach audiences. Or as Rob put it when introducing a recent gig:-

"We're too Rock for the Country venues and too Country for the Rock venues!"

Whatever, why not come along and judge for yourself?

Where?
The group is based in the Bromsgrove area (Worcestershire, England). Most gigs are in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, West Midlands, Staffordshire.

Original songs?
Definitely! Rob's song-writing skills have tapped into a vein of powerful and addictive rock music: juxtaposing vivid imagery of bygone Americana with contemporary English subjects and themes. This is music that would be at home on either side of the pond.

Covers?
Yes, but the group have always prided themselves on avoiding "straight" covers wherever possible. Songs from a wide variety of sources have been given the Flagg sound, by anything from a simple melodic or rhythmic twist to a full blown re-arrangement. Rob delights in re-discovering inoccuous little gems from older music traditions - Blues, Country, Bluegrass - and developing them into raging Rock behemoths with powerful, cutting-edge, often bizarre new arrangements.
Rob has a particular fondness for songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty, so heavily-reworked Creedence classics often find themselves in the Flagg set.

Contract?
You must be joking! With the music industry stuck in its current rut of manufactured plastic groups and recycled radio-friendly mush, what record company today would have the vision and the guts to take a chance and sign this oddball bunch? Still, you never know. . .

Last update: 25/05/08.

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