Conversations with Flat Tired

Today we’d like to introduce you to Flat Tired.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
A few of us had been getting together weekly to loosely jam in a basement for well over a year, but Flat Tired really started in late 2022. That fall, we assembled our initial 5-piece lineup, and in December we played our first show, opening on a Monday night at the Earl.

We started to really come into our own around mid-2023. That’s when we started recording our first EP, Other States, and when our longtime friend Davis Wright joined us on pedal steel. Most of our early songs were very indie rock-oriented, but our sound started to evolve in another direction, leaning into more of those classic country and alt-country sounds. We like to joke that we’ve landed somewhere in the eclectic neighborhood of “indie roots rock.”

In January of 2024, we released Other States and continued to play shows around Atlanta and Athens.

2025 started off with an enormous surprise: We found out we had been chosen as one of three local bands to participate in Spencer Strider Vinyl Night with the Atlanta Braves. This was a huge moment for us and something we were not expecting at all. We still don’t really know how Spencer found our music!

We got this news in February, and we had just a few weeks to figure out which song we wanted to use for the vinyl giveaway night that summer. We’d recently begun working on something new, and the lyrics happened to talk about baseball in a roundabout way — swinging for the fences even if you’re only up to bat once the game is done. Complete coincidence, but we decided it was meant to be. We booked studio time for the following week.

That song, “Dead Center,” was recorded and mixed in one day, then shipped off to the Braves to be pressed as a 7-inch single (courtesy of Echo Base, in Athens). We spent the rest of that summer finishing our album Better Part of the Year, working with Damon Moon (Standard Electric Recorders) and Evan Dangerfield (Hummingbird Studios). With some blood, sweat, and tears, we finished the album in time to release it in August, on the night of the Braves game.

Griffin Miller: “It was absolutely surreal for us to play our music in front of what seemed like thousands of people holding copies of our vinyl record. I remember standing backstage, taking in the sight of the crowd, and quietly saying to myself, “If this is the biggest show I ever play, then I’m happy. We accomplished something.”

Griffin Miller: Growing up, guitar was all I ever thought about. Sometimes I think about the life I could’ve had if the guitar hadn’t been constantly distancing me from getting better grades or pursuing outside interests. To this day, it’s a genuine addiction. Going more than a day or two without playing guitar makes me feel a little antsy.

Blake Objartel: When I was younger, it was all skateboarding, all the time. I was completely obsessed for so long. I had never felt that passionate about anything. Not until I discovered the guitar and music. My parents tried to get me to pick up playing when I was really young, around 8 years old, but it never really clicked. It’s hard to get a little kid interested in playing classical finger-style guitar. But in middle school, my folks encouraged me to give it another shot. They took me to a local music store, where an instructor was willing to teach me AC/DC songs by ear, and the rest is history. This local shop also had a summer program called “Rock Camp,” where students of the shop got to pair up and form a band, learn several songs throughout the week, and perform them in front of a packed room of other students and parents. From that point forward, I have been obsessed with playing in a band and playing live music. It’s something I plan on doing in some capacity for the rest of my life.

Emma Shibley: I always feel like I come from a little bit of a different musical background than the rest of the guys! I had never played in a band like this until Flat Tired, and there’s so much music I’ve only been exposed to in the past couple of years of hanging around these guys. But music has always been my life, and in my life. It was really important to my parents that they raise my brother and I to value music like they did and do. Literally the first thing they bought as a married couple was a baby grand piano! My dad played, mostly from this huge Lennon + McCartney songbook that is now held together by duct tape. And my mom sings and comes from this big family where everyone sings and harmonizes. I started in piano lessons when I was pretty little, and I was really involved in the school band programs growing up — marching band and wind symphony as a percussionist, jazz ensembles as a pianist and vocalist. Really loved singing in choir, from childhood all the way through college and beyond. Some really transformative experiences being involved in theatre as well, and all kinds of music in church. I just got so much joy and sense of belonging and purpose from studying and performing across all these different ensembles and styles. Can definitely feel some of those influences in Flat Tired when we sit down to figure out vocal harmonies for a new song — the guys have to keep my choral arranging instincts in check.

Griffin Miller: The Beatles were undoubtedly the biggest driving force behind songwriting for me. I wanted to be a Beatle – traveling around with a group of best friends, recording in a big studio and cranking out classic albums that people will still listen to when we are living on the moon. But I always had another, subtler musical influence through my father. My dad isn’t a musician, but growing up he constantly played singer-songwriters like Elliott Smith, Drivin N Cryin, Jets to Brazil, and local 90s country band from Athens called The Star Room Boys. All of those groups influenced how I write songs, how I listen to them and how I understand them.
Growing up in Georgia, country music was always part of everyday life. The first song I ever learned on guitar was Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys by Willie and Waylon. A nice lady named Denise that worked the soda fountain at my local drug store in Conyers, GA taught me a D, G, and a big fancy A7 chord for that one. The older I get, the more I’m letting that “three chords and the truth” mentality shine through.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Last summer was definitely intense. After we finished all of the Vinyl Night events last summer — including the giveaway night at the Battery, two shows at Criminal Records, and a Braves-sponsored show at The Earl — we had a lot of fun playing some of our favorite neighborhood festivals, Grant Park Summer Shade and Chomp & Stomp.

But then, we found ourselves treading water for a few months. We’d had some personnel changes, some original members moving on from the band, including our first drummer, Nick Wechsler. There were definitely some disheartening moments there as things changed, but being able to still get together with the rest of the band helped. We started to play some acoustic shows around town with just the four of us (Griffin, Blake, Davis, and Emma). It was rewarding to play our songs in a new, stripped-back context, but we all missed playing as a full group, live and loud.

Luckily, Garrett Goss came to the rescue. Garrett had been the drummer in another Atlanta band, DOTS, playing and touring with our bassist, Blake, for a few years until that group split in 2022. Our music is the polar opposite of DOTS, which has more dance and indie-electronic influences — nothing like Flat Tired’s alt-country indie rock. But we were looking for a new drummer, and Garrett was up for the job. He’s fit right in and then some, and we’ve become a stronger band for it. So many bands have these growing pains, but not all make it through to the other side.

It’s been great playing shows and neighborhood festivals as a full band again this spring, and we’ve got some exciting stuff coming up. This summer, we hit the road for a Southeast tour, playing shows in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. We’ve got a new single on the way, and we’ll be recording more music that reflects who we all are and where we are now in our musical journey. We definitely continue to lean more into those alt-country sounds influenced by artists like Jason Molina and Magnolia Electric Co., Fust, and Wilco.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Better Part of the Year ~ LP – Released August, 2025

Other States ~ EP ~ Released January, 2024

Booking: bookingflattired@gmail.com

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Inspired by the timeless songwriting of 60s classic country and 70s roots rock, Flat Tired delivers contemporary indie rock with an organic, old-school twist.

The Atlanta-based group emphasizes warm swells of pedal steel and close-knit vocal harmonies to create thoughtful, layered arrangements, all grounded in earnest singer-songwriter sensibilities.

Griffin Miller: Vox/Guitar
Davis Wright: Pedal Steel
Emma Shibley: Vox/Keys
Garrett Goss: Drums
Blake Objartel: Bass/Vox

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/flattired
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flat.tired_band/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlatTiredBand/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Flat.Tired_band
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/flat-tired-band