“I make music for weirdos,” says Frank Swart, the San Francisco-based producer-bassist – clearly a master of branding – who since 2017 has been releasing an endless string of wild and wacky instrumental recordings under the moniker Funkwrench Blues.
“If you’re looking for something post-rock, but it’s got a jazz-blues thing and a bit of a cosmic fusion thing, this could appeal to you.” He laughs. “I’ve got over 100,000 listeners on Spotify, so somebody must like it!”
Swart estimates that he’s released more than 200 Funkwrench Blues recordings – he issues a single or album every two weeks – that have featured big-time guitarists such as Mike Stern, Charlie Hunter, Robbie McIntosh and Oz Noy, among others.
“I can play guitar, but when you’re making records you want people with real facility,” Swart says. “I thought it would be hard to get name players to say yes, but I figured out two things. One, it never hurts to ask. And two, don’t suck. That last one is really important.”
Until recently, Swart has released his recordings digitally, but his last album, Soundtrack for a Film Without Pictures, was something of an artistic breakthrough, and its impressive Spotify spins warranted an actual physical release.
He’s hoping his new album, Mischief in the Musitorium, featuring guitarists Vernon Reid, David Fiuczynski, Grant Green Jr. (son of jazz legend Grant Green) and Guitar Shorty, reaches even more ears. The record’s first single, Mr. Coleman, is a swinging and jumping art-jazz gem, and Reid’s hyper-spacey solo sounds like it was beamed in from the Pillars of Creation.
“That thing just blows me away,” Swart says. “Once something gets out into the world, I lose interest – I’ve already heard it over and over. But I could listen to Vernon’s solo on that song about a million times. It’s scary and strange, but in a good way.”
Swart hasn’t gigged in a decade (“I used to have lots of hair. I thought I was Chris Cornell”), but he’s looking into sponsorships to take Funkwrench out on the road. “I want to do something that will involve improvisation, removing constructs and breaking the fourth wall between the audience and musician. You know – yada yada yada.”
- Mischief in the Musitorium is out August 15. See Funkwrench Blues for more.
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
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