We are getting closer and closer to the end of the year we feel a lot of emotion for what it can bring us in every way. However, before closing 2021 we still have in our sights many things within the musical aspect, particulary our favourite bands of 2021, bands from the great spectrum of garage and psychedelia, a group in which a band like Frankie and the Witch Fingers excel.
The band originally from Los Angeles, California is already in the second five years of its career, officially debuting in 2015. However, it seems that the energy of Frankie and the Witch Fingers has done nothing but increase, creating the fastest and most adrenaline-filled combinations that the spectre of psychedelia presents today. Band members Dylan Sizemore and Nikki Pickle talk about what the band has done so far, what makes psychedelia so interesting and important in today’s music scene.
“We’ve just come back from a pretty long tour and we’re already getting a feel for what it’s like to play live now, as our last show had been in January 2020. It was very exciting to come back and connect with people again. We were still thrilled by the fact that we had a lot of songs that people hadn’t heard live. Some of the newer songs connected well with the rest of our repertoire, so it was very interesting to see how we created a new set. We really enjoy playing our music live, they are written and made with so much dynamics, which makes it very enjoyable to explore them in a live show where we can incorporate new things suddenly.”
The atmosphere of the live shows is something that we not only missed a lot, but also something that puts us in front of endless inspirations for what we do. For the band, this has become fundamental. Hearing and seeing those who make up the same scene has become something natural and necessary for Frankie and the Witch Fingers,since from there they connect with their surroundings and with what can lead them as a group to improve.
“When you see something that you really connect with, that ends up coming out through what you create, so if you see a band that really surprises you with its energy or its precision when playing live that inspires you to get to the same level with your own project or whatever you create. In our case, we remember on tour having the opportunity to see Fuzz. The sound was so big and heavy that it made us think, ‘We need bigger amps.’ We’re definitely influenced by the bands we’ve played with and that’s very beautiful. It helps everyone and when we learn from other talents we grow together.” I think it’s a very healthy thing and a much-needed show of respect and admiration for our music.
On visual issues, the band’s art can seem incredibly chaotic on first inspection, full of vivid colours and flickering images that could stun the viewer in some way. However, it is not too long before finding the perfect relationship between the music of Frankie and the Witch Fingers and their visual art, which makes their creations rise in a way that few bands within their music scene manage to do.
“We are of varied tastes. We are fortunate to be able to use the band as a platform to be able to work with artists we admire and find a connection. Creating bonds with the people we work with greatly influences the aesthetics we give to the band, but I still think that the same relationships we make when playing with other bands creates this exchange of ideas that pushes us to do new things. There’s not necessarily a single example, like a movie or something like that. It’s just this bridge of, ‘I inspire you, you inspire me.’ Many of the creators we’ve worked with simply listen to the song and then come up with ideas. Somehow we have some sytasis where our senses get confused and when we listen to our music we automatically know what we would like to see. Even when we’re writing music I think, ‘This song feels like an army march with intergalactic ships.’ Dylan is also a visual artist and I think that still inspires the people we work with to create a similar style, because that’s what we get to link most commonly with our music.”
Off the new album Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters..
The Fat Angel Sings 