Latest news with #Sizemore
Los Angeles Times
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Frankie and the Witch Fingers' spastic, psych-rock energy casts a spell on L.A.'s rock scene
What do Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Motley Crüe 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's peer-fans speak to the quintet's wide-ranging appeal, and the title of their new 11-song album, 'Trash Classic,' is a spot-on descriptor of the LP as a whole. 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's a whiteboard with a set list behind the sofa, and they share some 'mood board' phrases written for the creation of 'Trash Classic.' On posterboard, the bon mots include 'Lord Forgive Us For Our Synths,' 'Jello -B.Y.O.F. (Bring Your Own Fork) – Ra' and 'Weenus.' Laughter ensues at the memories. 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'd seen each other's gigs and run into each other at parties. 'I was just bored one day, and was like, 'I wonder if this guy wants to jam.' I had all these songs,' recalls Sizemore. 'I just kind of showed up to his house, and I knew he was really good at guitar and really good at music in general.' The San Diego-raised Menashe recalls, 'I think by the time I met Dylan, I'd already dropped out [of college], though, and there were day jobs — 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't think about what I wanted to do. Nothing made as much sense as music.' Sizemore had been dabbling in music that was 'power-pop-y, kind of like Tom Petty worship ...' '… he was in a band called Dead Beach,' Menashe adds, 'and I would say it was garage rock, almost like Nirvana meets Tom Petty.' 'And Josh was in a more like surf rock, almost like mathy band. What would you describe [the band] Women as?' Sizemore asks. 'Angular, punky, buncha noise stuff,' affirms Menashe, who also played with acclaimed Bloomington-to-L.A. band Triptides starting in 2010. In FATWF (the name comes from Sizemore's cat Frankie) the pair's 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. A move to L.A. in 2014 and eventual changes in the rhythm section — Nikki Pickles (Nicole Smith), formerly of Death Valley Girls, joining in 2019; with drummer Nick Aguilar's 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. 'Trash Classic,' produced by Maryam Qudus (Tune-Yards, Alanis Morissette, Kronos Quartet) follows 2023's 'Data Doom,' which was the first album to feature Aguilar on drums. Songs are by turns epic, edgy, spacey and insistent. Some 'Trash Classic' lyrics are topical and pointed: '(While the upper) class is feeding / (On the lower) babies' food / (Microwaving) TV dinners / (With the porno) graphic news.' 'Economy' minces no words: 'This has got to be / The best economy / The plasma you sell / (The plasma you sell) / Buys money to eat.' There was no grand plan or lyrical theme settled ahead of the new album's creation. 'We collectively talk about what's going on in the world when we're in rehearsal and stuff, and our feelings about it,' says Sizemore. 'I think it's just at a point now where talking about certain things just feels more — what's the word? — it feels more part of the zeitgeist. Like 'Economy,' 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's going on, maybe weren't so omnipresent, and now it feels like it is. Like, you can't escape poverty. You can't escape what's happening to people less fortunate than you. It's everywhere.' In writing the lyrics, Sizemore thought about growing up, 'seeing people trade in their food stamps to get alcohol because they're addicted. Messy stuff like that. But it's relevant now, it's not just parts of the world. It's gonna be everywhere if we don't do something about it.' Lyrics, while Sizemore-centric, are a collaborative process. Pickle, however, who came to bass in her 20s, says, 'I just am happy to be along for the ride, and I'll contribute where it's helpful. I like to sit back; I guess I don't feel qualified as a songwriter.' But, she says, 'honestly, I think that that's a helpful way to be, because if you have too many people with egos on top of each other, like, 'no, no, no, do it my way.' I like to listen and then insert where I can. That's my vibe.' Differing approaches and backgrounds serve FATWF well. Because of their 'cohesive diversity and flexibility in the rock realm,' Aguilar observes, 'I feel like we could play with almost anybody. At least a rock band, to any extent.' While they're mostly doing headlining tours, they've 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? 'I mean, we were really into the [13th Floor] Elevators, and…' Sizemore says. 'The Velvet Underground…' adds Pickle. '…Roky Erickson, all that stuff. I think we tried to, like, gear our set more in that direction, just so we weren't fully playing freaky, noisy funk stuff,' Sizemore continues. 'But there's an overlap, for sure. If we play in Atlanta or something, we'll get someone saying, 'Oh, the first time I saw you guys was with ZZ Top' and that's always cool.' Most of Frankie's 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's most famous musician: bassist Mike Watt, and growing up, 'discovered I don't 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,' he says, adding, 'if there wasn't the music scene in San Pedro, I probably wouldn't be in this band. I'd probably be playing at the Whisky with some s— metal band that nobody cares about.' An increasing number of people are caring about FATWF; Jello Biafra even joining them on stage. At a gig in Biafra's hometown of Boulder, Colo., the punk provocateur met the band after their show. The next night, the singer showed up in Fort Collins. 