The New Kings and Queens of Punk: Lord Friday the 13th

By Jenna Birdwell

Image Credit: Julian Andrea/ Instagram @julian.andrea_

Felix Lenz emerges in a full dark cloak resembling a glamorous vampire and even has black bat ears from a closed-down costume shop in their home state of Texas. Quickly into their show, Felix sheds their draped cloak, and all of their loose clothing eventually flies off with each energetic song, revealing whatever scandalous outfit they decided fit the vibe for the evening. 

The band’s goal is to really be as unconventional as possible. With songs like “Big Mac,” which the chorus is the McDonald's jingle but made it aggressive and honestly much catchier, or “Wallace and Vomit,” which is a slamming surf-rock song and is undeniably a moshing anthem. 

Trash glam punk? Whoever thought that could be a subgenre, but the vision has come to life with the band Lord Friday the 13th. 

Image Credit: Traece Craig/ Instagram @toc_photo

Felix and their sister who is on lead guitar, Sloane Lenz, have an undeniable connection on stage and their relationship as siblings has always been close since coming from a smalltown in Texas; they were homeschooled and ended up growing up mostly in the city of Austin, but they always dreamt of coming to Los Angeles to pursue something bigger. 

Music has always been part of their lives: Patti Smith, Jack White, the New York Dolls, but they didn’t actually start playing instruments until 2019. They knew they wanted to start a band at some point, so Sloane took a week to learn a few chords, and they said, “alright, let’s do this.” The band's energy is contagious. Nick Arnold, the current Los Angeles drummer, has only done a few shows with them, and Pete O’Hanlon, the bassist, thrashes just as hard, creating a visible chemistry on stage. 

Pete, who was originally part of a band from Ireland, The Strypes, was Sloane and Felix’s favorite band in 2014. They immediately hit it off with Pete after a few jam sessions in Ireland, and Pete saw Sloane and Felix’s passion for music, so he ended up moving to Los Angeles to start something special with them, which turned into Lord Friday the 13th. 

Visualization, such as art and fashion, has honestly always been at the forefront before music.

Caricaturing themselves on stage is an important element for them; they actually got the idea for the band name from the popular 90s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” A puppet named “King Friday XIII” ruled the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The number 13 was significant to the King’s character, and, for the siblings, the widely known unlucky number is actually very prosperous for Felix and Sloane.  

Image Credit: Sarah Eiseman/ Instagram @saraheiseman

The band’s most exciting prospect is their upcoming album, which they are going to record for the month of April with their original and touring drummer from Austin, Josh Bickley. 

Felix and Sloane are extremely excited about the theme for the album, which is Hollywood; they love watching trashy television like TMZ and want to portray the idea of fakeness and celebrity fantasy that circulates in the big city.