The Flakes on the fly

Instead of writing and rehearsing their music, the Flakes prefer to make it up on the fly. "On stage, we introduce a fictitious song title and create the piece from there," says guitarist and vocalist Randy Castello. "Then we stop and create another song out of thin air."

Though rock-oriented, the Flakes' m.o. leans more toward the open-mindedness of free jazz. While the trio jams, it's hardly jam-rock. "Jam-rockers need a blueprint in order to embellish on something that's been done a million times over," Castello says. "We don't even practice. It's very freeing."

Castello generally sees his band mates only at show time. Once there, the Flakes briefly discuss how they will begin a show, then leave tuning and structure to chance. "Why practice eight hours a day to perfect your intonation? I hate clean tones and precision this, precision that," he says. "Patrick Foley, our other guitarist, likes to get specific and says, 'Let's play in F sharp.' I usually say, 'Sure,' just to appease him. Keys are so overrated to me. You may not like how [atonal notes] sound together, but they work to create tension."

Accompanying the free-form rumble of a Flakes show is the group's use of projections. The members collect old educational and industrial films, which they project in random order during performances. "All films have different movements and rhythmic qualities," says Flakes projectionist Rob Parham. "When music is added, the synchronization of certain points creates cohesion."

Originally formed two years ago out of "complete and utter boredom," the unpredictable Flakes recently added newest member Jamie Shepard, a professional jazz drummer. "If our first show with Jamie was any indication of what's to come," Castello says, "It's going to get real ugly in Atlanta soon."

The Flakes play The Earl Mon., June 18.