Flanagan stays in tune with community ahead of new album

Ten years ago this month, Ray Flanagan left the last nonmusical job he held at a warehouse. Ever since, he has played the fragile game known well to freelance practitioners in any field as, in his words, “how many regular standing things can you have?”

For Flanagan, a longtime Lakewood resident originally from Medina, those staple opportunities have largely grown from creating and fostering community connections through the realm of song.

“I feel like music should be part of everybody’s daily life, and nobody should be afraid to sing or be afraid to engage," he said. "It should be more normalized."

The last Monday of every month, Flanagan performs at 8 p.m. with Anthony Papaleo to a filled Winchester Music Tavern in Lakewood, featuring a different local musical guest. He calls it “a small window in time you get to have a spontaneous collaboration with an artist you may never play with again.” There is no cover charge.

Every Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., Flanagan co-hosts the "remarkably consistent" Mercury Jam at Lakewood’s Mercury Music Lounge with its house band, which performs a set and then opens the stage to any musicians who drop in – no cover charge.

“If you are not making music in your community, you’re not really doing it. To me, that’s the function of it,” he said. "It’s cool to have spaces where others can participate ... I think there’s an element of our society that doesn’t want that to happen. If everyone is comfortable singing and dancing, then they’re going to be comfortable going against the grain in other ways.”

Flanagan can also be found at Forest City Brewery every third Friday, Quinn’s in Bay Village every first Thursday, Heck’s in Massillon every second Saturday and brunch at the Winchester every second Sunday – among other jobs.

“I’m around. People can come find me,” he said. “The way that I sound is largely born of my environment and the people I’m around.”

Last summer, in the throes of regularly scheduled and independent gigs, Flanagan experienced a creative burst, which left him with 10 songs written and recorded in the order they came. The collection was documented “sporadically and often intensely,” with the only personnel being Flanagan and co-producer Josee McGee.

Captured was “My Mind is Burning Up,” Flanagan’s first full-length album as a solo artist – a thoughtful melodic and rhythmic tapestry which growls in both its poignant messaging and sonic aesthetics.

“I’ve found something that I feel like has been freeing for me,” he said. “I don’t know what this record sounds like to other people, but it sounds like what I want it to sound like.”

Flanagan played all instruments and sang all vocals – except for duet “All the Time” with McGee – using only two microphones at any given moment, similar from a raw technical standpoint to his two-year stretch in 2021-22 when he released a pair of singles per month.

He described his latest work as “a darker record,” with songs that might not make the set for suburban fine dining crowds, intentionally recorded in a somewhat “crude” manner to preserve live, human performances.

“It’s just such a myth that there’s a set way of doing things,” Flanagan said. “I think that a lot of people cannot really listen to something unless it checks certain production marks.”

He added, “The only thing that matters about art is that people made it and that they didn’t lie.”

“My Mind Is Burning Up” will be released Friday, April 3. Vinyl preorders are available directly from Flanagan for $40 at rayflanagan.net. His previous works can be purchased at rayflanagan.bandcamp.com.

Flanagan – joined by Papaleo on bass and Joe Tomino on drums – will celebrate the new release with a show Friday, April 21, at Dunlap’s Corner Bar in Cleveland. Doors open at 8 p.m., with the show at 9. Advance tickets are $15 at dunlapsbar.com, or $20 at the door. McGee will open the show.