Can You Dig It!

Frankenstein Five were a London, Ontario garage-rock band whose brief but intense run placed them at the centre of the city’s late-1980s and early-1990s neo-garage resurgence. Active initially from 1989–1990, and again from 1993–1995, the group drew directly from 1960s punk, fuzz, and R&B-derived garage rock, filtering those influences through a deliberately raw, snotty, and underproduced aesthetic.

The band’s roots trace back to earlier incarnations under names including The Mondales, The High Numbers, and The Hangmen, reflecting both lineup instability and a conscious stylistic regression toward increasingly primitive garage forms. Core members Rob Munro (guitar, vocals) and James Bond (organ, vocals) anchored the group’s sound, joined at various points by Mark Ordas (guitar), Jason Kipfer (bass), Mark Wood (drums), and a rotating cast of bassists and drummers drawn from London’s underground scene. Bond—whose real name became a frequent point of humour in local press—also served as the band’s most vocal spokesperson and informal archivist.

Frankenstein Five quickly established themselves as a ferocious live act, earning opening slots for visiting garage revivalists such as The Gruesomes, and headlining packed local shows at venues including The Brunswick Hotel. Their sound—often described locally as “The Beatles meet the Ramones”—combined fuzz-heavy guitars, Farfisa-style organ, pounding drums, and snarling dual vocals, with setlists drawing heavily from obscure 1960s punk singles alongside carefully chosen later-era garage revival material.

In January 1994, the band recorded their debut cassette, Can You Dig It!, at CHRW Radio Western, capturing their live-off-the-floor energy under intentionally primitive conditions. The tape circulated locally through CHRW and campus-scene channels and became a touchstone document of London’s underground garage network. Additional demos, live recordings, and interviews were later compiled across ultra-limited CDr releases on the Chicobananas imprint, issued in editions of fewer than 50 copies.

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Frankenstein Five’s reputation had grown retrospectively. Their compilation Kill & Go Hide! reached #1 on CHRW 94.7 FM’s Top 30 chart in August 2000, underscoring the band’s lasting impact within the London college-radio ecosystem despite their earlier dissolution. Reunion performances followed, including a 2000 show at the Brunswick and additional appearances in London and Hamilton in 2001.

Though their recorded output was minimal and intentionally ephemeral, Frankenstein Five remain a key example of London’s DIY garage-punk continuum, bridging 1960s revivalism, campus radio culture, and the enduring appeal of fuzz-driven rock played loud, fast, and without apology.
-Robert Williston

Musicians
Jason Kipfer: bass (“Baron of the Bass”)
Mark Wood: drums, other (“sandwiches”)
Mark “Fishboy” Ordas: lead guitar, noises (“mooping noises”)
Rob “Rooster” Munro: rhythm guitar, vocals
James Bond: vocals, organ

Songwriting
‘Go Away’ — written by The Plague
‘Feel It’ — written by MacKay, McKim
‘Don’t Look Back’ — written by Vera
‘Going All The Way’ — written by Michael Bouyea
‘He’s Waiting’ — written by Roslie
‘It’s a Cryin’ Shame’ — written by The Gentlemen
‘Writing on the Wall’ — written by 5 Canadians
‘Kill and Go Hide’ — written by Bond
‘99th Floor’ — written by Gibbons
‘1523 Blair’ — written by Carson, Ryan
‘Psychotic Reaction’ — written by Count Five

Production
Produced by The Frankenstein V and Rob Svilpa
Engineered by Rob Svilpa
Recorded and produced at CHRW Studios, London, Ontario, January 1994

Artwork
Graphics and layout by Jody Pfohl