If bashing out three-chord rock ’n’ roll that sounds mean, vital and anthemic was easy, then every high school garage band would be AC/DC, the Ramones or the Saints.
Suffice to say, those three bands achieved their legendary status precisely because sticking to such a basic approach is deceptively fucking hard.
Fans may not be uttering the name of The Fixations in the same breath as AC/DC — at least not yet. But the latest album by the San Antonio four-piece shows its well-honed skill at whipping three chords into timeless, attitude-drenched rock classics.
The Fixations Are Who You Thought They Were, a sophomore release dropped late last year, brings together 10 high-octane tracks that walk the line between punk, metal and hard rock while wielding the requisite hooks to get casual listeners singing along and pumping fists.
“I just always loved just rock ’n’ roll with an ass-kicking attitude,” singer-guitarist MF Jones said of the Fixations’ approach. “There’s that thing whenever I would listen to Bon Scott-era AC/DC that made me feel like it’s punk rock somehow, and I think that’s part of why they have the appeal that they still do to this day. Whenever someone asks what we sound like, I always tell them, ‘Just imagine punk rockers playing AC/DC.’”
“What punk rocker doesn’t like AC/DC? Show me one,” drummer James Flores added. “There are none.”
The Fixations will display that genre-straddling approach when the band performs Saturday, Feb. 8, as a headliner of the First Annual Pinche Punx Fest at El Luchador, 622 Roosevelt Ave. The all-day event will feature acts including the Lockdowns, the Dispicables, the Walkouts, Pachuco Cabras and more.
More than riffs
The Fixations’ aggressive approach to its stripped-down material is part of why the music lands with the power of a right hook.
Drummer Flores and bassist Rusty Nails lay down a foundational pulse, allowing the slashing guitars of Jones and Dr. Cream Jeans — or the Doc — to veer between punk aggression and tasteful, blues-drenched solo work. Jones’ voice cuts through the mix with authority, clear and easy to understand, but with a convincing dose of snarl and grit.
However, talk to the members of the Fixations and they’ll tell you the musicianship is only part of the package. A key reason Are Who You Thought They Were works so solidly is its grounding in songcraft.
For the past six years, Jones and the Doc — neighbors and longtime pals — have made a weekly ritual of getting together to write songs separate from full-band rehearsals. Jones said he was drawn to the idea after a friend invited him into a songwriters’ group that challenged members to pen a tune every week.
“We realized at some point that we can both write good songs separately, but if we write them together, it’s just a better song,” Jones said. “So we learned to kind of say, ‘Fuck all that ego shit. Let’s do what’s best for the song.’ … We just decided that we were going to just be ourselves, and I think it’s really served us well.”
To be sure, the duo’s songwriting subtleties bring enough variety to Are Who You Thought They Were that the album never bogs down in repetition. It’s full of nods to great practitioners of down-and-dirty rock while standing as its own thing.
Opener “’Til I’m Gone” sounds like it could be an outtake from an early Saxon album, while country-tinged lead work brings an unexpected dynamic to the sing-along ready “Strike (While the Iron Is Hot).” With its Old West imagery, incendiary guitar work and fatalistic lyrics (“The dying part is easy, it’s the living that’s hard”), mid-tempo album closer “Tombstone Rattle” evokes classic Motörhead.
Are Who You Thought They Were even pulled an eight-of-ten review from Classic Rock Magazine — no mean feat for a self-released album. The publication gushed about the band’s “heroic, chest-thumping up-all-night anthems with massive riffs and effortless confidence.”
Balancing act
So, how do The Fixations top Are Who You Thought They Were? Certainly not by complicating things. The group is already working on its third album, and the members said they’re looking to refine the songwriting rather than clutter up a good thing.
“It’s a balancing act,” the Doc said. “You don’t want to do something brand fucking new every time, but you don’t want to go and cut the same exact album, where you’re just using a template. So you’ve got to find that middle ground — ‘What’s our sound? How do we make sure we’re retaining that? Can we say some new shit in there while we’re doing it?’ So, that’s the goal for this one.”
Based on the strength of its Classic Rock review and a growing amount of correspondence from overseas fans, the band also wants to take the show on the road, specifically to Europe.
Most of the Fixations’ members are in their 50s — the Doc is the baby at 37 — and they’ve been rocking so long they have no interest in getting off the ride. Especially not now that they’ve come so close to dialing in the ultimate bad boy boogie.
“My kids are grown,” Flores said. “I’ve been doing this so long, and it’s so deeply embedded in my identity that I just don’t have a lot of faith that the guidance counselor thing’s going to work out for me. So, I’m kind of fucked. I’m a lifer, man. That’s it.”
Pinche Punx Fest, $15 cover, 2 p.m.- 2 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, El Luchador, 622 Roosevelt Ave., (210) 988-3385, instagram.com/luchadorbarsa.
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This article appears in Feb 5-18, 2025.
