Kiss And Tell With garbagebarbie
- Josh Kitchen
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
By: Josh Kitchen / August 28, 2025
garbagebarbie are a good example of hard work paying off. They have a knack for crafting infectious, three-and-a-half-minute rock songs that stick in your head and have you tapping your feet hours later. They also care deeply about the work and believe in what they’re creating. Through persistent word of mouth and on-the-ground marketing, they sold out the Echo in Los Angeles — something not many established bands can claim.
garbagebarbie have been dropping singles sporadically while touring the country and preparing their debut full-length. Their latest, “Kiss,” is a blast — accompanied by a slick, breezy music video that harkens back to the great rock acts of the early aughts. I caught up with the band to talk about why they work so well together (spoiler: they’re the best of buds), the new music, and what movies they’ve been watching lately.
garbagebarbie! — I'm here with Fletcher (Milloy), Braedon (Huff), Daniel (Karasev), and Anson (Knopp.) You just released the video for your new single “Kiss.” Talk to me about it.
Fletcher: We’ve been working on a record this whole year. “Kiss” was the first song we wrote that we felt ready to put out. It’s more pop than the rest of the album, but when we showed it to friends, everyone loved it. It felt like a summer song, so July was perfect for the release. The feedback has been amazing — when we played in Denver and Phoenix, people we’d never met were singing the words back to us. That was surreal. And there was even a dude in a pink ski mask going wild in the crowd.
Anson: Yeah, those were some of the most bizarre dance moves I’ve ever seen.
You’re working on a new album. Will any songs from your two EPs be on it, or is this all new material?
Braedon: All new. About 10 to 12 tracks. They’re written, and now we’re producing them ourselves. We’d been working with producers, but now we have the stems back, so it’s really just us four chipping away.
Anson: Exactly. We’re all busy, like Fletcher’s literally in an airport right now, so finding time with outside producers was tough. We decided to take it back into our own hands — like we did with our first EP.
How do you guys write as a four-piece? Do you each bring something different to the table?
Fletcher: Usually someone starts an idea, and we share it early with the group. Sometimes it starts as a joke to make each other laugh, but then the best lines stick. It’s less like, “Let’s sit down and write,” and more like songs naturally come out when we’re hanging out.
Anson: When we’re together, things move fast. Someone has a riff, we build on it, figure out the structure, mess with synths, swap lyric ideas, and just plug everything in.
Braedon: It’s like a four-part workshop. Everyone has their own station.
Anson: We usually know upfront if a song’s going to be upbeat or slower/more melodic, then we see where it goes.
You guys are obviously close friends. How does that dynamic feed into the music?
Fletcher: We’re like brothers. We’ve done multiple 16-hour drives together and it just confirmed how much we love hanging out. Being in a band is bigger than one person — it’s an organism that gets stronger the longer it stays together.
Okay, so who has the best hands on the aux cord during those drives?
Fletcher: Not me. I can’t even drive. I’ve been banned.
Anson: Honestly, Braedon. I like a lot of eclectic stuff that’s fun but might be too much for some people.
Braedon: I don’t only listen to the same kind of music we make. I’m into Latin, Bossa Nova, jazz. It doesn’t directly influence us, but it inspires me. Then I’ll flip and put on hair metal or classic rock.
Fletcher: He’s got the deep cuts — but they all hit.
Your songs are all unique, but still instantly recognizable as garbagebarbie. How do you see your sound?
Braedon: Every song feels different, but people can still pick it out as us.
Anson: We all pull from different genres subconsciously — like I’m into electronic and house, which we don’t make, but it sneaks into the writing in subtle ways.
One of my favorite things about you guys is you have a song that's the name of your band, joining bands like Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and Bad Company. Talk to me about that decision.
Braedon: That was the first song we wrote, about three years ago. Fletcher and I were jamming at his old house, then Anson joined in. I think the name came first, and then the song.
Fletcher: It was kind of a joke at first — “you’re a garbage Barbie.” But the song was the most poppy one we had, so we self-titled it.
Braedon: That kicked off our whole world-building. We started incorporating characters — like the bag-on-the-head guy or the girl with cell phones for eyes.
Anson: Musically, it set the tone too. We added sax, funk, disco elements. Not every song has them, but they became part of our palette.
Fletcher: And it’s paying homage to the older acts we love — Sabbath, Bad Company, etc. It feels like a rite of passage.
When can we expect the record?
Fletcher: We have dates in mind but nothing concrete. We want to release things when they feel right, like we did with “Kiss.” We’re also focused on world-building and keeping fans engaged beyond just the music.
Anson: Yeah, we’re not dragging our feet, but we want to make sure the first album tells the story we want — musically, lyrically, and visually.
What’s the last movie each of you watched?
Dan: I just rewatched Fight Club with my girlfriend and her brother — his first time seeing it.
Fletcher: I watched Sinners recently. I’m a big Buddy Guy and Delta blues fan, so seeing him honored was incredible. Plus, I love vampire movies.
Braedon: Yacht Rock: A Documentary. Loved it.
Anson: Dune: Part Two.
How important is the live show for you?
Fletcher: It's everything.
Braedon: Playing songs live also shapes how they end up on record. We tweak them after seeing how they feel in front of an audience.
Anson: We started with live shows before we had any music out. Selling out the Echo was insane. For us, the record and the live show are indivisible. The release show will be about creating an immersive world people can walk into.
Check out "kiss" below and follow garbagebarbie here!
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