Frankie and The Studs are a Burbank-based Rock band who have an energetic performance history as a string of EPs and singles under the belt, but now they are taking the plunge to release an LP this Fall. The first single and video from that album is out now, titled “Bimini,” and sets the stage for where they’ve been and where they are right now. Both the song and the video speak to ideas of identity and personal expression and have a real-life inspiration in the drag queen, Bimini Bon Boulash, who the song’s title references.
Frankie Clarke, the founding member of the band, is someone who is very inspired by the idea of expressing the things you love in your personal style, so set off around her own Burbank area to make the video for “Bimini”, taking her glam outfit with her. What’s also intrinsic to the song is its live performance road-testing that impacted the way in which it was recorded and the fact that it’s been chosen as the album forerunner. I spoke with Frankie Clarke about the song’s ideas, Frankie and the Studs as a live band, and we also spent plenty of time chatting about Marc Bolan, T. Rex, and songs with names that are just fun to say out loud.
Hannah Means-Shannon: This is an exciting time for you guys because I feel like the single and video “Bimini” are the opening volley for your album this Fall, and you’ve got tour dates this month, too.
Frankie Clarke: Yes, and we actually just added more tour dates with a band called Dead Posey, so we’re going to be going out with them for a week in August.
Do you let yourself play new songs before they are out, or do you hold them back?
I usually play them out. We’ve been playing this song, “Bimini”, for the past year, and seeing how people react to it. I do that before even deciding what the singles are going to be. I played a few new songs songs, and was back and forth on “Bimini”, and based on how people reacted, I said, “This is the one.”
Did you demo it before you started playing it live?
Yes, but we hadn’t recorded it yet.
Do you find that songs change over time when you’re playing them?
Totally. I learned that early on because I would record songs and play them live afterward, and I would feel like the songs took on a whole new life when I lived. We’d play them faster, we’d change the arrangement, and I always have felt like we’re a live band. I think our magic is if you come to one of our shows versus the album. That’s why I wanted to play them live before recording them, too, I think, before making final decisions. We really wanted the album to capture that energy of us as a live band.
I got that sense from the music, and also looking at your history. I can tell live performance is a big part of your identity as a band. Do you view it as your origin story?
I think it’s our origin. When I started the band, I had put out a cover on Youtube and I started being asked to play shows. I didn’t even have a band. So I formed the band to play live shows. Then I said, “We can’t just play covers and a couple of originals that I’ve half-assed!” So we started writing to be playing live.
That reminds me of a lot of early Rock bands who were very much live performers and then they thought, “I guess we need original songs. What are we going to do??”
It’s funny because I think it’s flipped now due to the Covid era. A lot of people became songwriters during that period, but had never played a live show. A lot of them had hit songs, but had never played out before.
That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about lately. It’s a concerning thing because it’s hard on people to suddenly be thrown in the deep end when it comes to live shows. As you well know, it’s physically and mentally demanding!
For sure. Even post-Covid, with TikTok, it’s the same thing. People are taking off on that platform without ever playing a live show. But playing live is different. You have to be emotionally and physically prepared for it. [Laughs]
Can you tell me anything about how you think people have reacted to “Bimini” live?
It’s interesting because we usually play pretty fast songs throughout the set. I like to keep things up-tempo, then we have a little mid-tempo section, then it picks back up again. I placed this song in the mid-tempo portion of the set and thought, “I just want to see if the energy drops during this section.” Because I don’t want that, even in the mid-tempo section. But during that, I could see people bouncing. That was cool. When we finished, people asked, “What was the new song? We really liked that.” I thought it would slide on by, but they remembered it!
I’m a fan of heavier music and I like the heavy elements in the song, but I think it also has a lot of mobility, of movement, to it. I found the ideas interesting, too, with this question of identity and how other people see us versus how we see ourselves. So many of us, if not everyone, struggle with that.
Thank you. I’m glad you got that out of it.
That line “I see me,” seems important to the song, too. What led up to the whole idea of the song?
At the time, I was watching a lot of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and my co-writer, Cararas, and I would get together once or twice a week to jam out ideas. There was one week where all I would talk about was Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. There was a queen on there called Bimini, who I had become obsessed with, their style, and all the things they were inspired by, like The Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood, and 70s Punk style with a “Fuck You” attitude. I told Stewart, “I love it!”
