Meet Eli Frank

Y’all may remember our friend Eli Frank from the crunchiest and cheesiest duo ever to come out of Upstate NY—TOP Nachos. Now, the songwriter has spawned Winnebago Vacation; a moniker that is an excellent homage to summer camp and family road trips, and simultaneously deals with the crippling reality of transience.

Frank’s solo debut Camp Somewhere struck a big old chord with us, so we called them up to chat. Below, we discuss cat hair’s underutilization, matzah ball ice cream, and the formative powers of School of Rock.

Make yo self some snacks and get to reading, my internet friends.

A self-portrait by, Winnebago Vacation

Would You Rather

only be able to buy things with coins or by trading random objects? Please explain.

I would much rather pay with random objects because coins are too noisy and boring. With random objects it would make life much more interesting cuz I could be like, how bout some cat hair for that Reese’s bar and they’d be like, done deal. Fairtrade in my opinion cat hair is underutilized.

Some questions with Winnebago Vacation

If you could create your own Ben and Jerry’s flavor, what would it be?

Matzah ball soup ftw

What was the best vacation you ever went on?

I wouldn’t call it a vacation because it was for school but my beginner’s French class in college went to France at the end of the semester. We stayed about a month or so in Tours(bout 2 hours from Paris). I had never stayed in another country that long before plus I was staying with a family who didn’t speak any English at all so it was pretty out of my comfort zone. I was really able to immerse myself in the culture though and had a killer time buying super cheap wine and seeing rlly old castles. You can just feel the history around you.

What is the most dangerous thing to microwave? Why?

Probably aluminum cuz that stuff will blow up your house.

What are your thoughts on streaming platforms? Have they helped or hindered the industry?

definitely better than cable. I just wish they made one super streaming spot cuz keeping track of all my friends accounts is tough. If you a cable company though you probably suffering, but for my personal industry I’m flourishing.  

What was the worst vacation you ever went on?

Probably when me and my friend went up to Montreal for a weekend and got really bad food poisoning. I think we left the airbnb like once to get poutine and then threw it right up when we got back lmao.

Who would play you in a movie? Who would you want to play you in a movie?

I would love to play Jack Black in a movie and vice versa. School of Rock changed my life! I always wished I was one of those kids who got to take a whole year off school just rockin n rollin with my goofy ass teacher. Also If tenacious d ever wanted to make that a 3 piece...Jack you know who to call.

Could you tell us the backstory of your album “Camp Somewhere”?

I used to go to a summer camp called Campus Kids. I spent most of my summers there throughout middle and highschool. Even though I was only 2 months out of the year it felt like half. I had a lot of my first experiences there; first kiss, first job, first time smoking weed, etc. After junior year of highschool I stopped going, fell out of touch with those friends, and eventually the camp shut down. Camp Somewhere isn’t about my specific camp experience, I just use it as an example for those memories you make that get fuzzier and fuzzier as time passes, until what’s left is a shapeless blob of the original memory. Even so, these memories take up a certain place in your mind, they stick themselves somewhere in your subconscious and never go away.  

Pool, beer pong, darts, or karaoke? Pick your poison.

Karaoke for sure! My specialty is A Long December by The Counting Crows. If y’all tryna join me up there it’s all about Hunger Strike by Temple of the Dog. Himme up LETS SING!!!

With Winnebago Vacation being a solo endeavor. Do you seek out input from others when creating new music? Who do you usually talk to?

This project started solo but we’re now playing as a full band. Mainly my two pals Brett Bivona(lead guitar) and Ryon Dickerson(bass) have helped me for a while. We’ve toured as a 3 piece for a year or so where I’d play the guitar, sing, and use a kick drum. Now they’re starting to help me with songwriting as well. Jane Lai also plays the keys and we’ve started doing duo sets together when the full band can’t play. We’re still trying to lock in a consistent drummer but have a couple friends filling in every now and then. Looking forward to taking this next album to full band terrain!

Where do you normally go after a show, to a party or home to sleep?

it’s not one or the other it just depends on the situation. If we’re on tour it depends on what the peep we’re staying with wants to do. If it’s a local show I’m probably gonna go home n chill. I ain’t much of a partier but I have my moments, more on tour I’ll get out there and maybe go to a bar or something afterwards. We went out after our Galesburg IL show and the bar had us try a shot Malört...it tasted like a shoe. Even so it was an experience so I recommend any band that gets to tour to go out there and try something new. Make the most of your time on the road!  

What is the worst mixer of all time?

tomato juice idk why bloody Mary’s are a thing, y’all need to get a grip.

What about the lo-fi sound speaks to you? In what ways does it influence your creative process?

I don’t go out of my way to make my music sound a specific way. I start all my songwriting on my guitar and sorta just freestyle it while I come up with ideas. The last album sounded the way it did because I thought the mix helped those songs sound the best they could sound I scooped most of the highs out of the mix, I think it gives it a warmer feel. Honestly though I think if it’s a good song it doesn’t matter if it’s recorded really well in an expensive studio or in your bedroom. A good song is a good song.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.

I’ll use this as a shoutout to all my friends, fam and music peeps that have helped Winnebago along the way! Thanks to our label lonely ghost who try their hardest for their bands and support them as best they can. Shoutout to my bandmates for putting in the work and playing their little hearts out. Shoutout to my partner Ilana who makes the bestest art for all my projects(TOP nachos, Teenage Halloween). Thanks Family Reviews for the interview and all you do for the DIY music scene. Hope to put out some new music this year for all y’all to listen to (:  

Winnebago Vacation