My Flannel Heart
Location: South Sound Area
Band Members:
Carlito Tweeten (vocals/guitar/keys)
Garron Taylor (lead guitar)
Chris Heidal (bass/vocals)
Joanna Eyres (drums/vocals)
Rainier Rock: “How long have you been playing together and how did you get started?”
Joanna: We started as a trio. I have known Carlito for many years. I had played a gig in the area one evening and I decided to stop by where he was playing with a friend afterwards just to say hi. But when I heard them play together as a duo and the music they were playing, I had ants in my pants to want to play with them! I asked if I could join their group and they happily said yes!“
The group practiced as a trio for about a year until they tragic death of their bandmate, Cody Rose, last year due to an undiagnosed heart condition. “Carlito and I were devastated. But the music was very important to us both and we decided the best way to honor our friend was to trudge ahead”, Joanna said.
Joanna: “Chris joined our group very shortly after Cody passed, which made a big difference. Chris and Carlito have been bandmates in other groups for more than 10 years. I also knew Chris from past music jams. We gelled immediately, which helped us get through the next four months before we met Garron. Carlito met Garron at a local Gig Harbor jam…. Carlito asked him about joining on the spot and the rest is history!”
Rainier Rock: “What is the story behind your band’s name?”
Joanna: “Carlito came up with this name. This entire group is his brainchild. He and I were both children of the 90s grunge and rock, so it was music very close to our hearts. Flannel with safety pin patches was an iconic fashion look of the time, which all melded into “My Flannel Heart.” The rose in our logo is in loving memory of our ‘gone by not forgotten’ bandmate, Cody Rose.“
Rainier Rock: “Is there anything else you’d like folks to know about you?”
Joanna: “I know all three of the guys have been playing music their whole lives, but I started 10 years ago in my late 30s. I am a career horse trainer who had to sell my farm, quit my business and start all over many years ago and I found music and drums as part of my new life. When I first started, I was absolutely petrified to play on stage. It took me three years of playing to even try one song at a jam. But I did and the rest is history. I get a lot of attention as a female drummer, mostly from other ladies/girls who aspire (to play). If I inspire even one woman to go for it, I will be fulfilled. Music has permeated my life with blessings in so many countless ways. …The level of true, down in the dirt, gritty, amazing friendship that we have, like siblings, is extremely rare in the music world and certainly priceless. We all love each other very much.“
To find out more about My Flannel Heart, you can find them at:
Instagram: @myflannelheart_theband
Facebook: My Flannel Heart
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@myflannelheart
Interviewer: Amber Gilliland. Photos courtesy My Flannel Heart
