Originally published Dec. 1, 2025

The Observer (TO): Give us a sense of the time when you first heard of The Flaming Lips?

Wes:  It was 2011 and we were living in Atlanta, GA when I first heard The Flaming Lips. I was going through an experimental phase with mushrooms and was looking for new trip music when I discovered the Spin Magazine article where the Lips were named one of the top 50 bands to see live before you die. I was intrigued so I went into a deep dive trying to learn who this band was and immediately became obsessed with their musical catalogue. I played their music all the time (and still do!) so much so that Krayton and all our friends would get tired of me. But coming from someone who was generally into top 40 pop and dance music at the time, their music spoke to me like none other because I had never heard anything like The Flaming Lips before. 

Krayton: Wes got me on board in 2013 with the first time I heard The Terror. And then seeing Wayne perform it with that weird baby solidified it for myself. 

Meeting Wayne in Dallas, TX 2017

(All pictures courtesy of Wesley and Krayton)

TO: When was the first time you saw them? Location and venue etc… and what was your first impressions?

Wes: The Big One New Years Eve 2015 at the Bill Graham in San Francisco. We had been living in Seattle for about a year and I was able to talk Krayton into us buying tickets after years of missing shows in Atlanta due to life events. It took four years from the time I discovered them to seeing them live so my expectations were high after seeing live performances on YouTube over years. That show was everything and more than what I expected. The Spin Magazine article was 100% correct! Afterwards I never wanted to miss the Flaming Lips live ever again and have attended shows across the USA, Canada, and the UK.

Krayton: They put on a live show like no other.  After seeing them play that first time, I knew it wouldn’t be the last. 30+ shows later and still counting, it never gets old!

Machester, U.K. 2019.

TO: What was it about the band that drew you in?

Wes: Initially it was the music, but after watching The Fearless Freaks it was their down-to-earthiness. They didn’t act like rock stars and after meeting them a few times the way they came across in the documentary is exactly who they are in real life. 

Krayton: Their uniqueness, creativity, and ever-expanding repertoire. Each is so different but still undeniably the Lips.

American Head Bubble Show in OKC, OK 2021

TO: What has the music and the group meant to you?

Wes: I know it’s cliché to say that a band changed my life but in the instance of The Flaming Lips it’s true. We moved to Seattle not knowing one person and now after 10 years all our local friends are directly or indirectly in our life because of the band. Not to mention all our friends across of the USA and abroad that we’ve met at live shows.

Krayton: Honestly, the most meaningful impact has been the amazing group of lifelong friends we’ve been able to make from all over the world. Flaming Lips fans are the coolest and friendliest people you will ever meet.

Set List with Happy Birthday Wes San Francisco 2022

TO: Do you have any special things you do, or costumes you wear when you see them? If so why? 

Wes: We wear these silly green monster hats. I wanted to go to our first show completely dressed up, but I couldn’t convince Krayton to do it. So, in a mad dash last minute attempt I found our hats at a party supply store in San Francisco the day of our first show. Luckily Krayton said he would wear one and the rest is history. 

Krayton: Wayne actually called us out once at a show and called us “Thing 1” and “Thing 2”, haha!  It’s now become expected of us.  And I must say they come in handy for our friends to find us amongst the crowds.

Yoshimi Anniversary Tour Portland, OR 2023

TO: What has been your favorite memory of see the band live and why?

Wes: There are quite a few favorite memories over the years, but my absolute favorite was the West Coast American Head tour in 2022. Amy and Chris P. came over from the UK to join a bunch of us for a week of West Coast shows through the PNW that ended in San Francisco. They played two shows in San Fransico on that tour, and the last night was my birthday, where the band and audience sang happy birthday to me. That was a surreal experience and one that will live rent free in my head forever. Nell was also part of that tour and would come hang out with us before and after the shows. So, getting to know her was another highlight from that time. 

Krayton: So many. Top 3 would probably be following them all over the UK, seeing them perform in a cave in Tennessee for New Years Eve (twice actually!), and then seeing them during Covid in OKC during the “Bubble Show” when the whole audience (as well as the band) were in their own bubbles.

TO: As a fan, and you describe the music to other people, how do you describe the music to people who may have not heard of the band?

Wes & Krayton: We both have always struggled with describing music, so we basically just force them to watch a live performance on YouTube.  

Rail riding at Pyschic Salamander Fest – Seattle, WA 2025

TO: Do you have a favorite album or period of the Lips’ history? If so, what and why?

Wes: Because I discovered them between periods of Embryonic and Heady Fwends so that whole Embryonic era is my absolute favorite closely followed by At War with the Mystics. The very first song I ever heard was Watching the Planets, and it’s my all-time favorite song because I just love the bombastic beats. The song mesmerized me, but the naked weirdness of the video intrigued me because I had never seen a music video like it. I mean a giant vagina ball birthing out people who chase Wayne through a forest in his space bubble. It’s so weird and so classic Flaming Lips. LOL

Krayton: The Terror.  It’s a bit darker and heavier.

Yoshimi OKC Zoo – OKC, OK 2024

TO: What are you looking forward to the most when you see  the band next?

Wes: Every show now days is like a family reunion so getting to see friends that we don’t see often is on top of the list. Also maybe finally getting to hear Watching the Planets live? It’s the one song I’m still chasing after all these years. 

Krayton: Seeing them New Years Eve in Washington D.C. will be the 10th anniversary (to the day!) of our first ever Lips concert so that will be special.  And of course, like Wes said, reuniting with friends at the show will fill my heart and be a great way to start off the new year!

Nell San Fran 2022

TO: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Wes: I’m naturally an introvert and live music wasn’t a part of my life growing up in rural Alabama. I was more of movie nerd and didn’t see my first concert until I was 21. So going to live shows much less being a fanatic of one band and being in the pit at a rock and roll show wasn’t something I aspired to do until discovering The Flaming Lips. Now that we are approaching the 10-year anniversary of our first show this year in D.C. I can’t imagine a life were I’m not on the rail acting a fool and singing my heart out with my fellow weirdo freaks. Flaming Lips concerts are truly my happy place where I can be myself without any judgement. 

Krayton: I absolutely love when I’m at a show and become aware that it’s someone’s first time seeing the Lips play live.  I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people say “I get it now!”  

Caverns NYE – TN 2019

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