Get To Know Friko
Photos by Andrea van den Boogaard
Amplified meets Friko’s Niko Kapetan, Bailey Minzenberger, and Luke Stamos to discuss their recent EP and upcoming Metro show.
N: Niko Kapetan
B: Bailey Minzenberger
L: Luke Stamos
Amplified: So where did you all meet?
N: Me and Luke met in kindergarten. We were friends and played in cover bands from fifth grade to high school. And then I was in a music theory class with Bailey –
B: We sat next to each other, but we didn’t talk – Which was funny. (To Niko) You were pretty quiet in that class.
N: Yeah, very quiet. Well, it was mostly people Bailey’s age. Bailey was one grade above me. And Tanner [Swinand], too. But then Bailey asked me to join Morinda. So that’s how we started talking – Well Jack [Lickerman] asked me, actually.
B: Yeah, and so we first met. (To Niko) I have a very clear image in my head of you walking through Jack’s basement door.
N: Yeah, me too!
B: Yeah, so we played in Morinda for a little bit together and then Niko asked me to join Friko, and that’s when I started to become acquainted with Luke, too.
L: Yeah, that is how we initially met at the show with The Marquees and the band in –
B & L: (at the same time) In the basement!
L: I’m pretty sure that was the first time that I met you.
N: At my parents’ house.
B: Yeah, it was an 80’s-themed thing, right?
N: Yeah, I was wearing the craziest – It was so stupid –
L: I was wearing, like, a –
N: We have a picture of Luke, actually, and his outfit. It was good.
L: I was wearing a rainbow fanny pack… It was… Yeah.
B: It was pretty awesome. And yeah, (to Niko) You used to be such a crazy showy performer with The Marquees. I remember, he did, like, a death drop on stage once. It was crazy.
Amplified: How old were you?
N: I used to be able to do the splits. I was 18 then. But I don’t stretch like that anymore. (laughs) I took off the pants, too, and there was another pair underneath!
L: What?!
N: I was, like, super glitzy. We’re kind of glitzy now, but it is toned down. It used to be crazy. I took off the Velcro pants, and like -
B: Like the kind you could rip off?!
L: I don’t remember that.
N: And you didn’t know I was going to do it. The band didn’t know.
L: I just remember you showing up to rehearsal and being like, ‘I’ve been practicing the splits. I want to do it at one of our shows.’ (laughs) But yeah. I feel like that was kind of The Marquee’s ethos. We were very glam rock.
N: Yeah, that was just Friko before.
L: That was proto-Friko.
Amplified: And for context, how many years ago was that?
L: It was 2017-2018, around then.
B: And then Friko started in, like, 2019, I think.
N: Yeah, right before COVID.
Amplified: So y’all have known each other for a varied amount of time and you’ve been playing together for a while. And you have these nicknames on your Bandcamp for yourselves and your collaborators like The Equalizer, The Muscle, and The Omnipotent. Where do those nicknames come from?
N: (laughs) So I made those up on the spot, writing it on Bandcamp. But we do this thing – We do it with Jack a lot, too – But we’ll be like “Bailey ‘blablabla’ Minzenberger.” Or lately, we’ve been doing “Bailey ‘Bailey Minzenberger’ Minzenberger.” It’s really stupid. We did that in the studio, too. Or if I say anything to Jack like “Can you turn up my guitar,” he’ll be like “Niko ‘Turn Up the Guitar’ Kapetan.” That’s it.
B: Who is who on Bandcamp?
L: I think I’m the muscle…
Amplified: I think [Bailey’s] the Equalizer.
L: (laughs) That makes sense.
N: Bailey’s definitely an equalizer.
B: And Jack is The Omnipotent? That actually makes sense, him being the engineer and producer, he was kind of… (folds arms and looks downward, laughs).
Amplified: So fast forwarding now from 2019, you released your EP Whenever Forever and your Audiotree Live recording. For your EP, what was that process like for you?
N: That was really long, because of COVID.
B: It was pretty disjointed.