Sometimes I pull out my notes app where I’ll have random words that are cool and that will spark an idea, but that day, I said, “This song’s going to be an ode to Bimini Bon Boulash from Drag Race!” [Laughs] It kind of shaped the direction of the song, too! It’s not totally about them, but it’s that whole idea of identity. I loved how they expressed themselves in this world of gender without boundaries. I played around with that. When it came down to it, a lot of people were trying to get me to change the name of the song. They thought it was too confusing, so I changed it from “Bimini Bon Boulash” to “Bimini.” I stuck with it, and I think it also raises eyebrows, thinking, “What does that mean?” Then you get to talk about it.
It’s kind of a fun word to say, that’s for sure.
It is! I kept saying it around the house.
You might be a fan of T. Rex. Is that true?
Oh yeah!
This reminds me of a story. You have probably heard of this, but Marc Bolan of T. Rex and Ringo Starr were good friends, and Ringo made the movie Born to Boogie for him and with him. Marc used to say weird phrases and repeat them a lot, as you can tell from his lyrics and one day, he kept saying to Ringo, “Back up, boogaloo! Back off, boogaloo!” Then Ringo finally wrote a song called that because he couldn’t get the phrase out of his head. It’s still a really beloved song. All because a word was fun to say.
I actually did not know that story!
It’s like when people make up lyrics in the studio, and they get stuck, and that becomes the song.
That’s awesome. I’m a huge Marc Bolan, T. Rex fan. I have a song called “Dance with You”, where, when I started it, I decided I wanted to write a response to “Ballrooms of Mars.” So the song was, “I Want to Dance with You on the Ballrooms of Mars.” I ended up cutting that part since it was a little too literal, but in the video that I did for the song, I ripped that scene of Ringo Starr and Marc Bolan having that twisted tea party!
Oh, you’ve seen it, great! That’s Born to Boogie. Those scenes are so trippy. It’s such a strange movie.
I love it.
Is Bimini’s style referenced in the cover art for the single? I see that your makeup is really specific and the mood is specific.
Yes, I did that photoshoot, and I used pictures of Bimini for the makeup and everything.
Are there references in the video as well?
The only nod that I gave in the video was that I was wearing British Union Jack boots. [Laughs] It’s an easter egg.
I saw that! What made you decide on those scenes for the video? Does it have personal meaning for you?
I live in Burbank, and I love this area because I feel like it’s the true old Hollywood. There are so many cool landmark areas. It’s rare in LA to preserve things that are old. I was inspired by being here, and we drove around, and found some spots that are cool. I like the idea of being dressed up, glammed up, with a gown on, and my boots, and full-on makeup, but doing mundane things. That’s kind of the theme of the song, to express yourself in whatever scenario. That’s how it all took shape. It was like, “That looks cool. I like that donut shop.”, and “Sit on this bench and drink the Coca-Cola in this dress.”
I did notice that contrast and thought it was really fun. It made me think of New York, since I live not far from New York, and I often see people dressed unusually doing ordinary things. It’s something I love about New York, too.
Me too!
But there’s an underlying reality here, that if you dress to express yourself in life, there will always be some people who look critically at that. I’d like to think that some people find that inspiring, and I know that many do. It inspires them to do it, too. Have you felt restricted by society in showing your inner rocker?
Not really. I always feel that way, that if I get a little resistance, though, it gets me going! I think that stems from going to school with a uniform. I would always try to find ways to break out of the uniform, but without getting a uniform violation. I just found little things, like that I could wear a leather jacket, because the code just said, “any black jacket.” So I’d wear a leather jacket over my uniform. It also said that you could only dye your hair natural colors, so I’d dye my hair black and put blonde streaks. I was always looking for ways to bend the rules. I went through phases, being the misfit in school, but I wanted to stay true to who I am. I think that’s how you find people. Eventually, I started my band and met people who were other weirdos out there.
Yes, you have to find each other! Getting up on a stage is a good way to do that.
For sure. That’s how I did it.
What do you think about Rock ‘n Roll and its demographic? Do you have a sense of who your fans are at this point?
I feel like it could be anyone. Sometimes, I’m surprised, because we do pull a lot from 70s and 80s Rock, so I’m usually anticipating for us to have a little bit of an older audience for that reason. I think we have a nostalgic feeling. But sometimes, the fans are very young. In LA right now, they’ve been having these nights called “Dirty Mondays”. We’ve played them a couple of times, and they’ve been having them at The Whiskey a Go-Go. They started them at a smaller bar called Madame Siam and now they’ve moved up. It started off packed with young kids. I wasn’t even sure they were 21! That was really inspiring. For so long, I felt like the Rock Generation was an older generation thing, but now I think there’s a new revival for it. Not even just Rock but Post-Punk seems to be having a moment right now. It’s really exciting.