'We have a lot of mutual friends,' explains Aguilar. 'I work at Alex's 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, 'How would you feel if we learned some DK songs and you sang with us for Halloween?'' He answered in the affirmative, so Frankie and the Witch Fingers learned the Dead Kennedys' 'Halloween,' 'Police Truck' and 'Holiday in Cambodia.' Biafra rehearsed with the band at sound check, and for the holiday show FATWF dressed up as 'bloody doctors.' As for Biafra? 'He 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, 'Yo, who the hell is this?'' 'Talking about all this like ancient history makes me feel, 'Oh yeah, we've kind of come a long way,'' Pickles ruminates. Aguilar states his somewhat modest hopes for the band: 'I think my realistic goal is the headline the Fonda Theater one day.' But if larger-scale fame and fortune find Frankie and the Witch Fingers, beware: Menashe claims he'd get a face tattoo if the band sells a million records. His promise is captured by the reporter's recorder, officially 'on the record,' the band teases him. But in true FATWF fashion, Sizemore pushes it one further: 'You gotta get a teardrop too!'
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How to play what this strategist calls a 'complacent' market
Sizemore Capital Management's chief investment officer, Charles Sizemore, joins Market Domination with Josh Lipton to share his hesitation with the current state of the market, what it means for investors, and some names he thinks are good picks. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. I got green all over the place, Charles. All major averages in the green. Now we're grinding higher. That makes sense to you, Charles, uh, or no? Do you think we're being kind of complacent? Plenty of questions, of course, still out there, right? I mean, trade and tariffs, I just had a a smart economist on the show, Charles, told me there's a 50% chance we're going to trip into a recession. So what do you make of these market moves? Well, I think he's being conservative to say it's only a 50% chance of a recession. But yeah, this is a very complacent market. We went into this year with the market priced for absolute perfection. Of course, we didn't get perfection when we ended up with the trade war, a lot of volatility in the administration, and of course, Middle East war. Uh, all of that had the effect of knocking stock prices down for a bit, but now we're right back where we were in February, uh, you know, touching, touching new all-time highs here. That's a very aggressive market. You have the S&P priced at about 28 times earnings, which is a very expensive valuation under any, even the rosiest scenario. And measured by sales, it's trading at about three times sales, which puts it at one of the most expensive markets in history. So yeah, there's a lot of optimism built into this market. Is it too much? I guess we'll find out soon enough. But yeah, investors are really, they're expecting, they're pricing in really good things coming in the rest of the year. And and so Charles, evaluations may look a bit stretched according to some metrics. Um, you don't see as growing into that. You know, you what what do you see for corporate profit growth with earnings season, Q2 earning season coming up? That's going to be really tough because the the environment we're in right now, post-tariff, makes comps really, really difficult. So will earnings growth even be higher at all this year in a lot of sectors? I I really don't know. Like that is really, that that remains to be seen. But, you know, going, going forward, the the 28 times, the 28 times earnings is, of course, trailing earnings. The the metric does get a little bit better if you're assuming pretty robust earnings growth. I'm not so sure that's a realistic expectation, though. So Charles, so you sound cautious here. Against that backdrop, where do you want to be committing capital, Charles? How do you want to be positioned? Yeah, in a market like this, it probably doesn't make sense to put a lot of buy and hold capital at play. So you can really go about this two ways. You can focus more on short-term trades or you can focus more on income. And I think right now, with some of the yields we see in certain pockets of the market, taking an income approach makes makes a lot of sense. Business development companies are a fine example there. A lot of these are yielding in excess of 10%. Some of the more conservative ones are yielding 5 to 7. That's really competitive if you believe, as I do, that we're likely to be in a range-bound market for probably the rest of this year. Well, when you talk about these business development companies, these BDCs, Charles, what which ones make your radar? You know, given the the economic uncertainty, I think you do want to focus on the conservative names right now. I don't think you want to stretch and go for the super high yielders. Main Street Capital is probably the the highest quality blue chip in