L.A. band Raw Fabrics brings Warholian electro-rock to the Big Dipper

The Los Angeles-based art rock group Raw Fabrics performs tonight at the Big Dipper, led by primary songwriter and guitarist Jack B. Franco. The band’s most recent EP, “Plastic Joy,” is a five-song collection blending punk, electronica and pop, and it was produced by Joe Chiccarelli, whose previous credits include the Strokes, U2 and Morrissey. We spoke to Franco about his musical influences, the process of continuing his band as a solo act and how the work of Andy Warhol shapes his music.

The Spokesman-Review: How did you guys come together as a band? What are your musical backgrounds?

Jack Franco: I started writing songs and had the idea of starting a band to make sure it translated the way I wanted (it) to. … Once I got things together in my head I started emailing friends of mine looking for a drummer and bass player. Unfortunately I had developed an addiction and it pushed my friendship with (drummer) Justus and (bassist) Jon to the brink, resulting in Justus quitting the band and myself parting from Jon. I’ll actually be continuing Raw Fabrics as a solo project and performing live with a drummer to help it still really come to life. My musical background definitely stems from the punk rock scene. I grew up on Green Day, the Clash, the Sex Pistols and later got into hip-hop and everything in between.

SR: I’ve read about your “Warhol fixations” in a few places. In what ways does his work shape or influence yours?

Franco: His work is mainly an inspiration in the sense of the visuals we use and the tones in our music. I guess the idea of making things exaggerated, bright and vibrant is what we kind of take from his stuff.

SR: What are your songwriting and recording processes like?

Franco: It definitely varies. I’ll be playing the guitar and like how something sounds, or I’ll have an idea to make a song out of a certain sample or sound I’ve heard in my day to day life. Then I’ll put the music together with one of my lyrical song ideas. I’m always writing in my journal; it’s a great therapy for me and it doesn’t hurt that my journals usually rhyme. After that, the recording usually happens in four stages. I’ll demo the idea, then we’ll go into the studio to track live drums, guitars and bass. Usually we track the instruments in just one day. Then I’ll go to my laptop and work with all of the sampling and electronic aspects. We’ll track vocals (last), usually in a smaller studio.

SR: The latest EP definitely has an experimental and electronic edge to it. What inspired those new sounds?

Franco: I’m not sure. I guess I always had those sounds in my head as something I wanted to use for the band. On our first EP, “Gold Handcuffs,” we had a producer, Stephen Street. … He took control of the tones more and led us to a traditional rock band sound. On “Plastic Joy,” I was in full control of the production, so I was trying to capture what was in my head. The weirder, the better.

SR: How did working with Joe Chiccarelli shape the sound of the “Plastic Joy” EP?

Franco: We worked with Joe for a period of 12 hours. He’s a great guy. We got into the studio and told him we were going to record five songs in one day. He looked at us like, “Are you out of your mind?” In my opinion, he’s one of the best in the world when it comes to capturing rock drums, guitar and bass tones, so when he agreed to engineer some stuff for us we were ecstatic. It was too short of a time in the studio to say he shaped much of the overall sound of the EP, but he definitely helped us lay the foundation.

SR: What are your live shows like, for anyone interested in checking you out?

Franco: It’s loud, it’s fun. We’re not the type to stare down at our guitars; we’re going to play for you and us. Now we will be playing with a whole new set up. I’ve been working on really cool performance ideas and (have) been using a lot of technology to really make the show sound and look really cool.