If you’ve been tuning in to the last few episodes, you’ll be aware of the ongoing discussion about the Black Flag reunion, be it the Keith Morris fronted Flag or the Greg Ginn Black Flag. A few months ago, I wrote a piece for Invisible Oranges about this very topic and went on record with my point of view. For me, it’s a complicated topic; Black Flag has influenced me on many levels, as a direct music influence or as an example of how to get the job done, so I had strong emotions when I discovered that there was talk of them reforming.

Josh Bayer, who many will be familiar with from his appearances on this podcast, as well as his amazing comics, pointed me to an article that Erick Lyle had written for Vice aptly titled “Can I Get in the Van” which chronicled his journey down to Lyle Texas to audition to be Black Flag’s bassist. It gave me another angle to look at this evolving story; a must read for those of you who have been following this story.

Josh was friends with Erick, so I reached out to him about possibly getting Erick to be a guest on the podcast. He was game, so we went for it.