Where Music Meets Travel: Interview with Jamin R. Marshall from Larry and His Flask

Larry and His Flask in action, courtesy of Victoria Mita

An ensemble of five, with the feel of a bluegrass/folk/punk orchestra, Larry and His Flask has grown through various changes in sound and roster, but the band has maintained a tradition of toe tapping and joyful expression for ten years now. Bouncing across-country, that “can’t hold yourself still” music will soon be shared further across the globe, connecting more cultures and communities through the universal language of smile-stimulating sound.

Today, we have the honor of speaking with Jamin Richard Marshall, the drummer for Larry and His Flask.

1. First and foremost, can you tell us more about the upcoming, World Tour that you have in store? Are there any specific destinations you’ll be hitting which few or none of you have visited before? Are you feeling anxious at all, or just plain excited?

We are very excited! It’s always fun for us to get back out there, meet new people and reunite with old friends. We spend most of our time on the road playing shows and seeing the country so I think we get more anxious being at home and sitting in one place, working normal jobs. Haha. After a few weeks of being home, we are ready to head back out again!

As far as our plans go now, we are doing an extensive US tour and we have upcoming plans to do Europe again in December. We will probably hit most of our regular stops and hopefully see many familiar faces and places. We have been to almost every US state, every province in Canada, and a good chunk of Europe, but there are still 2 states we have not played in: Alabama and Mississippi! We are finally going to be playing in Mississippi! We also have dreams of doing China, Japan, South Africa, all of South America, Mexico and Russia, oh and Tunis! I would also love to go back to Hawaii, Alaska, and Yukon Territory in 2014. Those are some of my favorite places to visit and play!

2.You have traveled the US far and wide more than once. Has anyone done much international or domestic traveling independent of touring with the group? Any educational travel or even just travel for pleasure? How do you find the experiences in comparison — traveling on tour and traveling on your own?

Our banjo player Andrew Carew had been to Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile right before he joined the band. He went on a big backpacking trip with one of his good friends from high school. The rest of us have pretty much just seen the world while touring in the band. In comparison, traveling in the band is great because you always have lots of help and backup if you need it. You always have at least five other people to help get through the tough times. When things get really hard you always have your best friends to give you some moral support. But as a big group being on a real tight schedule we seldom have any time to see the sights and explore the city or area that we are in at the time.

3. Have there been any big places or cultures that have influenced your musical inspirations and genre-blending sound?

I think being from rural oregon has shaped our sound and outlook in a major way. It also helped us want to get out and see the world. It is a truly beautiful place with so many Lakes and trails and mountains to explore. From the ski hills and waterfalls and hot springs all the way out to the bad lands and sand dunes. Every year I’m surprised by new wonders I stumble upon in Oregon. We are happy and proud to call Central Oregon our home! If you ever get the chance, check it out some day. You will be amazed by what you find.

I also think that the gypsy jazz culture and sound from France has helped shape our sound in a big way.

Folk music from the Deep South gave us the inspiration to start playing acoustic music. Then again, the second wave of punk rock/hardcore music in the eighties from DC and LA really showed us that we could take on the world with a DIY mindset and really make a difference!

4. About your sound and the different transformations it has taken over the years: It must be a continuously challenging and ongoing process, when you’ve had many people contributing their different talents. How has that affected your group dynamic?

Well, I think that we have the good fortune to work really well together and we are all close friends that have known each other since high school. So blending all of our ideas and influences together has come pretty naturally. We are pretty lucky in that way.

5. Was there a single point at which you feel that you really established what you were seeking in the group feel and sound? Can you tell us about it, if so?

Personally I feel like there is always more to be learned and always more growing and evolving to be done. Also we never had an actual planned out sound or goal in that way. The whole evolution of our sound has always been very free form. I would hope that we just keep changing and getting better. I think that if you ever stick to one particular formula and say “hey we got it, no need to try anything else” you give up in a way and start to get stale. I hope that we can keep our fans on their toes and keep changing forever!

6. Having played in quite a few different places now, from Hawaii to the Czech Republic to the UK and the Netherlands, do you have any little practices that you do regularly before gearing up for a big trip? Do you have any unique preparations or travel tips that you find helpful?

