NY, NY — David Fagin is no stranger to controversy. In the early 00’s his band, The Rosenbergs, was credited as the first to go viral after they turned down a horrifically bad deal with Universal Music’s “Farmclub”, a start-up label and TV show, and precursor to American Idol.
Fast forward almost a quarter-century, past lectures on the music biz at universities such as NYU, Emory, Vanderbilt, even Harvard, past partnerships with Napster and Robert Fripp, tours with Echo and The Bunnymen and Modern English, past opening slots for The Strokes and Duran Duran, an appearance on Howard Stern w/ Gene Simmons, week-long stints on Carson Daly, numerous appearances on Dennis Miller, past his testimony on Capitol Hill alongside Alanis Morrisette on behalf of artists nationwide, past a failed cable pilot, past composing a song for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing that prompted Starbucks’ Music head, the late, great Tim Jones, to stop the presses and add ‘Boston Strong’ to 8,000 stores, past being Elmo’s assistant on Sesame Street (yup), and past a catchy Beatlesque theme song for Jenna Elfman’s last sitcom for CBS, Fagin says he’s finally found his true calling – that of a Wanker.
No, not in the literal sense – well, maybe a little.
Fagin, who’s been playing on the Jersey shore cover scene for the better part of the last decade, formed The Wankers a year and a half ago with fellow cover scene veteran, bassist Helena Holmes, as a tribute to the legends of Britpop and New Wave, an idea first conceived whilst talking with his longtime manager, Kelly Garvey. Rounding out the faux-Brit quintet are Elmer Dytioco (Lead Guitar/vocals), Ryan Zieminski (Keyboards), and Jason Kronick (drums).
Being huge fans of Brit humor, i.e., Monty Python, Benny Hill, Ricky Gervais, etc, Fagin and co. immediately settled on the name ‘The Wankers’ as a tongue-in-cheek tip o’ the cap to the wry, English insult. Taking it a step further, the lads and lass don ‘Austin Powers’-style outfits onstage, while adopting dry-witted caricatures of their British selves, complete w/ speaking in faux-Brit accents the entire night, going as far as to fool actual British and Irish ex-pats, in between blurting out classic phrases such as “Bob’s your uncle!”, “total rubbish!” and the ever-popular “tosser!”
Combine the outfits and camp with Fagin’s uncanny ability to “parrot” the stylings of Liam Gallagher, Thom Yorke, Richard Ashcroft, Robert Smith, even Morrissey, and you have yourself one heck of a mesmerizing night. Still, in spite of their amazing live show, the band has encountered a bit of pushback from talent buyers over their name.
“Outside of being one of the most fun and talented bands we’ve seen, The Wankers are doing something no one else on the tribute scene is doing: A tribute to Britpop and New Wave. There are a ton of tributes to The Eagles, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Foreigner, etc. But, there’s only one Wankers. Yes, we’ve encountered our fair share of pushback from buyers on the name, but everyone who sees them loves them. It’s just a matter of time,” says Rick Horvath, the band’s agent at Providence Music Group.
“It’s funny,” says Fagin, “a lot of the folks who have a problem with our name have no issue booking The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, then going home to a six year-old who sings Cardi B. word for word. Or worse, that Khia song. I love the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Outside of their terrific music, they held their ground throughout a years-long shitstorm and are now welcome at every major theater in ‘Main Street USA’. If buyers can get used to their name, as well as The Butthole Surfers, accepting The Wankers shouldn’t be that hard. After all, if every Brit we encounter loves it, why would Americans have a problem? It’s not even an American term, yet, we were told even this press release would be rejected by most mainstream U.S. sites. It’s just bonkers. Besides, ‘Wanker!’ is the only word my dad, sadly deep in the throws of aphasia, can still say.”
In spite of the overblown reaction to their name,The Wankers are quickly gathering a devoted following of “Wankettes” – fans of the band who don their totally posh t-shirts at every show, then upload pics with the band, post-show, to their social media. Even The Cure’s Reeves Gabrels is not immune from being ‘wanked.’ The band recently gave the former Bowie guitarist a complimentary tee after a show in NJ (pic available on their Facebook and Instagram). Supporters of animal rights, the band also sells doggy tees for ‘Britpups,’ assuring their owners “the bitches will love it!”
Their humor is obviously not for everyone, but if you fancy the whole ‘British sound’, DVR every episode of The Office, and have no issue with a band named after a British jab,The Wankers will be performing with Strawberry Fields, the popular Beatles tribute, at Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA, Saturday, August 10th. The iconic festival features such 2024 headliners as Shinedown, Sugar Ray, Ludacris, The Black Eyed Peas and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
About The Wankers:
Representing the Best of Britpop, and Beyond, The Wankers hail straight from Manchester (by way of N.J.) andare the ultimate Britpop and New Wave experience. Performing classic after classic from icons such as Coldplay, Oasis, Radiohead, Blur, The Verve, Supergrass, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Cure, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and many more, The Wankers will transport you back to the days when U.K. bands ruled the world. Yeah, baby!
For more information on The Wankers click here.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLAAQ5jKKX0
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