What do Dead Kennedys\u2019 Jello Biafra, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Motley Cr\u00fce bassist Nikki Sixx have in common? They all dig Frankie and the Witch Fingers, an L.A.-based band whose irresistible garagey-psychedelic rock sometimes even invokes shades of Oingo Boingo and Devo thanks to a staccato freneticism and pointed lyrics. The diversity of FATWF\u2019s peer-fans speak to the quintet\u2019s wide-ranging appeal, and the title of their new 11-song album, \u201cTrash Classic,\u201d is a spot-on descriptor of the LP as a whole.<\/p>\n
In their longtime rehearsal-recording room in a legendary Vernon warehouse, the band perch on a couch a few days before leaving for tour. There\u2019s a whiteboard with a set list behind the sofa, and they share some \u201cmood board\u201d phrases written for the creation of \u201cTrash Classic.\u201d On posterboard, the bon mots include \u201cLord Forgive Us For Our Synths,\u201d \u201cJello -B.Y.O.F. (Bring Your Own Fork) \u2013 Ra\u201d and \u201cWeenus.\u201d Laughter ensues at the memories.<\/p>\n
The lineup formed with Dylan Sizemore (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Josh Menashe (lead guitar, backing vocals, synthesizer) more than a decade ago, the pair meeting at college in Bloomington, Ind. In different bands, they\u2019d seen each other\u2019s gigs and run into each other at parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just bored one day, and was like, \u2018I wonder if this guy wants to jam.\u2019 I had all these songs,\u201d recalls Sizemore. \u201cI just kind of showed up to his house, and I knew he was really good at guitar and really good at music in general.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Josh Menashe, from left, Dylan Sizemore, Nicole \u201cNikki Pickle\u201d Smith, Jon Modaff and Nick Aguilar, of the Los Angeles psych-rock band Frankie and the Witch Fingers get into character in their rehearsal space in Vernon on July 11, 2025.<\/p>\n
(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The San Diego-raised Menashe recalls, \u201cI think by the time I met Dylan, I\u2019d already dropped out [of college], though, and there were day jobs \u2014 at a screen-printing shop, I worked at a Turkish restaurant; whatever I could do to keep my music addiction going. I never really settled on a major because I just couldn\u2019t think about what I wanted to do. Nothing made as much sense as music.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sizemore had been dabbling in music that was \u201cpower-pop-y, kind of like Tom Petty worship …\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 he was in a band called Dead Beach,\u201d Menashe adds, \u201cand I would say it was garage rock, almost like Nirvana meets Tom Petty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Josh was in a more like surf rock, almost like mathy band. What would you describe [the band] Women as?\u201d Sizemore asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngular, punky, buncha noise stuff,\u201d affirms Menashe, who also played with acclaimed Bloomington-to-L.A. band Triptides starting in 2010.<\/p>\n
In FATWF (the name comes from Sizemore\u2019s cat Frankie) the pair\u2019s experience and influences were varied enough to create something new that, over seven albums since 2013, has morphed into a wildly creative and raucous band with hooks, melodies, smarts, irreverence, loud guitars and wonderfully oddball synth and sounds.<\/p>\n
A move to L.A. in 2014 and eventual changes in the rhythm section \u2014 Nikki Pickles (Nicole Smith), formerly of Death Valley Girls, joining in 2019; with drummer Nick Aguilar\u2019s 2022 addition solidifying the band further. Jon Modaff, a multi-instrumentalist from Kentucky who played drums on tour with FATWF in 2021, joined on synth in 2024, giving the band an even broader sonic palette to realize their sometimes-oddball audio dreams.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrash Classic,\u201d produced by Maryam Qudus (Tune-Yards, Alanis Morissette, Kronos Quartet) follows 2023\u2019s \u201cData Doom,\u201d which was the first album to feature Aguilar on drums. Songs are by turns epic, edgy, spacey and insistent. Some \u201cTrash Classic\u201d lyrics are topical and pointed: \u201c(While the upper) class is feeding \/ (On the lower) babies\u2019 food \/ (Microwaving) TV dinners \/ (With the porno) graphic news.\u201d \u201cEconomy\u201d minces no words: \u201cThis has got to be \/ The best economy \/ The plasma you sell \/ (The plasma you sell) \/ Buys money to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/qcdCeMrCDDw\/hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
There was no grand plan or lyrical theme settled ahead of the new album\u2019s creation. \u201cWe collectively talk about what\u2019s going on in the world when we\u2019re in rehearsal and stuff, and our feelings about it,\u201d says Sizemore. \u201cI think it\u2019s just at a point now where talking about certain things just feels more \u2014 what\u2019s the word? \u2014 it feels more part of the zeitgeist. Like \u2018Economy,\u2019 I wanted to write about being around abject poverty. But it makes more sense now, it fits into the context of where we are. Things that we talk about in here, about what\u2019s going on, maybe weren\u2019t so omnipresent, and now it feels like it is. Like, you can\u2019t escape poverty. You can\u2019t escape what\u2019s happening to people less fortunate than you. It\u2019s everywhere.\u201d <\/p>\n
