Diary of the madmen:
The stunts that made Flipp infamous

'We don't even see them as stunts," Brynn Arens said.

Sipping on a Miller High Life and hanging out at his band's fourth-floor rehearsal space in the Minneapolis Warehouse District last weekend, the Flipp frontman was talking about the attention-grabbing schemes his gutsy, guttural glam-metal band has pulled off since its inception seven years ago. Things like playing unannounced street gigs, breaking into the MTV offices, and dropping a couple tons of cereal onto a crowd from a helicopter. You know, everyday rock 'n' roll stuff.

With his stage makeup off but a smile still painted on his face, Arens couldn't hide his excitement for Flipp's latest dare of an idea: It plans to play two gigs around the Twin Cities and another in St. Cloud on Saturday, all in the garages of three lucky fans.

"These things start just like this, with us sitting around talking and saying, 'What if . . .' " Arens said. "To us, they're just a natural part of being in a rock band. I mean, it's supposed to be fun, isn't it?"

The band probably should have been talking up its new CD, "Volume," which came out last week. [Note from Unky Flipp: This reporter is wrong. Volume has not been released yet. The release date is August 13th.] It's a pretty big release for them. Co-produced by Everclear frontman Art Alexakis -- the one-time Kiss diehard who has described Flipp as "everything I love about rock 'n' roll" -- the album is out on Alexakis' new label, Popularity Recordings, a part of Artemis Records.

In addition, the quartet has found another big-brother supporter in Bill Aucoin, who is now its manager. Aucoin wasn't just a Kiss fan. He is widely considered the guy who made Kiss' comic-book act into a mini-empire.

"Bill isn't the one coming up with all these ideas; we are," insisted Brynn's brother Kii, better known as Chia Karaoke to Flipp fans. The other members, drummer Kilo Bale and bassist Freaky Useless, nod in agreement.

"But Bill is there to say, 'Well, you know, you need to check what the wind is like if you're gonna drop cereal from the helicopter, because those Froot Loops could fly up into the propellers.' "

Time and again, the Flippsters returned to talking about such events as the cereal drop. It's not that these far-flung moments are their favorite thing about the band. It's just that there's not much to explain with a record like "Volume." It's a primal, nonstop blast of noisy riffs with songs like "Zoom," "Oh Yeah" and "I Still Love Rock and Roll." Put it on; turn it up. You'll get it.

So instead of talking about the CD, they decided to break down their career highlights -- moment by hair-brained moment.

1. Crashing the MTV gates (summer of 1995): The first of many "Why nots?" in Flipp's colorful career. Brynn Arens snuck up to the MTV offices in New York to deliver a video he made of his non-existent band Flipp, covering the Who's "My Generation." Cost: $5 (price of tape). He apparently caught the head of programming on a good day. "She knew exactly what was up, but she went in and watched it and came out and said it was the best homemade video she'd ever seen," he remembered. The band, formed soon after, went on to win a Rob Zombie-judged MTV contest and open for White Zombie.

2. Mud in your, um . . . (Edgefest, Memorial Day 1996): Flipp's first big gig for rock station 93X was met with a barrage of mud-slinging. Recalled Freaky Useless, "So Brynn yells out, 'Hey all you Woodstock wannabes, you want something to throw your mud at?' " The singer dropped his pants, crouched over and offered an all-too-visible target. Flipp became an annual fixture at the Somerset, Wis., festival.

3. Tax Day (April 15, 1997): To promote the release of its first album on Hollywood Records, Flipp loaded onto a flatbed truck and performed outside the downtown Minneapolis post office as late tax filers lined up at 10 p.m. Its banner read "Tax-Free Entertainment." Said Chia, "We had traffic backed up to I-35. About 300 kids and seven cop cars showed up." A stroke of luck that even Bill Aucoin couldn't have arranged, police shut off the power but otherwise turned a blind eye: They learned the band happened to be playing a benefit for an injured St. Paul officer the next night.

4. Cereal Spillers (July 4 weekend, 1997): Opening for Cheap Trick at the Taste of Chicago festival, Flipp arranged to have a helicopter drop two tons of the faux cereal Flipp-Ohs (donated by General Mills). The stunt made it onto TV's "Hard Copy." The helicopter pilot was arrested for invading inner-harbor airspace. Cheap Trick took the band on its tour. Said Brynn, "It's just one of those things. You meet a guy at a party; he says, 'Hey, if you ever need a helicopter,' and the next day the wheels start turning."

5. Youth Marketing (Woodstock '99): Playing a main-stage gig the night before the festival officially began, the band resorted to bait-and-switch tactics. Said Chia, "Brynn walks out and yells, 'This is a party so we're throwing free pot off the stage,' and the speakers just echoed, 'Free pot, pot, pot.' " The crowd reportedly swelled to 70,000. The giveaway claims weren't entirely false, either.

6. Kings of the Tea-time World (November 2001): The band played a Saturday-afternoon gig on the roof next to Bob's Java Hut, stopping traffic at Lyndale Av. and W. 27th St. Once again, its luck with Minneapolis police proved incredible. The officer first on the scene was a major Kiss fan who recognized Aucoin from VH1's "Behind the Music."

7. Pillow Fight (93X Fest 2002): After assuring organizers they didn't need any security help, the guys went out into the middle of the crowd of 20,000 and busted open feather pillows to end their set. They're still finding the feathers in Somerset. In the middle of that night, Flipp also continued its tradition of surprise campground gigs.

8. Garage Days Revisited (Saturday): The band clearly is counting on neighborly goodwill. Said Brynn, "I'm so excited, I feel like they're our first gigs ever."

IF YOU GO

Flipp's Three-Garage Tour

What is it?: Flipp will perform in the garages of three contest winners Saturday. The shows are free and open to the public.

Garage No. 1: 2117 39 1/2 Av. NE., Columbia Heights. (Noon)

Garage No. 2: Address to be announced Wednesday. (3 p.m.)

Garage No. 3: St. Cloud addressed to be announced Friday (Aug. 9) at http://www.flippcentral.com.