Poised at the teetering point between country twang and gain-driven rock n’ roll, Knoxville, Tennessee’s Yer Flowers is kicking up brush and dust, unveiling the playful divine behind the political, environmental, and societal contaminates we exist among.
Filled with lyrical wit and instrumental embodiment, Yer Flower’s debut album, Hot Dirt, greeted ears on May 17th, 2024, fitting the bill for an of eclectic array of country-fueled playlists. Having toured extensively with electrifying performances before the Hot Dirt Tour ‘24, it’s no surprise the young group landed the opportunity to rock the Bonnaroo stage.
Simultaneously paying an ode to their rural Southern roots and their progressive outlooks and lifestyles, “This Barbie is a redneck,” they state. We got the chance to chat with lead singer David Webb about the band’s debut album, playing Bonnaroo, and much more.
The Hot Dirt album release sent you guys on quite the tour this past June. How was that journey, and what stood out the most?
It was a very interesting tour. Our bassist João broke his hand a little under two weeks before we went out for it, so we had to bring in our friend Jake Welch to cover the bass responsibilities while João stuck to singing and some auxiliary percussion like tambourine and spoons. It was also our first time doing a string of dates without our usual lead/electric guitarist Jake Smith, meaning all the guitar responsibilities were on me (except for at Bonnaroo where we managed to get the full band together). So it was a lot of logistical and band format adjustments.
That said, the hangs produced by having Welch on board with us are probably the biggest thing that stands out to me. He grew up as a close friend and bandmate with our drummer Graham. Their old band never got to hit the road like this, so I think it was special for them getting to experience the tour together. That serendipity made our time together feel extra special.
What was it like playing Bonnaroo’s Outeroo Music and Arts Festival?
Absolutely NUTS! Jake and I were there starting Wednesday because I had sets starting that night with Boot Scootin Boogie Nights, but we also were there for the festival experience and did not hold back. We partied and lived it up the days leading up to the Flowers’ set Saturday morning, so we were markedly less than 100% for it. The rest of the band also had to drive in from Knoxville early Saturday morning, with me also getting up early to correspond with them. Getting everyone checked in, gathering up all our gear and heading to the stage was a mad rush that took several hours and a lot of energy, so by the time we started playing we were quite exhausted.
The exhaustion plus the surreal nature of playing at my favorite music festival from when I was super young all added to a kind of dream-like state I was in. I honestly was almost to the point of passing out during it. We finished then loaded out and eventually found a tree to fall asleep under for a couple hours, after which we could finally appreciate what had happened and the euphoric sense of “we did that” sat in.
Who or what were some inspirations behind the album, Hot Dirt?
I don’t have a clear, concise answer here. Broadly, living life as a redneck homo trying to make music, get laid, work less, and be less sad as the world goes up in flames in the most politically polarized times with a governing and economic system that is fundamentally incapable of humanity. The words “hot dirt” actually came from a lyric in “Holes”—“I know my worth / I know I’m hot dirt.” The title felt like it summed up the bad feelings, the sex appeal, the redneck energy that I wanted to coalesce with this record.
This being your first album, how did you decide which songs joined the collection and how to order them?
The content was picked out as a continuation of a narrative that takes my life from a super dark place to one that’s more fun and hopeful. That started with our first two singles in 2022, “Floating” and “Wanna Die.” When I started writing music for this band, I was coming out of the worst four years of my life, so that really steered most of what I was writing.
On this record, “Big Frown” and “It’s Not So Serious” keep with that trend, depicting the loss and imploded relationships. “Holes” is more introspective, kind of surreal and dreamy — escapist. “Hot Dirt” and “Your Worst” are kind of a snap back to reality and crushing despair that lifts with “I Sure Love Ya” and “I Never Heard of a Flower that Didn’t Like the Dirt” setting more of a hopeful and fun tone, resolute in the face of everything. I also liked this ordering because sonically it felt balanced with a good ebb and flow between slow, mid, and up-tempo songs.
What’s next for Yer Flowers? Any new songs in the works?
The rest of this year is going to be us continuing to travel and play shows on a less compressed timeline, and using our down time to work up the growing pile of new songs I’ve got for us. We also recorded a couple songs in March that I’m planning to release as singles, most likely in the first half of 2025. We’ve got probably two albums worth of unrecorded original material, but I think realistically we could expect to record another EP next year and get it out in 2026.
One of the songs we’re fixing to work up soon that’s more uplifting is called “The Birdhouse Show.” It’s kind of a swaying singalong type song about an old community center in Knoxville that’s historically been an organizing space for BIPOC folks, poor folks, and artists. So many shared memories, so many lives that got vital material assistance as well as communal camaraderie there. I write a lot about myself, so I think having this song in our repertoire is important for balancing our vibe as well expressing my gratitude for getting to exist in this place and time with the people around me.
How has your musicianship evolved as a group?
I’d say this year we’ve been forced to experiment and be more flexible with our group formations. Our original format is kind of a classic small honky tonk band — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drums, plus mine and João’s vocals.
For the first year and a half, we played nearly every show as the same band, apart from a couple duo gigs, and mostly just got tighter and tighter, better at reading each other’s cues. 2024 has been an interesting year for our group musicianship, though, because we’ve had to play in a number of different amalgamations. We did our release show in Knoxville with a fifth instrument, our buddy Francis Bronson on fiddle. Then, since we’re not usually making much money at all on the road, our usual electric guitarist Jake has had to stay home for nearly all of our out of town shows. That’s meant playing mostly as a trio, where I’ve had to switch to playing electric guitar exclusively and cover the lead guitar, which has been difficult to do while continuing as the lead vocal. It’s good to feel more flexible in what we can make work, but also feels like it’s maybe pulling us in a slightly different direction with our sound. Hard to say how much though.
It’s been tough to work through all the different formats, and has somewhat slowed our progress with working up new material, but it’s also been an interesting challenge that I definitely think benefits us as musicians and problem-solvers.
As ever-changing people and musicians, what is one thing you’d never want to change about your music?
I want things to stay fun. There’s so many ups and downs with music in terms of rewards financially and with audience response, but we always enjoy each other’s company and the privilege of getting to spend our time making music, see new places, meet new people, etc. Mike from Clementine Was Right once told me the point of all this isn’t achieiving some future goal that’ll finally bring happiness and make it all worth it; it’s about building and maintaining a life that you’re glad to live right now. I think about that a lot, about how this is what I’ve always wanted to do, how lucky I am to have friends to do it with, and it makes everything feel like a dream. I love getting lost in that feeling and I don’t ever want to lose that.
