Meet Corey Flowers | Classical guitarist/teacher & Guitarist/Vocalist in Beast Mode

We had the good fortune of connecting with Corey Flowers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Corey, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Corey Flowers – guitar/vocals in Beast Mode

I’ll begin the answer to this question with a memory from early on in my music studies. I was having a discussion with my guitar professor, John Sutherland, about career options after college. (e.g. How will I make a living?) He told me:

[paraphrased–possibly from several conversations over the years]

“If there’s something else you’d rather do, go do that. Music is a labor of love, and if you’re in it for the wrong reasons (such as financial security), you’ll never be happy. But if you have something to say, something to communicate, you need to be here. If not, there’s the door.”

That was ca. 2006 or 2007. I learned many lessons through that mentorship at UGA, but that is one of the earliest ones that held the most weight, and that I still reflect on. There have been several points over the years where musical projects have had to be put on hold, but what continually pulls me back is a need to create and connect with people through music.

I began to embrace the co-existence of both my classical/academic and metal outlets several years after finishing my doctorate. Whether I’m playing something like Britten’s “Nocturnal” in a recital hall or performing in a club with Beast Mode, it’s in those moments that I feel I’m where I’m supposed to be, and am able to accurately present who I am.

It may be tough sometimes, but despite the crazy schedule and the aptly labeled “portfolio career” –I teach at several small colleges and other private studios, freelance (weddings and events), and have the occasional audio engineering gig–there’s nothing I would rather be doing.

From mid 2018 to early 2020 I had to take a warehouse job after a stint living in Vienna, Austria. I barely had time to practice, I had to slowly build my teaching studio back up, and get back into performing live. Eventually I built back up enough to leave a “steady job” and focus on rebuilding/recommitting to an artistic career.

The shut down in March 2020 was a blow at first. I had worked so hard to be firing on all cylinders. Beast Mode had just played a stellar show at the 40 Watt in Athens, opening for Death Angel, and our new lineup was finally feeling solid. Playing shows can easily turn into treading water though (meeting deadlines for short term shows VS writing and rehearsing new material), so being forced to stay at home, our focus shifted to getting a new set of recordings down. “Pound of Flesh” is the result of that. The title track of this EP was written while I was working at the aforementioned warehouse job, complete with lyrics that were scrawled on scrap paper during breaks. It’s the type of song I knew we could be capable of, but had yet doubled down on. Something that speaks to our roots in classic thrash, but features the aggression and virtuosity of modern metal. It’s about pushing ourselves to meet our potential and reach beyond it.

Because if we didn’t, well…”there’s the door.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Beast Mode’s live show has had the unique ability to catch the ear of both seasoned fans of the genre and newcomers. Athens, GA is not know for its heavy music scene. While there is a veritable circle of hardcore fans, we would also regularly hear people coming into our hometown venue (the now defunct Caledonia Lounge) saying they didn’t know they liked metal, but our show was seriously fun. I can’t think of a better compliment than that.

We’ve gone through a couple of lineup changes since the band’s first album, which is never easy. We lost a frontman and swapped drummers prior to recording “Pound of Flesh.” There were some tough shows and some tough conversations during that period, but we came out the other side much stronger.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Releasing music during a pandemic isn’t easy. We had some great collaborations to support our release thanks to our Athens family at Shadebeast and Akademia Brewing Company.

Website: https://beastmodega.bandcamp.com/

Instagram: @beastmode706

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeastModeGa

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYk0j5fj5EXE7csfuWN23Tg

Image Credits
Allie O’Neill