N: Completely disjointed. Because we started practicing those songs back in 2019, and we started recording them a week before COVID lockdown. So there’s, like six months where we didn’t do anything. And then super intermittently, we started recording a record, but it ended up being four songs. So that was very pieced together over a long period of time.
B: It was a lot of going in at 10pm and leaving at 5 in the morning. Just whenever we could get into the studio was when we would do it. There was no consistency about it at all. (laughs) That process made for a really interesting experience because we got to know each other in a different way, I think. Spending a lot of intimate time together.
N: There was definitely a learning experience there, I think. One that taught us how I think we want to record this record that we’re recording right now. Because this has been super fun. We’re just recording it like it’s our live show, for the most part. And although it’s still broken up, because that’s just how it goes when there’s no label or funding like that, it’s just like… fun. There’s been tough moments, but it feels much more natural.
L: Yeah, I think that for the EP we did bass and drum tracking together, and then guitar was separate -
N: Yeah, we recorded like everything separately –
L: Pretty much everything separately. And I feel like there was a lot more stuff going on in post-production.
B: A lot of overdubs and stuff.
N: Whereas with this new stuff, there’s a lot of stuff from live takes from when we’ve performed it, which has been very cool.
Amplified: I wanted to ask about your live takes – Do you feel like there’s something that you’re tapping into with your live performances that’s different than studio recordings?
B: I think our live performances have always been really lively and frenetic, like it’s pure emotion. And I think the EP was definitely more tame than that. And in this new record, since we were doing just live takes pretty much, I think that energy is way, way more palpable in these new recordings. It feels more like us, honestly, than recordings we’ve done previously.
Amplified: Is that what you’re hoping people can tap into when they’re listening at home?
N: 100%. I was listening to a lot of older 70’s rock records, like how The Clash always had this live, but kind of produced records, and then their live shows were just crazy. It was like tapping into that way of recording things, kind of - as best as we could. I think we had that intention very clear, and that we’ve done that. And the record is pretty much tracked, except for lead vocals. So I think we’ve pretty much accomplished that. As long as I can keep singing. (laughs)
B: My dad has always described Friko as a raw nerve. (smiles) So I feel like that kind of encapsulates what a lot of the live performances are like for us.
L: When you said that, I’m imagining in text written, “The sound that Chuck Minzenberger describes as…”
B: “Friko is a raw nerve’ – Chuck Minzenberger”
Amplified: With everything being released recently, continuing to travel for your music, and having just come back from touring - Where’s the first place that you go when you return to Chicago?
L: Target. (laughs)
Amplified: Okay, which Target?!
B: We went to the one on Howard last night.
N: I went to Target again this morning!
B: To buy what?
N: A tape gun! Well, because me and Stas [Slyvka] are going to hang posters tonight.
L: I mean, I guess the FIRST first place we go is dropping off our equipment at Niko’s parents’ place.
N: Yeah, because we still practice there.
L: Yeah, which is an important piece – That’s our rehearsal space, that’s where we keep our equipment most of the time, that’s where we’re fed a lot of the time. (laughs)
N: Because we’ve been doing that since, like, fifth grade.
L: Niko’s parents have been very, very generous.
N: Yeah, it’s just 9:30pm. It used to be 9:00pm, then once we turned 18 it was 9:30pm. (laughs)
Amplified: Something that really strikes me from talking about this is how much it really is a family affair – family and chosen family. There really is a village around Friko and what goes into the music.
N: There’s definitely a lot of people. Parents, and Stas, who does merch, Jack, our friend Scott Tallarida who’s been recording a lot of this record – He’s been awesome, and has made us able to record this record for free, for the most part. It’s an incredibly huge contribution. He owns Trigger, an event space that’s sometimes used to record. That’s what we’ve been doing there.
L: Yeah, this record definitely wouldn’t be possible without Scott.
N: Yeah. He’s a great person. The record has been us three, Jack, and Scott doing the whole thing. Even mixing and stuff.
Amplified: And y’all spend a lot of time in Rogers Park – Are there any places that the three of you go together to just release or do something restorative outside the music?