the group. It's, they have a very conservative dividend policy, which I like. They pay what I would call a sustainable monthly dividend, and then as earnings allow, they top that up with special dividends. So if you look at just their kind of conservative, monthly, regular dividend, it's yielding about five. You add in the the special dividends they've had over the last year, that pushes that yield to about seven. Now, that, the special dividends vary, of course, but a 5 to 7% yield with the with a very good possibility of of that dividend rising over the next year, and then every year beyond that is attractive. This is a company that has managed to maintain or raise its dividend through every economic setback we've had since 2008. That's attractive. Charles, appreciate your time and those picks. Thank you, sir. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: An up close look at the Green Bank Telescope
GREEN BANK, (WBOY) — In May, 12 News took a special tour of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Green Bank Telescope (GBT), the largest fully-steerable radio telescope in the world. At 485 feet tall with a 2.3-acre dish, the NSF Green Bank Telescope weighs 17 million pounds, or about 8,500 tons. But why does the GBT need to be so big in the first place and why is the fact that it's 'fully steerable' such a big deal? Green Bank Observatory software engineer Nathaniel Sizemore explained the dish on the telescope is like 'a giant bucket.' 'The bigger the dish, the more signal we can collect and the better chances we have of finding the signal we're looking for,' Sizemore said. But size isn't GBT's only advantage. The fact that it's fully steerable means that it can point to just about any target in the night sky, and can even track objects for multiple hours during extended observations. This is especially useful for observations on things like pulsars, where scientists are trying to make multiple precise time measurements during a single observation. GBT's large size, paired with its ability to track objects, is what makes the telescope so valuable to scientists. In some cases, it's the only telescope capable of making certain observations, like when the telescope was used to look for liquid oceans in Jupiter's orbit. 'The only one that can': Green Bank Telescope to search for liquid oceans in our solar system 'Between the size of the antenna and the fact that we can track that source for hours at a time, theoretically horizon to horizon if we wanted to, we can give [scientists] that data and let them get enough signal to then process that and do the science that they want to do,' Sizemore said. Former West Virginia Black Bear makes MLB debut for Pittsburgh Moving such a massive telescope requires equally massive machinery. The telescope rests on 16 wheels on a circular track, giving it 360 degrees of rotation. Further up is a large arc-like structure that acts as a hinge and counterweight, letting the telescope tilt back and forth. Although the telescope is movable, there are several safety measures to make sure no one is on top of the telescope while it is in motion. Radios are used to notify the control room when people move onto and off the telescope, and each person attaches a safety key near the entrance to the telescope to physically stop it from moving while anyone is aboard. The telescope also has a second manual lock along the arc, which has gaps scientists can use to keep the telescope in a specific orientation. Although you could take the stairs if you wanted, a pair of elevators on the telescope are used to carry people and scientific instruments up and down the GBT. The first one starts at the ground level and goes halfway up, close to the main dish of the telescope. A second elevator begins at the bottom of the telescope's arm and at the top of the GBT. The second-highest level of the telescope is the main reflector dish level. There, maintenance workers can access the underside of the dish using narrow catwalks below the reflective panels that make up the telescope. Using multiple smaller panels instead of a single reflective dish makes maintenance on the telescope cheaper and easier. For example, if a panel at the center of the dish is damaged and a spare isn't on hand, a panel from the edge of the dish can be used to replace it. Using lots of smaller panels has another benefit as well; hundreds of actuators underneath the dish can be used to make small adjustments to individual panels. This means that instead of moving the entire telescope, the panels themselves can be moved to fine-tune the telescope's orientation. North central West Virginia athletes win 26 events at State Track Meet At the very top, just below the telescope's sub-reflector, is where the telescope's instruments are kept. At the time of our visit, all the observation equipment had been removed from the telescope in preparation for an upcoming repainting project in June. Normally, the telescope can freely switch between different measuring tools, like a microscope switching between different magnifying lenses. Unsurprisingly, the top of the telescope also has some of the best views of any level on the GBT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
06-05-2025
- General
- Axios
Nashville pushes to make city animal shelter a no-kill facility
