On July 23, 2024, Frankie and the Witch Fingers took a sunny Seattle afternoon and turned it into a broiling mess of psychedelic synth lines, fierce guitar riffs, throbbing bass and pummeled drums. Sweaty bodies bounced off one another in KEXP’s performance space as the newly christened five-piece played with wild abandon while providing their hallmark punk-rock energy mixed with tight musicianship during a 40-minute set.
“Recorded real, raw and raucous at KEXP” read the live album’s liner notes, the set is a perfect document of Frankie and the Witch Fingers’ knack for melting faces while moving between sludgy metal rumblings and frantic garage rock with a pulsing potency.
Ripping through nine songs in the presence of the legendary arbiters of indie music, of course the band knew they were being filmed and recorded—that’s kinda KEXP’s thing, fueling its on-air and streaming content machine—but FATWF also had intentions on releasing the live performance on wax. Oh, and did I mention that this was the first gig that they’d ever played with new band member Jon Modaff on synthesizers? Yeah, no presh.
“We knew when we were recording KEXP that we were gonna put it out. That added, for me, an extra layer of stress,” bassist Nikki Pickle says. “Playing a live show, having a good show for everybody and you’re recording it for vinyl—like, ‘Don’t fuck up,’” she laughs.
Don’t let Pickle’s so-called nerves fool you; she looks cool as a cucumber, per usual. Meanwhile, frontman and guitar player Dylan Sizemore brings an unhinged intensity to his vocals, but he’s not just yukking it up for the cameras: This is the baseline energy expenditure at every FATWF show.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers absolutely slaying at KEXP's the Gathering Space on July 23, 2024: Photo by Travis TrauttIn between the penultimate rager “Empire” and the set closer, Sizemore is seen plugging in his mic with the extra long cord while drummer Nick Aguilar sheds his soggy shirt. Sizemore graciously thanks the crowd before the gut punch of “Bonehead” wraps it all up with Sizemore-as-emcee, sans-instrument, crowd surfing. As he fishes his cord out of the crowd, he shouts his final lyrics of the dystopian revolution anthem backed by a wall of riff-tastic noise:
The prototype has proven itself broken
The washing of our brains was set in motion
The poorest class will rise and rip them open
“That was actually the first live performance we did with old Johnny Boy,” guitar player Josh Menashe recalls. To be fair, Modaff has performed with the band before, filling in as a tour drummer back in 2021, but this is his first time playing synths.
“We have thrown around the idea of adding a fifth member for a while now,” Menashe continues. “I was kind of doing double duty with playing guitar and then I’d have the synth to the right, and it got to the point where I couldn’t cover everything.”
Although keys were Modaff’s first instrument—“I’ve played keys my whole life”—they aren’t what he’s primarily done professionally as a touring band member or composer. “At my core, I’d say I’m more of a drummer,” he says. Still, it’s “familiar territory,” and “it was a really unique challenge jumping in and wearing that hat.” Hitting the ground running, KEXP was “a wild first performance to sink my teeth into.” But the 2021 tour went a long way to quickly establishing cohesion as “there was already a lot of camaraderie and familial-like sense to it all, so it just seemed kind of seamless.”
While the aura may have felt instantly right, that doesn’t mean FATWF didn’t try to overprepare for the gig.
“I think we ran that set like 20 to 30 times,” Menashe says.
“Twenty times, yeah,” Aguilar responds. “Those songs are ingrained into my muscle memory.”
Released on June 6, "Trash Classic" is the latest high-energy offering from prolific psych rockers Frankie and the Witch Fingers—listen to the entire record belowIt’s no coincidence that the band’s latest record—“Trash Classic,” released in June—really leans into a new synth sound. “Having more synths as a texture was something that was really interesting to us,” Sizemore says. More specifically, FATWF wrote a record where they needed a fifth member to play all these synths. The thinking went: “If we write too many synth parts then there’s no way Josh is going to be able to have fun up there on stage trying to do both things.”
“It got to the point where I couldn’t even have a beer before we played because there was just too much to focus on,” Menashe admits.
While “Trash Classic” still exudes the psych-punk vigor FATWF are known for, there’s more dance-punk vibes à la LCD Soundsystem on tracks like “Conducting Experiments,” “T.V. Baby” and the meandering title track, which ends the album with head banging and flailing arms as the driving guitars become dancey synths. Other influences came from experimental innovators like XTC (specifically the 1979 album “Drums and Wires”) and “the weirder side of Devo,” Menashe says. It’s all rich with even more of the group’s signature eccentricities in textures and rhythmic changes thanks to Modaff’s additional contributions.
Whether in studio or on stage, FATWF’s output is impressive. This includes a fresh visual aesthetic with each release. From collaborating with artists and designers on new album and single art to developing T-shirts, posters, hats and other swag, the band—alongside Harry Portnof of Greenway Records—has produced a zillion kaleidoscopic color variations for its vinyl records. The most mind-blowing “Trash Classic” offering is dubbed sewer spew, a neon green liquid-filled LP that’s reminiscent of a lava lamp or an old-school liquid light show. The band was elated at the results of working with Blood Records to create the unique collectible with Menashe joking, “I can’t wait to drink the forbidden juice inside.”
“And get the powers,” Pickle chimes in.
Instead of making a music video for the fuzzy, angular track “Gutter Priestess,” FATWF decided to try something new: a side-scroller video game backed by the propulsive rocker. The band members were excited to showcase their music in a different medium that genuinely aligns with their personal interests.
“It was this really cool opportunity to collaborate with new people and make something that we’re all super into,” Sizemore says. “We all play video games in the van on tour, so it’s kind of an extension of what we like.”
Frankie and the Witch Fingers are Jon Modaff (synths), Nick Aguilar (drums), Dylan Sizemore (rhythm guitar, vocals), Josh Menashe (lead guitar, synths, vocals) and Nikki Pickle (bass): Photo by James DuranFrankie, the band’s namesake, is a cat that’s a dozen or so years old. “I get updates from our friend Virginia all the time. He just had a surgery. I think his hearing’s not doing so well, but he’s on antibiotics,” Sizemore shares. “However old the band is, he’s a year older.”
“I think we have to retire when it’s time,” Menashe trails off, not wanting to address the mortality of the group’s divine inspiration.
“He’s like the voodoo doll of the band,” Sizemore continues. “So if something happens to Frankie…”
“Wait, his hearing is going out?” Menashe questions. “And Jon’s been having ear problems…”
There’s a boisterous round of laughter from the band as Pickle and Aguilar shout, “Oh no!”
With what feels like limitless stamina, you can easily witness Frankie and the Witch Fingers’ consistent drive to record new music and play more shows. There’s very little downtime for a band this hungry.
“This band is full time,” Pickle says.
Sizemore still remembers when “we were playing basement shows…. So the fact that we’re touring all the time and getting to make art with all these amazing artists, it’s definitely not lost on us.”
“It’s the best job in the world,” Pickle adds. “You have to grind and you have to be busy all the time, but when you’re having fun, it doesn’t feel like work.”
