Witness is releasing a new album (Just Passing Through) on December 29 at the 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis. It is a new level of road music you can listen to on the road or to put you in mind of the road. Each song is a new chapter of a book that well written. Thanks to Gabe Keller Flores for taking the time to tell us more about his musical adventures.
Tell us about your musical background and the formation of Witness.
I’ve been writing songs since I was 12. I picked up the guitar while living in Peru that year; my mom is from there and wanted us to get a more immersive experience of her home country. So I learned a lot of hyperromantic pop ballads off the radio, and also was immediately drawn to beginning to try my own compositions. Witness started a long time afterward, in 2019. I had a group of songs that felt different than anything I’d written up to that point. Musically, they weren’t too complicated; I felt I had learned over a lifetime of writing what my strengths were and was sticking to them. And lyrically, they felt more universal than anything I’d written up to that point; coming from a deeper place, one that I felt might be useful to people. So my motto at the time was, “is there any good reason not to share these songs?” And the only reasons that came up were of course fear and self-doubt, but those didn’t seem like good enough reasons, so I went for it! Luckily, two good friends and amazing musicians joined me and elevated the musicality to places I could only dream of. They’ve since left the band, but the current lineup is also amazing! 🙂
Please tell us about your debut full-length album, just passing through: a musical road trip. What drove the idea (pun intended) – the need for music, travel or getting away from the breakup?
I’ve always been a fan of programmatic music (i.e. concept albums, etc.) I’m a big Sufjan Stevens fan, and the exuberance with which he writes about seemingly unremarkable details of geography and local history in his Illinois album in particular always stayed with me as a unique blending of personal songwriting, wonderful musicality, and the elevation or celebration of the mundane. I’ve made list-based music before; I have a song for each month of the year, and Witness’s first EP was originally intended to be a Minnesota-themed album, but it didn’t turn out that way. So I find that that constraint of telling myself what to write about can be a fun writing prompt, and whether it actually ends up a concept album or not is ok.
So, the idea to write a song about every state I passed through just occurred to me literally as I was driving out of my parents’ driveway, heading out on my six-week solo road trip. It was a whim. I found over the course of the road trip though, that it became more and more meaningful. It was a very reflective time for me; in addition to the breakup, I had also left my job of 6 years. So there was a lot for me to process. Writing as I travelled gave me something to focus on, and having the theme of states gave me a container to pay attention to in addition to myself. So the result is a mix of personal processing and just being affected by the landscapes I moved through.
I love the idea of a musical scrapbook. Did you write when you were inspired – like bad weather in Bismark? Or did you have a goal to write every day or write so many songs?
The rule generally was, one song per state (and one canadian province). And additionally, the rule generally was, to write (or at least start the writing) while in that state. Which was hard sometimes because some states I literally just passed through, and didn’t have much time. So, many of the songs are short! And I would come back and refine and elaborate at later points when I had more time, but it felt important that each song was capturing a moment in the moment.
I can’t wait to hear Minnesota. Can you give us a sneak peek story of whether it’s a celebratory homecoming, a sad departure or returning hero?
I didn’t write minnesota until several weeks after getting home. I was finding a place to live, settling back, connecting with people, etc. Beginning to imagine what the next year of my life might look like. So it wasn’t until I had moved into my new place, which I felt happy about, and was sitting on the porch with my guitar, that this song came to me. So it has a sense of feeling at home in this place, while also seeing it with new eyes after having seen so many other places, but generally an optimism about the future and a contentedness.
How will you be celebrating the album release on December 29? Are there opportunities for folks to see you play live?
We’re going to play an album release show at the 331 in NE Minneapolis! Two of my favorite acts in town, Robot Slide and Lauren Piper are also on the bill, so it’s going to be a full night of awesomeness! Everyone is welcome! No cover! Music starts at 10pm, so get a nap in beforehand 🙂
Mostly Minnesota 