Black Flag Want To Be A Better Band In 2014

Punk rock legends Black Flag have confirmed that pro-skater and former manager Mike Vallely will be their new vocalist from here on in, after former vocalist Ron Reyes was booted from the band midway through a show in Perth toward the end of last year. Vallely and Ginn also play in the band Good For You together.

Vallely spoke to Rolling Stone about the state of Black Flag, who had been the subject of a fair amount of criticism thanks to a poorly received new album, What The…, their first LP in 28 years and a series of average live performances. He says founder and only constant Black Flag member Greg Ginn has acknowledged the record wasn't up to scratch, but is keen to make up for that in the future.

“Greg just felt like, 'I don't want the Black Flag name to fizzle out with this or be tainted with this record that's proven to be subpar compared to what the expectations for it were,'” he said.

"I talked to Greg about [the legacy of Black Flag] and he said, 'I write a lot of music, and I'll write a lot more music. I'm not gonna cry over one fucking record.'"

The new frontman said this will be the only interview he gives about the current status of Black Flag as they look to become a better band in 2014 and make up for what went wrong when Reyes was in the group.

“We feel that, generally, the band fell short in 2013 because of a difference in the philosophies of Ron and Greg – it just led to dysfunction,” Vallely said. “It could have been better, [Black Flag] can be a stronger, more cohesive, tighter band. We want to prove that.”

Black Flag are working on new material and will most likely get back on the road in the US towards the middle of the year.

Vallely did not comment on the lawsuit that Greg Ginn filed against former members of the band, where he claimed that FLAG – a Black Flag offshoot led by former vocalist Keith Morris – were confusing the market and robbing him of income. Morris said they had done nothing wrong, while a judge ruled that Ginn had no rights over the iconic Black Flag logo.