Hmmm… Well most of the time I usually end up waiting until the last day before I leave to do all my packing and preparations at once. I don’t know if that could be considered a practice. Maybe just a bad habit. Haha.

I’m sure this is pretty obvious but make sure you bring a little note book so you can keep a travel journal. It’s always nice to have important details of your trek saved on paper. You can write down your thoughts and feelings about all the places you travel. It’s nice, at the end of a long hard day to vent your frustrations onto paper. Especially if you’re traveling alone. You can also doodle and sketch some of your favorite places.

It will give you unique mementoes of your journey. It can also make a perfect place to make a collage of keepsakes you pick up along the way.

Also make sure you take the time as often as you can to “stop and smell the roses” life is too short to rush through all the good parts.

7. You are originally from Oregon, but have shared your sound with a number of different environments and cultures now. Do you find a greater comfort or preference for performing back in the US, or do you prefer the anticipation of sharing your gift with a new crowd?

We love to share our music with as many different cultures and people as possible. I mean, the whole goal of being a performing artist is to get your art out there to the people, wherever they may be. Travel is an absolute necessity in our lives as a band. And we have always loved it anyway so I think it has worked out pretty good for us!

The last time we went to Europe we were there for two months and hit about 11 countries and played a show almost every day so we were very happy to be back in the USA when we got home. It’s nice to not have to worry about the language barrier. But we love playing other countries, I think we will probably go for less than two months at a time from now on, haha.

Andrew on the Banjo, Larry and His Flask, Photo by Victoria Mita

8. When is one time you’ve felt most outside of your comfort zone, (culturally, musically, in a new environment, or even domestically). How did you handle it?

I think one of the most out of place we have ever felt was recently, when we played a festival in France on our last tour of Europe. It was called American Journeys Festival. There were about 800 or 900 people there and probably about ten of them spoke any English. As soon as we walked into the building we felt like we were in a giant, strange truck stop in the south. The whole place was covered in confederate and US flags, Harley stuff and tons of vendors were there selling super cheap trinkets and gaudy cowboy hats, belts and frilly leather jackets and dream catchers.

The scent of hamburgers and hot dogs filled the air and Budweiser was everywhere. Out on the giant dance floor were hundreds of French people line dancing in unison to the billboard top 100 pop country hits! All of the people were dressed up in brand new, rhinestone laden, dandy cowboy clothes.

It was extremely surreal to be so far from home and all of a sudden be surrounded by some of the cheesiest parts of American culture. By the way, out of all the people there I think maybe six people knew of us before we arrived.

So we got up on stage and started doing our thing and about 400 people promptly left the building never to return. The rest of the people awkwardly tried to line dance during our one slow song and then shortly gave up and followed their comrades outside, also never to return. By the end of the set we were left with about 20 or 30 people trying to muster the courage to make it through this strange/way too energetic set of music.

It was one of the most ironic things I have ever been a part of. We were the only American band at an American Journeys festival in the middle of rural France. I don’t think we have cleared a room so fast in our whole career! But the show must go on, so we just did our thing and tried to do the best we could… and then got out of there!

9. Last but not least, you have a remarkable new album out, By The Lamplight. You actually helped produce it, through your network of supporters and a fundraising campaign. Do you have any suggestions or words of encouragement about the process?

Absolutely, I suppose the most important thing I can say is just to never give up and never give in! That one little phrase has helped me out in my life in so many ways. You have to just keep on keeping on.

As far as the fundraising goes don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone and everyone you know. You will never know if you never ask. People will often surprise you with their generosity and giving spirit. Many people would love to travel but can’t so I’m sure lots of them would love to help students see the world.

Another thing is to just get super creative with it! Make weekly or daily update videos telling your contributors what you have been up to or where you will go. Maybe offer really neat prizes for contributing like postcards from the road or something like that. By the way, that is a really cool idea and I’m glad to hear that things like that are going on!

And remember, students — Never ever ever give up! You can do whatever you put your mind to! Get out there and see the world! I am just a small town boy with a dream and I just set out one day ten years ago to rock and roll all over the world! If I can do it, anyone can! Follow your dreams to the ends of the earth!