Brand New T-Shirts Now Available

I feel giddy as a schoolboy! Our new t-shirts have arrived and are now available exclusively through our website and at our shows. The design is by Julia Sonmi Heglund, who has done boatloads of design work for us (including the header at the top of this page). The bird is a mother pelican feeding her baby pelicans, which is also the Louisiana state flag, representing the benevolence of the state toward the people, or the "chicken in every pot and every man a king" philosophy introduced back in 1928 in by that old rascal, Louisiana state governor "The Kingfisher" Huey P. Long. The design represents brighter days ahead for all people and while, my beloved Louisiana may not have achieved such admirable goals, we have!

Our t-shirts do not discriminate and are available to anyone, whether you be Afghani, Punjabi, American or what have you. Take a closer look and order your t-shirts HERE. The foxy Ellen Sparks, a Chicago artist, model and artisan baker was kind enough to sport the shirts for a photo shoot. We have mens tees as well, but so far, we have found no one outside the band willing to model those shirts. Now, go get'um tiger!      

Introducing a New Band Mate

We are pleased to introduce our new drummer James Ratke....born in Chicago, bred in Los Angeles, like a homing pigeon who plays drums, found his way back to Chicago recently and has now joined Flame Shark. For those of you in the know, we've had a time and a half trying to permanently fill the drummer role. For one reason or the other, logistics usually, Flame Shark's drummers have come and gone like the trade winds. We're hoping beyond hope James sticks around because A) He's got a great sense of humor B) He's a joy to be around C) He's pretty good at drums...I kid, I kid. He's amazing on drums, trained at Columbia College and most recently played with Chicago's favorite band, Company of Thieves, he's got great touch, great instincts and boatloads of sass and soul. So, introduce yourself to James, make him feel welcomed, buy him a beer or a pulled pork sandwich and plan on hearing him at all our upcoming shows. 

As for our favorite son and permanent Flame Shark alumni and founding father, Doug Gay of Baton Rouge, LA, he's just returned from a tour with Old Crow Medicine Show's Gil Landry. Doug also spent the better half of 2009 playing drums for blues guru Tab Benoit. He toured his way across America and the Caribbean with Tab, playing to sold out theaters, no joke, 1,500 seat theaters. You will hear Doug on our upcoming album FARM LIFE featuring Marc Ford as well as our 2009 affair RAW FLOWERS, which is available for free download here.