I first became aware of Lannie Flowers on a single called “Summer Blue.” It's not about the season, but Summer as a woman he wished he could be with. His new album, Flavor Of the Month, includes that single, which I am very glad about, and the album backs it up, as every song is as good as that. It's worth picking up.

Lannie was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: Your last album, Home, was something of a concept album on home being a state of mind. This album seems to be more about relationships. Is that a concept too?

Lannie Flowers: No, not really. It’s an easy thing for me to write about. I spent a lot of my young life dealing with them.

AW: Who are your influences?

LF: It started with the Beatles, like a lot of people. There were a lot of English bands like the Who, the Kinks, Mott the Hoople, David Bowie, and Elvis Costello really had a big influence on me. From America, bands like the Stooges and the Velvet Underground had a big impact on me too. Also, just being from Texas, you can’t help but soak up a lot of country music, whether it’s intentional or not. There were plenty more along the way, but too many to go into.

AW: What would you say you learned between your last album and this one?

LF: Actually, both were being done at the same time. I have learned a lot about life and pandemics since the last album.

AW: How did Spyderpop Records come into the picture?

LF: I used to play in a band with Alan Petsche called the Pengwins and remained friends after he left. Years later he started the label in Arlington, Texas called Aaron Avenue Records. He asked me to put out my first record, Same Old Story. So it just basically started from that. It just all sort of morphed into SpyderPop.

AW: Do you have any plans to tour?

LF: I would love to. Just waiting to see if things are going to get back to some sort of normalcy.

AW: All the songs on here that were previous singles, like “Summer Blue,” are great. Were you happy or more than happy about how well they did?

LF: Yeah, I was happy with them. I just had time on my hands. So I decided to redo a few things and remix the songs.

AW: What would you tell someone first starting out in music?

LF: Above all, be true to yourself. Sounds corny, but time is too short to pretend being something you aren’t. All the best songs come from people who have a little something different to offer. Blaze a new trail!