B: Going to the lakefront, for sure. We definitely do a lot more of that when it’s warmer outside, but even in the winter it’s so beautiful. Every year in Chicago, I love it when the lakefront freezes over and you can walk out over the water. We should definitely do that as a group this year… And there’s this barcade nearby that’s really fun that we’ve gone to a handful of times. Half of the machines are broken, but Tetris is free.
L: The barcade, or we go play darts at The Oasis, which I guess is the Loyola spot where all of the Loyola students go. And there are just local regulars that are there. And they’ve got darts, so, you know. Not a lot of places have darts.
Amplified: In the vein of Chicago questions, are there any Chicago artists that are inspiring you right now?
N: I would have to say Finom is the first one. Because before we were even vaguely involved in the scene, I was a fan of them.
B: Definitely. I feel like Sima [Cunningham] and Macie [Stewart] are just a well of inspiration with all of the projects that they’re involved in. V.V. Lightbody, also.
N: All the younger folks – Horsegirl, Lifeguard…
L: Lifeguard definitely. I feel like we’ve very recently been getting into the Lifeguard sound. And I feel like their live shows are awesome. There’s so much energy, and they’re all such talented musicians.
B: I went to Tenci’s album release show recently, and that was really really good. I felt like making music afterwards, which is always a cool feeling after seeing something. Luke and I also went to NNAMDÏ’s record release show, which was incredible. They’re such a phenomenal performer. Like… oh my god, it’s insane.
N: There’s a bunch more in there.
B: Yeah, it’s such a lively scene. There’s so much to tap into, you know? And I think we can still technically consider them a Chicago band, because two thirds of them are still here, but The Slaps. Getting to see them play every night was wonderful. They’re such phenomenal musicians and have such chemistry as a group. Every night they would improvise in some way, shape, or form, and that was really inspiring to see. In rehearsals every once in a while we’ll improvise a little bit, but I would love to get to that point with us in live settings. And same with Morinda and stuff too, I want to get more improv involved, so that was really cool to see. And they’re such nice people.
Amplified: And you just toured with them recently, right?
N: Yeah, that’s how we met them. They’re just very nice people.
L: Yeah, they put on a really fun show and are great guys. Really funny and we just met them right when we showed up to Cleveland. And it was kind of sad to part ways at the end of the tour.
N: It was.
L: Yeah, but we’ll reconnect, definitely, in the future.
Amplified: So for Friko, we can stream your EP and your Audiotree recording on all of the streaming services. And you have a show coming up at Metro this week? Is there anywhere else we can look out for Friko projects, or things that you’re individually doing?
L: Morinda, at some point.
B: At some point, key words. (laughs) Jack and I are working on the Morinda record when we can. So also, hopefully, on the streaming services sometime in the next 6 months maybe. Also, Free Range’s record is coming out in February!
N: We’re probably going to start releasing singles in March.
B: And the music video is coming out today?
N: Oh yeah, the Holdin’ On People video is coming out today! We put it together last minute to promote the Metro show. Alice Avery, the person who did our In_Out video, is doing it. And it’s great! We’ve been on tour, but I have to post that on YouTube, like after this!
B: A dancer is featured in the video, she was phenomenal.
N: Yeah, we definitely should shout her out as well. Hanley Simpson. It’s a full animated video – It was going to be a lot of things, and it’s a good mixture of Alice’s drawn animated art and the dancer dancing in this white suit. It’s cool. But yeah, the Metro show is coming up this Thursday, and we’ll be playing with strings for a few songs.
B: Scott Daniel and Alejandro Quiles.
N: Yeah. We’re just very excited about the new record. Very very excited. This feels very special.
Friko performs with Café Racer and Lifeguard at Metro on December 8, 2022 (ticket link). Their music video for Holdin’ On People is available on YouTube now. Their EP, Whenever Forever, and Friko on Audiotree Live are both streaming on all platforms. Find updates on upcoming events with Friko on Instagram @friko4u, Twitter @frikomusic, and online at www.whoisfriko.com.
