Throughout history, punk rock music has always been an outlet for people to express their emotions through music. The punk rock scene has been mostly male dominated, but times have changed.
The Frick Fracks are a groovy punk band trio of young women from Glendora. The band is composed of bassist Devan Occhiato, guitarist Marielle Villaflor and drummer Samantha Martinez.
The band is labeled as punk on its website, but it has different music styles from thrash punk to blues to R&B.
“I love that we aren’t tied down to one genre,” Villaflor said. “It doesn’t limit us to one sound.”
Punk rock has become a diverse genre. ’70s and ’80s punk rock shaped the way for anyone that didn’t fit, to have a home. These first bands had music stripped down to a couple fast pace chords, and screaming about their broken homes.
Now, modern punk has many different inside genres from surf punk, hardcore punk and post punk, naming just a few. But, what all these genres from this scene have in common is, they all have a message to say, whether it be negative or positive.
Personal freedom, equality and self-expression are just a few values The Frick Fracks voice through their music and live shows.
The Frick Fracks demonstrate these values in their lyrics portraying unapologetic and strong sides of women hood Occhiato said.
Chase Bikle, photographer and graphic designer for The Frick Fracks, wrote in an email, “Their songs come from experience as a human and living in our current society.”
During their live shows they work display images and artwork portraying women in all shapes, colors and sizes. They also refuse to play or promote with any domestic or sexual abusers know in the scene.
“We want our shows to be a safe place for women,” Occhiato said.
Occhiato and Villafor met when they were 12 years old and had an itch for music. The band first started in 2015. They started writing and playing in response to a friend’s band The Sinking Sailors.
The trio knew they could play write and perform original songs like the boys, no matter how underestimated they were made to feel, Occhiato said.
In the beginning they thought this was a one-time thing, and didn’t expect to be in their position now, Occhiato said.
It wasn’t long until they held their first festival, The Frick Fracks Fest, in 2016 in a backyard in Glendora. Martinez was just a fan, but in 2017 when they needed a new drummer, Martinez was their girl.
When Martinez first showed up to tryouts, she jokingly hit her drum sticks twice and said “that’s all I know.”
But, after one session, “I knew right away that she was a perfect fit,” Occhiato said.
Since the trio has been together they have came out with their first single, “June”, which was released Feb. 19. They plan on releasing more singles throughout the year while recording their first album.
But, the music doesn’t stop there. Occhiato wants The Frick Fracks to be a brand, fired through the energy they put into their music. Ideas flow through her head, from selling merch, collaborating with artists and planning Frick Fracks Fest 2.
Aside from the music, Occhiato will be graduating with an associates degree in psychology from Citrus College next fall. Martinez and Villaflor attended Citrus College but no longer attend.
The Fricks Fracks started as a one-time thing, but they are a cornerstone of dedication to the music scene.
“It takes real time to come together each week and weekend to continue to produce and play for their audience,” Bikle wrote.
Even though the trio is vibing with what they have, they want to enhance their sound by adding more female members.
“We love women doing things in this scene, and want to jam with them,” Martinez said.
The Frick Fracks can be found on https://thefrickfracks.bandcamp.com and on Intstagram and Spotify @TheFrickFracks.