In writing the lyrics, Sizemore thought about growing up, \u201cseeing people trade in their food stamps to get alcohol because they\u2019re addicted. Messy stuff like that. But it\u2019s relevant now, it\u2019s not just parts of the world. It\u2019s gonna be everywhere if we don\u2019t do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyrics, while Sizemore-centric, are a collaborative process. Pickle, however, who came to bass in her 20s, says, \u201cI just am happy to be along for the ride, and I\u2019ll contribute where it\u2019s helpful. I like to sit back; I guess I don\u2019t feel qualified as a songwriter.\u201d But, she says, \u201chonestly, I think that that\u2019s a helpful way to be, because if you have too many people with egos on top of each other, like, \u2018no, no, no, do it my way.\u2019 I like to listen and then insert where I can. That\u2019s my vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Differing approaches and backgrounds serve FATWF well. Because of their \u201ccohesive diversity and flexibility in the rock realm,\u201d Aguilar observes, \u201cI feel like we could play with almost anybody. At least a rock band, to any extent.\u201d<\/p>\n
While they\u2019re mostly doing headlining tours, they\u2019ve shared stages with Cheap Trick and ZZ Top. So where would FATWF overlap with the two elder statesmen classic rock lineups on the musical spectrum?<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, we were really into the [13th Floor] Elevators, and\u2026\u201d Sizemore says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Velvet Underground\u2026\u201d adds Pickle.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Roky Erickson, all that stuff. I think we tried to, like, gear our set more in that direction, just so we weren\u2019t fully playing freaky, noisy funk stuff,\u201d Sizemore continues. \u201cBut there\u2019s an overlap, for sure. If we play in Atlanta or something, we\u2019ll get someone saying, \u2018Oh, the first time I saw you guys was with ZZ Top\u2019 and that\u2019s always cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe collectively talk about what\u2019s going on in the world when we\u2019re in rehearsal and stuff, and our feelings about it,\u201d says Sizemore. \u201cI think it\u2019s just at a point now where talking about certain things just feels more \u2014 what\u2019s the word? \u2014 it feels more part of the zeitgeist.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Most of Frankie\u2019s members cite the DIY scenes in their areas as influential: Aguilar is from San Pedro and began drumming at the age of 10. He eventually played with that neighborhood\u2019s most famous musician: bassist Mike Watt, and growing up, \u201cdiscovered I don\u2019t need to go to the Staples Center or Irvine Meadows to see a band. I could just go, like, 10 blocks away from my home on my bike to house shows,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cif there wasn\u2019t the music scene in San Pedro, I probably wouldn\u2019t be in this band. I\u2019d probably be playing at the Whisky with some s\u2014 metal band that nobody cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n
An increasing number of people are caring about FATWF; Jello Biafra even joining them on stage. At a gig in Biafra\u2019s hometown of Boulder, Colo., the punk provocateur met the band after their show. The next night, the singer showed up in Fort Collins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of mutual friends,\u201d explains Aguilar. \u201cI work at Alex\u2019s Bar in Long Beach. So I met him there a long time ago. He said he was gonna come see us at our Halloween show in San Francisco. I was like, \u2018How would you feel if we learned some DK songs and you sang with us for Halloween?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He answered in the affirmative, so Frankie and the Witch Fingers learned the Dead Kennedys\u2019 \u201cHalloween,\u201d \u201cPolice Truck\u201d and \u201cHoliday in Cambodia.\u201d Biafra rehearsed with the band at sound check, and for the holiday show FATWF dressed up as \u201cbloody doctors.\u201d As for Biafra? \u201cHe changed his outfit in between every song! He was throwing fake bloody organs at the audience. You could tell half of the audience knew who he was. And half was like, \u2018Yo, who the hell is this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking about all this like ancient history makes me feel, \u2018Oh yeah, we\u2019ve kind of come a long way,\u2019\u201d Pickles ruminates. Aguilar states his somewhat modest hopes for the band: \u201cI think my realistic goal is the headline the Fonda Theater one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
But if larger-scale fame and fortune find Frankie and the Witch Fingers, beware: Menashe claims he\u2019d get a face tattoo if the band sells a million records. His promise is captured by the reporter\u2019s recorder, officially \u201con the record,\u201d the band teases him. But in true FATWF fashion, Sizemore pushes it one further: \u201cYou gotta get a teardrop too!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What do Dead Kennedys\u2019 Jello Biafra, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Motley Cr\u00fce bassist Nikki Sixx have…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[71999,12260,26949,1582,276,71996,32617,71997,6276,2961,224,5337,72001,975,72002,71995,19514,72003,72000,71998],"class_list":{"0":"post-114575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-aguilar","9":"tag-album","10":"tag-band","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-fatwf","14":"tag-frankie","15":"tag-jello-biafra","16":"tag-l-a","17":"tag-la","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-menashe","21":"tag-music","22":"tag-pointed-lyric","23":"tag-sizemore","24":"tag-song","25":"tag-synth","26":"tag-trash-classic","27":"tag-witch-fingers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114962623752754950","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}