Episode #178: Frank Swart

Episode #178: Frank Swart

From Improv Exchange Podcast by Leander Young

October 20, 2025 · 40 min · Episode 178

About this episode

Frank Swart discusses his musical journey from Boston to becoming a prominent figure in various music scenes.

Frank Swart was born and raised in Boston. He grew up hearing the big band swing records and classic Broadway show albums that were in his parent’s record collection, along with the music that his sister (who was ten years older) listened to including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, and Led Zeppelin. He also developed a love for Miles Davis’ 1970s recordings, the spiritual Jazz of John and Alice Coltrane, and the deep soul and blues of Chess and Stax records. After some ungratifying drum lessons, when he was 13, his sister bought him a bass. “I was able to play it immediately, learned some riffs from a guitarist, and was soon practicing eight hours a day.” As a teenager, he worked with rock, blues, and acid funk bands. Very interested in making recordings, Swart rented a recording studio in the basement of a hair salon on the graveyard shift and taught himself how to engineer and produce records. After meeting his future wife and deciding to leave Boston, he spent periods living and working in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Nashville where he led the experimental jam band Funkwrench (which is a nickname for a bass). He engineered the first Pixies demos…

People in this episode

Host: Leander Young

Guest: Frank Swart

Topics covered

  • music history
  • recording
  • bass guitar
  • jam bands
  • music production

Keywords

  • Frank Swart
  • music production
  • jam bands
  • bass guitar
  • Pixies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pixies, Patty Griffin, Morphine, Billy Nayer Show, Junk/Post Junk Trio, SIMO

Places: Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville

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