The Best Father’s Day Gift Frankie Clarke Ever Got Her Rock Star Dad

You may feel like your dad is a rock  tstar, but Frankie Clarke’s dad is actually a rockstar; the guitarist for the Guns N’ Roses, to be exact.

Frankie has followed in her father’s footsteps to be the front woman of her own band, and she’s certainly got the badass attitude and leather jumpsuits for it. Frankie + The Studs has been touring around LA and recently landed their first non-local festival gig at Lollapalooza.

If you’re into glam rock or badass female front women, you’ll certainly need to check out Frankie + The Studs as they start touring around the country soon. But for now, read on about Frankie’s guide to LA, her perfect father’s day gift, and why she doesn’t want to see your selfies anymore.

You’re playing Lollapalooza, what are your festival essentials?

I’ve never been to Lolla, so I’m super excited not just to play, but to experience the festival too! I’ve been to Coachella and FYF many times, so I guess my essentials would be my raybans, shorts, boots, and a hat. My festival outfits are not very indicative of my everyday style. I have to trade in my all black and leather wardrobe for something a little cooler so I don’t die of heatstroke.

Other than Lollapalooza, you primarily play local gigs, what makes LA such a perfect place for this?

LA has so much rock music history, it just feels right to play rock n roll on the strip. Even though the strip is not anything like it used to be, it still feels good to play the music that brought so much life into the city. We’ll be playing around the US soon!

Can you give us a Frankie and The Studs list of places we need to visit in LA?

The Viper Room is a great place to see bands and it’s iconic. We also like Jones (I like to order the Joan Jett bellini), the Echoplex, The Rainbow (of course), Loaded for good rock n’ roll fun, Giorgio’s at the Standard if you wanna get your groove on, and for bowling and jams; definitely Lucky Strike in Hollywood!

Frankie & The Studs are a glam rock band reminiscent of another era, how does being in 2016 influence your style?

We love 70’s glam and punk rock, but we also keep our finger on the pulse and don’t want to completely shun what’s going on in today’s music. There are some bands that are doing some really cool stuff like The Struts, and I love The Hives and The Strokes! We want to bring back the music we love from the past, but in a way that’s modern and will appeal to a younger generation.

You’ve said that “High On Yourself” is a reference to people who are only preoccupied with themselves, do you think that social media plays a big role in this phenomenon? If so, what’s your biggest pet peeve about social media?

Social media definitely plays a huge role in this. My dad says he unfollows anyone who posts a photo of their food, which I think is hilarious, but that doesn’t bother me. I honestly enjoy everyone’s food photos. Excessive selfies is my pet peeve. Every once in a while it’s a nice confidence booster, but I don’t really need to see every angle of your face three times a day.

Your father, Gilby Clarke, clearly knows the ropes and even helped bring together the members of the band, was there ever a time where you didn’t want your dad’s help?

One thing I respect about my dad is that he’s willing to help, but he really does want me to learn the ropes myself. He doesn’t want to just hand me a music career, which I appreciate. I want to be able to work for something and earn it myself. Of course, he helps me and gives me advice. Just like in anything, if you have connections and the resources, why not use them? But at the same time, I’m putting in the work and I want to earn my own success. No short cuts.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten your dad for Father’s Day?

Last year I got my dad a drone. I thought that was pretty rad.

Your EP is dropping next month, how do you plan to celebrate? What can we expect from the EP?

We hope to just keep playing! We’ve been playing our originals in our set for a while now, but I’m looking forward to sharing the music with everyone and hopefully getting people to sing along with us. I think people will be surprised in the variety of our music. Yeah it’s rock n roll, but there’s a little of something for the punk fans and pop fans!

Your signature leather jumpsuit was actually made by your mother because you couldn’t find a vintage one, what are some places where you have found killer pieces?

I love Wasteland, that’s one of my favorite places to score cool and unique pieces. I’ve also started delving into latex. It is always interesting walking into sex shops and picking up my custom latex bodysuits.

What’s the best part about a female frontwoman of a male ensemble? Do you feel that the music industry is still run by men or is that changing?

I’ve always thought of myself as one of the boys. I’ve never thought for a second that because I’m a girl, that should change anything. I do hope that it’s empowering to see a female frontwoman. I know Joan Jett has always been my inspiration growing up. I just loved how she didn’t give a shit. She was rejected by every label, yet her single went number one. I think the music industry is always changing, so I’m hopeful. I’m encouraged by all the great and powerful female artists of today.


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