Frankie and the Witch Fingers’ brand of psychedelic punk pulses with frenetic rock-and-roll energy. Driving bass, screaming guitars and pummeling drums have made the four-piece of Dylan Sizemore (guitar and vocals), Josh Menashe (guitar and synthesizers), Nikki Pickle (bass and vocals) and Nick Aguilar (drums) regulars at psych fests around the globe, including Austin’s legendary Levitation.
In fact, the quartet’s 2024 record, “Live at Levitation,” documents the band’s 2022 festival performance at the famed Stubb’s Bar-B-Q. Dig a little deeper into FATWF’s catalog and you’ll find another lively “Levitation Sessions,” a live set released in 2020. These snapshots in time of the band were released by The Reverberation Appreciation Society, which curates the fest and is also the group’s record label.
“It’s real surreal and fulfilling to be working with folks we’ve looked up to for so long,” Sizemore says. “Back in Indiana, we opened for Night Beats, who are a big name on the Reverberation label, sometime around 2013. I remember talking to their singer, Danny, about how much I loved Levitation and all that RAS stuff. He told me, ‘Y’all would do great down there,’ and I remember thinking how crazy impossible that felt at the time. It’s heartwarming to see just how welcoming and supportive this music community is. The Reverberation folks are the perfect example of that — it’s all one big family.”
Now based out of Los Angeles, FATWF released 2023’s “Data Doom” on The Reverberation Appreciation Society and Greenway Records. Merging afrobeat with punk, prog and krautrock, there are moments where the groove is rich and the foursome becomes a punk rock jam band — a sonic amalgamation you can experience live on Sunday, Oct. 27 when the band shares the Volcanic Theatre Pub stage with Portland heavy rockers Spoon Benders. Until then, check out two new FATWF tracks: the crushing “Bonehead” and punchy “i-Candy,” which came out in September and October, respectively.
The Source Weekly spoke with the members of Frankie and the Witch Fingers via email in advance of their Bend show. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Source Weekly: Your last LP, “Data Doom,” comes in at least seven different psychedelic color variations on vinyl. And at least two seem to be soda inspired: Fanta Orange and Baja Blast. Whose idea was it to make so many color combos?
Dylan Sizemore: When we first got into our label Greenway Records, the thing that really knocked us out was how wild and one of a kind all the vinyl looked. Harry over at Greenway has been the man behind the awesome variants we’ve put out over the years. It’s always fun naming them because it’s usually late at night on the phone with him, going through all the colorways and thinking what they remind us of. Usually candy, drinks or something more nasty, like “festering boil swirl” or something gross like that. Baja Blast was a hit with our fellow T-Bell fans.
“We’ve transformed to a much more live-first band, where we sculpt the songs all together for months before hitting tape.”
—Josh Menashe, Frankie and the Witch Fingers
SW: What drink really quenches your thirst when you’re on tour?
DS: I do love me some pop, especially Mountain Dew, but I had to quit drinking it before all my teeth fell out of my head. I’ve been getting into those Guayakí maté drinks now. They taste real good, but they are fully loaded with sugar and caffeine, which isn’t bad when you’ve got a long drive ahead and need to go fast.
SW: Do you consider yourself to be a live band versus a studio one? Why?
Josh Menashe: The answer to that has changed a lot over the years. The first four albums were written while recording the final versions of the songs. I would write a bass part or a guitar part then immediately track it. We’d then have to remember what we wrote to play it live. Since then we’ve transformed to a much more live-first band, where we sculpt the songs all together for months before hitting tape. We’ve even played some songs in shows before recording them. It gives a better response of what works and we’re able to make adjustments based on how the crowd reacts or how we’re feeling.
SW: What do you do to prepare for shows? Do y’all have a pre-show ritual?
JM: We all do our own things, pretty much. I love to sit in the green room and watch baseball while noodling on a guitar. I used to not warm up as much, but nothing feels weirder than getting up on stage and touching a guitar for the first time that day. We like to all get together moments before playing and do our secret handshake, but it’s a secret so I can’t expand any further.
SW: What are your tour tips and tricks? How do you make sure you stay fresh?
Nikki Pickle: If this is about staying fresh in my music: I like to warm up before each set in the green room by playing little snippets of each song. Like one bar of the chorus, one bar of the verse, one bar of the bridge and any of the more complex sections. It’s a good dexterity warm-up, and it keeps me fresh in what we are about to play. I didn’t do this in previous bands, and I think it has really helped me in Frankie since this is more technically complex music than I’ve ever performed before. [Editor’s note: a previous version attributed this answer to Nick Aguilar instead of Nikki Pickle. We regret the error.]
If this is about hygiene: I have a really streamlined tour product regimen that I travel with to stay fresh. I bring lavender face mist on planes to wake up my skin after a long flight (game changer). I bring wet wipes everywhere in my purse, and I’ve used them to fully shower with many times. I have natural deodorant wipes at all times, plus tea tree oil toothpicks, natural spearmint hippie gum and floss picks. I always have a change of undies, socks and shirt for flights and for after the show. I’m a freshness queen on tour! Ask me for any tour hygiene tips, I’ve got it on lock.
Nick Aguilar: I think it’s safe to say that we all try to get as much sleep as possible, first and foremost. If we don’t get a good night’s sleep the previous night, a nap is crucial. As much as we all like to have a good time after a show as well, sometimes that’s just not in the cards, so that definitely helps us stray away from too much partying… haha. Showers are definitely important, too, because you might not have the chance to every day.
SW: Nikki, how do you decide what color to dye your hair? Is it based on your mood, the seasons or…?
NP: I am like a mood ring with my hair! It just depends on how lazy I am, or what colors I have lying around… and the season plays a part too! There’s no rhyme or reason, I just like having a vibrant head and so I grab whatever color feels right in the moment!
SW: What are y’all listening to right now?
DS: Kim Gordon’s newest record, “The Collective.” It’s the perfect amalgamation of all the textures and moods I’m into at the moment.
JM: Population II: “Serpent Échelle”
NP: I’ve been really getting into Sparks’ self-titled album. I also really like Population II, Geese and Snooper for more modern bands. They rule!
NA: The Rapture: “Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks” — easily my favorite album right now. Funky, punky, heavy and nasty as music can be. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get into them!
This article appears in Source Weekly October 17, 2024.
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