Intervew with Flynville Train, Nashville 07.06.2012

by H.D. for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show

H.D. Where did the name Flynnville Train come from?

Bryan: The Name comes from the last Name Flynn, me and my brother Brent Flynn, we come from Central Indiana where there is a lot of rural towns, a lot of farm communities around. The last Names of the Towns have a lot of „villes“ in it. Like Joseph, our Bass player, is from Portville Indiana, that’s just a good example. The Train part came from rehearsing at my house at the Outskirts of the Town. The Townspeople could hear us rehearsing all thru the Town. They always told us at the Grocery Store, it sounds like a Train coming thru Town when you guys are rehearsing. Thats where Flynville Train came from.

H.D. Have you known each other for a long time?

Bryan: Flynnville Train has been together for 12 years.

H.D. Are you still under Management from Toby Keith?

Tommy: No, not since about three years. Trisha Walker is our current manager. We had a good working Relationship with them, it just wasn’t the right situation for us. So we stepped out and tried to venture on our own, which is what we’re doing now. We created another album about two years ago, so now we are working on getting it out to the People. We put a new team of People together and we feel really good about it. People that will allow us to be ourselves and let us express what we have to express and give to the world.

H.D. Are you still performing with or for Toby Keith?

Bryan: No, we don t, we’re just good friends.

H.D. Tell us something about your Music Style.

Brent: It’s pretty much up tempo, Southern Rock Guitar oriented most of the time, it just depends on the song. Everything we do, be it lyrically or musically, we belive in it. We try to do mostly good
time stuff, something that makes us feel good. We figure, if it makes us feel good, hopefully it will make everyone else feel good too.

Tommy: We try not to bind ourselves with Genre, we have a lot of different Influences, from Classic Rock to Classic Country to Bluegrass. When we put

our music toghether, we don’t have any conversations or think about what Genre this would fit in. It’s us, that’s what you get.

H.D. Who are your musical Influences?

Brent: Mine started when I was just a little kid, I listened to tons of Elvis, the Beatles, their guitar influences, Scotty Moore, which was Elvis’ first guitar player. Me and Bryans Father, Marty Stuart, George Jones, and of course, since I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, Classic Rock, stuff you don’t hear today as much.

Tommy: For me, my first musical Influence was my Father. He’s a Drummer as well. I grew up watching him play. We all can say that, we all come from musical familys. But that was my greatest Influence. I fell into Classic Rock, then I lived in the Blues World for a while, I really got into traditional type Blues Music and the Shuffles. Then I landed with these guys.

Joseph: My Influences where Rush and Lynyrd Skynyrd

H.D. How do you experience the CMA Fest?

Brent: Lots of Traffic! Seriously, we enjoy it a lot, this week we’re playing several Places, from Tootsies to Lime Light, Honky Tonks, just Downtown Broadway. We were in the Parade and really had a good time there.

Tommy: The greatest part of what CMA Fest is, it is all for the Fans. The Country Music Industry is the greatest, we have the greatest Fans of all, and we are here to celebrate that and give something back to them, because without our Fans, we would be nothing. There wouldn’t be any CMA, Nashville would be only a dot on the map.

Bryan: Yesterday, we were in the Parade. We’ve been gone for a couple of Years, but when you are going down in the Parade and there are People standing there holding Signs with your Name on it, with Question Marks, when are you coming to the UK, that kind of thing. We’ve made a few Fans over the last few Years and they haven’t forgotten us. I got Goosebumps watching that. It makes you feel nice.

H.D. You have been at CMA Fest before?

Tommy: Yes, this is our sixth time here, it’s always a blast.

H.D. In July you will appear at a Festival in Poland, are you going anywhere else in Europe?

Tommy: Last year we played at Craponne, France, that was our first Experience outside of the United States. It was such a wonderful Experience, we found we had a whole Fanbase there that we didn’t even realise existed. We are very excited about exploring that even more, playing Overseas, in Europe, wherever Internationally. We are so blessed, to have the Opportunity to do that.

H.D. You are working on a new CD, when will it be released?

Tommy: Well, we have the CD that we finished two years ago, but it hasn’t actually Been released or marketed, we still have a few technical things to finish it up in the Studio, so we are looking at early 2013 for it to be released. I’ m sure you’ll see a single released from it this Summer. Of course it is ailable online, if somebody wants to check it out for a Review. On I-Tunes, or go to Flynnvilletrain.com to Review the Music.

H.D. Can you say something about the Songs on this CD?

Bryan: We wrote a lot of these Songs about our past Experiences, our Lives, Family, Fathers, Grandparents, just growing up. We don’t pretend to be great Songwriters but I think if you write honestly about yourself and the People around you, you can write Songs. Instead of trying to make up Ideas coming from nowhere. I found it very comforting and exciting to write about an Experience, whether it’s your Father, your Grandfather or Grandmother or just anybody in your Family or Friends. We put a lot of work into it, but it was very gratifying for us to write all these Songs that are on this Record. And I’m excited about writing some more. I can’t wait for the whole World to hear it.

Tommy: This Record kind of sums up where we are, who we are and where we come from at this point of our Careers and it is very personal to us. We did put a lot of work into it and like Bryan said, we can’t wait for the whole World to listen to it.

H.D. Do you have any other Projects for the Future?

Tommy: Yea, actually, the Album we were just referring to, is actually done for the most part. But we are currently working on the next, we’re always working on new Material and getting ready for the next Round. I look to that sometime next Year to have another Album to present or at least a single.

H.D. Are you going on a Tour here in the US before you go to Poland?

Tommy: Yes we are, we’ll play at a lot of Fairs and Festivals, we’ll go to Jordan New York, week after next. We play a lot on the East Coast, we are from the Midwest but it seems we get a lot more work on the East Coast. We have a lot of Fans out there and we like it there too.

H.D. Is there anything you would like for People to know about you?

Bryan: We’re just regular People that love playing Music and we would like to Entertain the way we would like to be Entertained. We’re just Blue Collar guys from the Midwest and we are fortunate enough to be playing Music and to be living a Dream that we always wanted. That’s Success in itself.

Brent: It’s pretty much like Bryan said, outside of that we do our own thing, like me, I like Cars, get my Hands dirty.

Tommy: I like to Fish and just be out in the Woods.

Bryan: Me and Joseph like to ride our Harleys, and I like to Fish with Tommy, we have not had the chance yet this Year, so we are looking forward to that.