A push to save more shelter animals and make Nashville the largest no-kill community in Tennessee got a turbocharge this week. Why it matters: Mayor Freddie O'Connell signed a declaration Tuesday making May "No-Kill Shelter Month." Advocates say that kind of buy-in from the government is pivotal to cementing long-term change. Zoom in: The declaration, crafted with the national nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society, publicly commits Metro government to a goal of reaching a 90% live-release rate for dogs and cats that enter the city shelter. That is when a shelter is designated a no-kill facility. Best Friends has worked with Metro Animal Care and Control (MACC) and other area shelters to improve live-release rates "for many years," chief mission officer Holly Sizemore tells Axios. The declaration reinforces that partnership. Stunning stat: Nashville hasn't reached the 90% no-kill benchmark, but the city has made major strides over the last decade. In 2013, MACC euthanized about 70% of its cats and dogs. The "save rate" sat at about 27%. Last year, the save rate reached 83%. More than 4,250 cats and dogs at the shelter were saved. Between the lines: There are many reasons for the shift. In 2013, Metro ended a policy that required the shelter to euthanize unclaimed pit bulls. MACC also deepened its ties with rescues and animal welfare organizations like Best Friends. The shelter added a foster program and rolled out a safety net program that helps residents who are struggling to pay for pet-related expenses. A shelter spokesperson tells Axios animals are never euthanized for space — only for medical or behavioral reasons. What they're saying: Sizemore says a boost from the mayoral proclamation may increase that momentum and help tip the scales. O'Connell said he was optimistic that Nashville will reach 90%. "I support Nashville working to become a no-kill city and know this is something the great city of Nashville can achieve this year," the mayor said in a statement announcing the declaration. "Our residents love their pets, and when they come together for a cause they support, anything is possible." Reality check: Defining "no-kill" as a 90% save rate acknowledges that euthanasia issometimes the best option, like when a pet has serious health issues, grave injuries or violent behavioral problems. What's next: O'Connell's latest budget proposal would add two more full-time MACC employees, with a goal of shortening response times for service calls and growing kennel staff. The big picture: The national no-kill movement has bipartisan momentum. Leaders in Arkansas, Louisiana and Utah recently signed similar proclamations. "The only thing that keeps me from languishing in the sadness of the polarization of our country is that the work I do in animal welfare is one of the truest nonpartisan issues ever," Sizemore says. How to help Achieving no-kill status "is within our reach," Sizemore says. There are many ways Nashville residents can help push the city over the top. 🤝 Volunteer: You can help the shelter by walking dogs, assisting with group playtime, and socializing with adoptable kittens. Volunteers can also help promote MACC's passel of pets. (Some of them have gone viral on TikTok.) 🐶 Adopt or foster: When it's time to add a furry friend to the family, don't go to a breeder or a pet store. Information about adopting from MACC is available on its website. You can apply to foster pets temporarily. 💰 Donate: The volunteer-based nonprofit Friends of MACC has much more information on how to help, including multiple ways to donate money.
USA Today
05-05-2025
- USA Today
As Yellowstone roads open, bison are again regulating traffic
As Yellowstone roads open, bison are again regulating traffic The speed limit in most of Yellowstone National Park is 45 mph. But if bison are utilizing the roads, obviously, the speed limit is dictated by the iconic beasts. Trent Sizemore, a photographer and guide based in West Yellowstone, on Saturday shared footage of a lone bison strolling down a highway as traffic slowly increased behind the animal. 'Yellowstone bison keeping the traffic in check,' Sizemore described via Instagram. ALSO: Large snake emerging from ocean causes stir at Maryland beach This snapshot of a few moments in Yellowstone is a sign of things to come as park crowds increase over the next few months. Visitors might encounter bison herds commuting on highways as if they own the place (which, in a sense, they do). Or tourists might simply have to wait a few minutes (or longer) for bison to cross a highway, one after another, often simply to graze on the opposite side. This being spring, "red dog" calves will also be present, and calves can also cause bison jams. Last May, during one of my visits, a single red dog bison held up traffic for three minutes. These are experiences most tourists enjoy, especially if they're nearest the colossal critters and can hear their grunts, and hooves clomping on pavement. Those planning to visit Yellowstone for the first time this spring and summer will almost certainly encounter bison, as roughly 5,000 bison reside in the park. They should plan to obey posted speed limits, of course, for their safety and that of the animals. But they should also obey speed limits dictated by bison and possibly elk or bears.
