Tattoos, Tacos and Touring: An Interview with the Frights

By Brooke Adams
Music Journalist

At Sound on Sound Fest, I fought through mud and food trucks to make my way to the press tent where I met with the Frights. The guys munched on tacos while we talked about their latest release and all things touring. Unfortunately, the Texas rain got the best of Sound On Sound midday Sunday, and the Frights were never able to take the stage. However, they’ve promised via social media to be back to Texas soon.

This is Brooke here for KTSW and I am sitting down with the Frights at Sound On Sound festival. Could each of you say your name and what you play?

Jordan Clark:  I’m Jordan. I play guitar with these guys on tours.

Marc Finn: Hey, I’m Marc, I play drums in the Frights.

Richard Dotson: My name is Richard, I play bass.

Mikey Carnevale: I’m Mikey, I play guitar and sing.

You guys had a bit of an unconventional start as a band, what was that situation like?

RD: Well yeah, we never really planned to do this for very long. It was kind of a “Let’s just play a show for fun” type of thing but we got signed on our first show. So, it was kind of a crazy little surprise, like okay, do this now for somebody else!

That’s awesome. And now you had your second album You Are Going to Hate This came out, can you talk about the meaning behind that title?

RD: We thought people would hate it; I guess it’s kind of a defense against criticism, you know. If you hate it, well then yeah we told you , of course you’d hate it. If you don’t hate it, well then yeah, we released more music.

Were you guys really worried about losing fans because of the change in your sound, or was it more just about making the music you want to make?

MF: I think we all thought there would be a little bit more people who didn’t like it then there actually was. There were a lot of people who really liked it. But, I mean, I don’t think we ever thought “This is gonna ruin us,” or anything because we all liked the songs, we all thought the songs were good.

RD: It wasn’t gonna stop us.

MF: Yeah, it was never gonna stop us. We knew we were gonna keep going.

Zac from FIDLAR produced that album, so what’s it like getting to tour with him now on that record?

MF: That guy is the worst. (laughing) He’s cool and they’re awesome guys.

Being on tour with a huge group of guys is quite the experience I’m sure. What are your favorite foods to eat on tour?

JC: Shitty food. Like, vending machine Cheez-It’s.

MF: Well, we had Cracker Barrel this morning and that’s considered a treat so… that says something.

Has anything crazy happened on this tour or has it been pretty tame?

JC: We had that crazy Texas thunderstorm.

MF: Yeah, it was like the perfect storm rolling through Texas on our way here. We were hydroplaning and sliding all over.

Texas storms can be pretty scary, I’m glad you all made it through! One last question: tattoos are a big thing to a lot of musicians and I can see that you all have quite a few yourselves. Does anyone have any super weird or quirky tattoos?

MF: Well, you know some people are like, “Marc, maybe you shouldn’t have gotten the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Mt. Rushmore,” but I’m like “Dude, that’s my dream, okay? And if I want to put it on both of my thighs, you’ve got to deal with it!”

RD: There’s also a guy on this tour who has a butthole tattooed on his knee. I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard about it.

One of the crew?

RD: Yeah, one of FIDLAR’s guys.

That is definitely quirky. Well, thank you so much for sitting down to chat with me today. I hope you guys have an awesome set on Sunday. This has been the Frights at Sound On Sound Fest, have a great weekend!

Featured image by Tafari Robertson.