Interview with Kellen Baker of Good Flying Birds

Cassette culture is not dead — at least for Indiana Jangle-rockers Good Flying Birds, who released their debut album, Talulah’s Tape, via cassette earlier this year. From January until mid-October, Talulah’s made its rounds among the young and thriving Midwest jangle scene. Now with a proper release on streaming platforms and college radio, Good Flying Birds are gaining a new fan base. 

GFB is the brainchild of Kellen Baker, an Indianapolis musician who has been band-hopping since he was 12 years old, initially starting in a Beatles cover band. Kellen formed GFB after meeting the rest of the band at a DIY venue in Indianapolis in 2021. For the past two years, Kellen and the rest of the group, Susie Slaughter (tambourine, vocals), Ari Bales (drums), Luke Corvette (guitar), and Jake Kelly (bass), have been prepping Talulah’s for the world. They’ve taken an all-analog approach by sticking to physical formats and withholding their singles from streaming.

After wrapping up a special Halloween tour covering The Velvet Underground with members from TV Buddha and Parking, Kellen hopped on a call with me on his way to band practice. Ari and he discussed the new album, early inspirations, and the band’s origins, all while navigating a familiar drive through the Midwest.

*this interview has been edited for length and clarity.*

Sam: Hey! Thanks for taking the time, how are you doing?

Kellen: Good, we literally just parked the car coming back from Chicago. We were doing this Velvet Underground cover set for Halloween. 

The Velvet shows sounded pretty awesome.

K: Oh my God, it was so sick. We’re planning to compile the best takes from the three shows and create a tape of them.

We’re gonna play with TV Buddha and Parking in March, as our separate bands, but hopefully we’ll have the tape by then.

All three bands, Good Flying Birds, TV Buddha, and Parking, were playing on the same stage during the Velvet shows?

K: Yeah, it was like a mixed bag of who exactly was playing, because we would get friends from other bands, depending on the city. Not everyone played every show. I think I was the only one from the Birds at every show. It was a really good time. 

How did the band start?

K: I met most of the group at a show at a short-lived DIY venue, sort of like Indy’s version of Andy Warhol’s Factory. It was this huge, concrete building where everyone would rent rooms. It was a weird space. But that night, I met Ari, who plays the drums; Jake Kelly, who just recently started playing bass with us; and Susie, the vocalist, with whom I lived with for a while when I moved to town.

How long ago was that?

K: We met in 2021, and I moved here (Indianapolis) in 2023. Our newest addition is Stephen Orban, who can play anything he wants to.

How long has Talulah’s Tape been in the works?

K: Technically, if you count all the recordings throughout our history, it’s 2020. But I kind of conceived the project and the idea of putting something together in late 2023. I think I recorded “Down on me” and the instrumental “GFB” in September or October 2023.

One of the cooler aspects of the record is the interludes and skits interspersed throughout the tracklist. Can you tell me a little bit about these?

K: I just wanted to make myself laugh when I listened to it. And I still do. I think it’s funny.

Now that more reviews are coming out with the re-release, there’s definitely a divide in opinions about the ‘meme and noise content.’ If you’re not into it, then it’s just a part of the record that isn’t for you.

That’s their problem.

K: Yeah, I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking about what anybody else would think when I made the record, and I just tend to consume memes as much as I do music. So it should all be together.

How does it feel for the record to be out?

K: The songs are pretty personal to me, so it was a mix of catharsis and anxiety while releasing them, which I went through when they first came out on a tape. It was weird to go through that whole process again. But I would rather put it out there than keep it in.

Jangle noise rock from the Midwest is definitely having a moment right now. What is it like to be part of this scene that’s really gaining some traction?

Ari: Hey, it’s Ari. I’m the drummer. I could take this one. Something that immediately popped to mind is that I was talking to my friend Richard. He’s a bit older. He’s like, 31, and he used to play bass in our band. He told me that it feels very special to be a part of this, young pop scene, because there’s a lot of like-minded people. He said he really wishes there was something like this when he was young. 

So I guess, being able to make inspiration is something that is very special and cool. It’s sort of a rarity in this post-COVID time.

Other than the Velvet Underground and your namesake, Guided By Voices, what are the band’s biggest inspirations?

K: My first real band was a Beatles cover band. So, that’s always been the guiding light for me. And I’ve always really cared about a good tune more than anything else. I’ve always kind of struggled with music that is more aesthetically based. I love dance music and EDM now, but it kind of took me a while. I also love ‘80s music. My Bloody Valentine, the jangle stuff. And honestly, Weezer, especially more recently.

How would you put your songwriting process into words?

K: Honestly, I’m a huge procrastinator, and I get pretty anxious, so I think it’s just like, bubbling up until something comes out, which usually is me finding a time to sit on the couch alone and journal, cry a little bit, and then make a song.

I like that. I’m a creative writing minor, so I can relate to finding that special time in the day when you’re ready to get in the zone.

K: Yeah, I don’t know. It comes randomly, too. It’ll be like, I stop at home and have 15 minutes, and I have an idea that I have to bust out. I wish it happened on a schedule, but I do usually feel the best around 1 am, and I write a lot in that zone. Which is unfortunate because I work at a school at like 8:15 in the morning every day, so I’m usually very sleep-deprived.

What do you do at the school?

K: I’m like their in-house substitute, so I’m there full time, floating around the classrooms. It’s a Montessori school.

Oh, nice. Both my parents are teachers. 

K: Oh yeah, nice. We need ‘em.

Do you have a favorite track on the record right now?

K: “Glass.”

If you were on my show and you had to pick a three-song segment to go with “Glass,” what other songs or artists would you mix in?

K: Maybe Henry’s Dress and Stereolab.

I saw Stereolab a few weeks ago, and they were amazing.

K: Yeah, me too. I saw them in Chicago. It was incredible.

The new album is great, but hearing the classics was pretty awesome.

K: Honestly, I felt like some of the new songs hit harder than the classics; they just seem pretty inspired right now.

They seemed a little more excited to play the new stuff.

K: We were at the show in Chicago, and people were saying they played there three years ago, and it wasn’t sold out and was kind of chill. This year they had two sold-out shows, which I can only I imagine is a product to the new album being good.

People need that music right now.

K: Yeah, totally. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff ‘down the river’ from Stereolab right now that is popular, so I’m glad that we’re respecting elders. I really love their first album and “Super-Electric.” What’s your favorite, Ari?

A: Dots And Loops. My mom bought me that triple LP when I was in high school, and it came with a big poster. It’s really cool. That was an eye-opening record.

Did you have a favorite college radio station growing up?

K: I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and started playing in bands when I was like 12, and there’s a show called Meet the Music. It’s a radio show there that all our bands would do, and that was really cool. This lady, Julia Meek, would host that show with local bands and play cool stuff. Public radio in Fort Wayne was very active. 

I think I always preferred the radio to any of the modern alternatives because it’s people showing their taste and interest, and not some dumb a** algorithm.

Agreed. Thanks for taking the time, great to meet you guys!

K: Thanks man, have a good one.

Find more info on Good Flying Birds here.