It’s been a minute since the last episode of G&P, but I hope you’ll find my new interview with Lionel Doe to have been well worth the wait. Lionel is the creative force behind the Toronto-based musical project So Dirty the Flamingos. I first met the man in 2005 when we were both living and working in South Korea, and over the years I have benefited greatly from his insights into the songwriting process, his feedback on mixes and arrangements, and his unstinting encouragement of my creative efforts. I am blessed to call Lionel a friend, and though our friendship has been maintained mostly online due to our living in different hemispheres, we recently had the opportunity to chat face to face via webcam, I from my home library in Taipei and he from his studio bunker in Toronto, for the first time in eighteen years (!). We discussed So Dirty the Flamingos’ breakout single “Miles Away,” which has now racked up 100K listens on Spotify, and then explored such topics as the origin of the band’s curious name (it’s not what you think), Lionel’s teenage infatuation with Eddie Van Halen (a phase I went through as well), the pleasures of “genre-hopping,” the evils of Taylor Swiftified algorithms, and the manner in which Fellini’s 8 1/2 is not only an allegory of the filmmaker but also of the songwriter. Most importantly, we reflect on the importance of “leaving good shit behind”—which is the only reason to create anything—regardless of financial reward (or, as is more often the case, the lack thereof). Press play above to hear the entire conversation, which often tends toward the philosophical.
Notes:
Here’s a video of So Dirty the Flamingos performing “Miles Away”:
As it turns out, Lionel was able to find that demo of the song “Porno” (mentioned around the 35-minute mark), so I’m sharing it here with his permission:
And here’s the full quote I read around 41:45 from that inspirational FB message Lionel sent me a couple of years ago:
We’re obviously on the same page as far as working tirelessly on the side for our art. Just keep at it. I have no hope of getting signed or blowing up the internet. I don’t care. I love leaving good shit behind. But more than that, it feeds my soul just doing it. Writing. Recording. Once in a while I even like the gigging. Not often.
Lionel knows he has an open invitation to return to G&P to discuss more specific issues. At some point, I hope we can chat about the following:
songwriting methods
the recording process
distribution and promotion
editing decisions and knowing when the work is “done”
Any other ideas? Let me know!
"Leaving Good Shit Behind": An Interview with Lionel Doe of So Dirty the Flamingos