When G Flip wakes up on the tour bus, the desert is rolling past the window. “[The bus] rocks me to sleep,” they laugh. “I wake up and I just see the desert going by. I make myself a little coffee. It’s my dream life, so I’m very, very lucky.”
Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth cruising. On the very first night of tour, their bus broke down in the middle of nowhere. “I was half asleep at four or five in the morning and it was really chugging along, like when your car feels like it’s breaking down,” G recalls. “Then I realised we’d been stopped at a gas station for seven hours — the bus had completely broken down.”
The solution was pure road-warrior resourcefulness. “We paid a lady named Stacey from this random town to drive half the crew to the show. Thank god another tour bus came and we had to switch buses. It was chaotic, but we made it.”
G’s third album, Dream Ride, out now, is a record that encapsulates neon-soaked highways, Hollywood nostalgia, and raw diary entries in a soft-focused, nostalgia-tinged package. Released worldwide just before they kicked off their US tour, the album distills more than a hundred songs into ten cinematic tracks.
“I’ve done this for previous albums too,” G admits. “You just go psycho writing as much as you can, because sometimes you’ve got to throw everything at the wall until you find the songs that stick. Me and Aidan [Hogg], who co-wrote and co-produced with me, were like, let’s just write as many as we can. We ended up getting over a hundred and dwindled it down to our favourite ten.”
The follow-up to 2023’s Drummer — an album that brought G acclaim both commercially and critically — might have come with the weight of expectation, but G shrugs it off.
“I don’t really feel any pressure when I’m creating songs,” they say. “No one can really do it for me. Say I’m trying to learn how to be a mechanic — there’s always going to be a mechanic who can do it better than me. But with songwriting, no one can do it for me. So whatever I come up with, I just give it the best I can. I always choose the songs I like the best and think will be fun to play live… and hopefully other people like them, too.”
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This time around, G had a very particular vision. “I kept saying, ‘It needs to be more Butch Springsteen,’” they explain. “Like Bruce Springsteen, but my butch, queer take on it. I also kept saying ‘masculine Madonna.’ Eighties music feels like a movie to me. So much nostalgia, so cinematic. That became the landscape for the album.”
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The cinematic element wasn’t just conceptual — it was a lived experience. “After late nights at the studio, I’d be driving through Hollywood back to my house. The neon lights, the queues outside clubs, motorbikes revving, people yelling — it just looks like a movie the whole time. So I wanted to make cinematic-sounding songs.”
The result is a record that swings between playful and raw. “Every day in the studio was like an open diary,” G explains. “Sometimes I’d get on the kit and smash out an upbeat groove after a coffee; other times it was late-night with mood lighting, and it would turn into something sombre or sad. We wanted a range of tempos and feelings. That’s the beauty of an album — the light and shade.”
One of the most surprising moments is “Cut His Dick Off”. With a title like that, you might expect a furious punk scream; instead, it’s laid-back, almost breezy.
“It’s very cruisy and easy listening,” G laughs. “I loved experimenting with how they recorded drums in the ’80s, you’d either get really deep, big tones, or super tight ones. That track is really tight and cruisy. And I love the juxtaposition between the title and the sound.”
By contrast, “Let’s Take This Show on the Road” feels like stumbling across a love letter you’re not supposed to open. “It’s a cute love song,” G admits. “I kind of envision a music video when I write, and this one feels like driving around the world with your partner till you’re grey and old. Choosing someone and going the distance.”
That “partner” G imagines is their wife, Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause — not only their muse but a grounding presence amid the chaos of touring life. When G talks about Chrishell, it’s with the ease of someone who knows they’ve found their person. “It’s just a song about choosing someone and wanting to do everything with them,” they say of “Let’s Take This Show on the Road.” “Go wherever they go.”
And while the love songs feel cinematic, they’re rooted in real-life simplicity: road trips, backstage hangs, and quiet moments stolen between shows. “Chrishell’s joining me tomorrow,” G says, a smile appearing on their voice. “It’ll be a little dream ride of our own.”
G is also acutely aware of how their visibility ripples outward, especially for young queer fans.
Asked what they’d tell their younger self — or kids like them — G doesn’t hesitate. “Anything you’re feeling in your head, whether it’s about your gender identity or sexuality, those feelings are valid and real. There’s always people, always community, and loved ones who will love you for exactly who you are. You don’t need to be scared.”
They pause. “The happiest points in my life have been coming out: queer, non-binary, the euphoria of just being completely myself. I know not everyone is in a safe spot to do that, and it’s about finding your community, or even just calling a hotline if you don’t have anyone around. But it’s worth it. Being yourself is worth it.”
It’s why G is so outspoken about their use of binders, their consideration of top surgery, and queer identity in general. “I didn’t have that person when I was little baby G Flip, watching ‘Rage’ on a Saturday, so I try to be that person now,” they explain. “If it helps one person in Kansas City or in Northern Queensland feel seen, that’s enough.”
As for the stage show, alongside drums and vocals, there’s a new star: G’s saxophone.
“I bought myself a saxophone for my 18th birthday and promised myself I’d learn how to play it one day,” they recall. “When I finished this album, I realised I needed a sax player. Then I thought — wait, I am a saxophone player. It’s saxophone time.”
They taught themselves over three months, determined not to fake it. “I didn’t want it on a backing track. And touring costs a lot, you can’t just bring an extra person for two minutes of sax,” they laugh. “So I picked it up again.”
The payoff came on opening night in Phoenix. “I’d been so bad at moving while playing, but on stage adrenaline took over,” G laughs. “I was full doing sax poses… I guess it all just kicked in when the time came.”
The Dream Ride tour also marks a new chapter for G’s live band. They’ve added guitarist Sophie Giuliani, a Shepparton native now based in Los Angeles who has previously toured with artists like Charlie Puth.
“It’s really important to me to have female, queer, trans, non-binary representation in my crew,” G acknowledges. “Soph’s amazing. She’s actually never played a show in Australia before, so I can’t wait for her family to see her at Margaret Court Arena. They’ll be there, cheering her on.”
When the tour hits Australia in early 2026, G is making it a full friend and family affair, bringing The Beaches and Ayesha Madon along. “The Beaches are one of my favourite bands — I co-wrote with them on their last record,” G says. “And Ayesha’s just one of my best mates… Backstage is going to be pure chaos. Honestly, it might be the most fun I’ll ever have in my life… We might need to bring a film crew out to document the chaos.”
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Of course, G’s humour remains intact. Asked about their rider, they laugh. “I had dried mangoes on my rider for years, and I’ve just realised I think I’m allergic. This is way TMI, but before shows I was always needing to shit myself and I thought it was nerves,” G admits. “Turns out it was the mangoes. No more mangoes for me!”
But when it comes to the stage itself, their focus sharpens. “I just want queer people to feel uplifted,” G says. “I want fans to walk away feeling joy.”
With Dream Ride, G Flip has built a world where saxophones scream, neon lights flicker, and love songs glow like headlights on the highway. It’s a Butch Springsteen fantasy, yes — but it’s also deeply personal, shaped by community, queerness, celebration, and family.
“Life’s too short not to go all in,” G says. “I’ve always wanted to play drums, sing, now sax — why not? It’s saxophone time.”
G Flip’s Dream Ride is out now via Awal Recordings. Ticket information for their 2026 Australian tour can be found here.
