Jackson Hole, Wyo. – The mélange of young bands springing up in the valley in the past couple of years is a great indication of times to come. The notion that artists and musicians can scrape by in a town such as Jackson should be underscored.A band like The Flannel Attractions is a quintessential example. Inspired by string bands like The Punch Brothers, the push to write, record and produce something original is driven by singer-songwriter/guitarist Pat Chadwick, fiddler/vocalist Emily Yarbrough, mandolinist Lucas Nash, banjoist Jessie Lestitian, and bassist Leif Routman. As the quintet maintains a new residency at Local Restaurant and prepares for The Fireman’s Ball stage, I caught up with Chadwick for the ins and outs.
Aaron Davis: What inspired the band name? And is there a requirement to wear flannel onstage?
Patrick Chadwick: Jessie was in Mexico … we don’t know exactly what transpired, but she texted us the name. It’s a play on the Fatal Attractions, I assume. There is also an abundance of flannel in town. And no, we’re not required to wear flannel on stage. It just occurs naturally.
AD: What’s the biggest challenge of being a new band?
PC: I think progressing our original songs. I wrote a lot of these songs over the last 10 years. I think the challenge is not getting stuck in my preconceived notions of what they are and developing the songs more deeply based on everyone’s input. We are working on a [five-song] EP now. Also, the transition of playing casually to once a week; it’s more of an organized thing with regular practices and trying to be more efficient.
AD: Is there a focus on playing/writing original music, and are you the sole songwriter?
PC: Yes, that’s our focus but we are definitely learning covers and trying to put our own mark on them. Playing at Local every week, we want some songs that people can dance and sing along to. For originals, we are just playing my songs right now. Lucas has written some instrumentals that we want to [develop]. And Emily has an unbelievable voice. She’s been singing harmony on my songs, but we’d like to write some songs where she is the vocal focus.
AD: What would you like to accomplish with the band in the coming year or two?
PC: Personally, this is certainly the best fit, musically, that I’ve been a part of and things are questioned more in this band. The goal is to get that EP out and see where we can go with it … get people in Jackson to be into it. We’d love to be able to tour at some point, but it’s not something we are going to do for the sake of doing it. We want to become regular players in Jackson, and I think that’ll make us better musicians.
AD: What are the music backgrounds of the band members?
PC: Well, I was in two bands back in Boston. Leif is currently moonlighting in a number of projects around town (Whiskey Mornin’), but this is his first endeavor playing bass. Lucas, since he was a teenager, did some touring in the Midwest playing guitar in a variety of bands. Those two are really experienced which helps a lot with behind the scenes band things. Emily was trained at a school in Nashville, but hadn’t played for about 10 years. And Jessie is really starting to come into her own as a musician, and I think this is her first band.
The Flannel Attractions, 9 p.m., Tuesdays through Nov. 13 (and reconvening in winter) at Local. Free. By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)