KYLE THOMAS

When Frankie joined Exhorder back in 1990 I believe, it just so happened to be 
amid some of our darkest days as a band.  We were struggling to find a good 
tour that everyone in the band could actually participate in, and had to come 
up with the successor of our debut album.  I knew Frankie before hand, but 
only casually from hanging out at Last Stop.  My earliest memory was him 
kicking my ass in pool in a random game.  He was so polite about it though; he 
didn't gloat once.  When he joined the band, he immediately got settled in and 
clowned around as if he had always belonged.  This, of course, rubbed me 
wrong.   
I was so unhappy with many things in my life at that time and somehow I 
managed to channel it onto him sometimes.  He tried to make friends with me, 
but I wasn't having it.  Don't get me wrong- we got along okay, but anyone 
that knows me knows that I'm particular about my closest circle and I can make 
things difficult when I choose to.  We toured together across the U.S. and 
Europe, and all the while just kind of coexisted.  The state of the band 
really just put an exclamation point on the whole thing.  It wasn't until we 
had broken up and reformed in 2001 that I finally softened up to him. 
I bumped into Frankie at Pat's Pub one night shortly after Katrina.  Very few 
people were home yet, and since Pat's was one of the only bars open it was 
always busy.  We got to talking and after we told each other our horror 
stories about the hurricane, I told him how great it was to see him and 
invited him over to the house.  He suddenly stopped and looked at me with an 
incredulous look on his face and simply said, "Really?".  I affirmed my offer 
and when I asked him why he asked he said bluntly, "I didn't even think you 
liked me".  Boy, did I feel abut an inch tall at that moment!   
Immediately I sat down with him, ordered us a couple of drinks and bared my 
soul to him.  Truly I did not harbor any ill will or dislike for him, it was 
again just bad timing for him when he joined.  Exhorder was a band in turmoil 
and everything that went on internally back then was usuall not without issue 
or friction.  Ever since that night I have made sure that I hugged Frankie 
when I saw him, we told each other we love each other upon ending a 
conversation- not every single time but enough.  Frankie was welcome in my 
home, and never behaved disrespectfully to my wife or children.  Although our 
friendship was not deeply rooted as many of his other friendships were, it was 
genuine.  I only wish I could tell him all of this again.   
Frankie was never a guy that we really had to wonder where he was.  If we 
were jamming, he was there.  I am a decent bass player, but Frankie was easily 
one of the best of his kind.  Take that from me, I know what it takes and he 
had it.  We have had some very talented bass players come through over the 
years and try to win the job, but he just made it look easy where they 
struggled.  The dude flat out ripped.  It will be tough to step on the stage 
without him, but I know Frankie would want us to keep going.  I have a feeling 
that we are going to have some tough moments in the upcoming shows. 
To Bobbi, her children, Frankie's children and his family, my words will 
never take away the pain that we all share in the loss of such a great guy.   
Still, I express to each and every one of you that my heart is with you all in 
this awful tragedy.  Frankie belonged to all of us at some point and we should 
all cherish the gift of him that we shared.  May we all find comfort in one 
another and keep the good memories of Frankie alive.  It's what he would have 
wanted, I am quite sure.  He always managed to get us laughing when the road 
got hard for Exhorder.  I can only imagine how it was in his everyday life 
outside of the band.  Frankie, I love you, I miss you and I hope you are 
jamming out hard with Randy Rhoads somewhere...KT   

 
...I knew Frank for about 12 years..I did not get to know him as well until the immediate aftermath of Katrina. He was staying down near the quarter as I do. And he would come by One Eyed Jacks while we still had National Guard and Curfew. So Frank being Frank, says to me....Fuck this, I'm callin a few people. Lets lock the door and they cant do shit". And we proceed to lock the door and have a "Private Party" and just all passed out drunk, and said fuck you to the Patrols...then we got up and went to my quarter apt, sat in the courtyard and played my Congas and Bongos so fucking loud for two hours out in the morning's blinding sun..It was priceless, I will miss you Frank...as we all will..............Mike Holderbeast

 

 

Hi, 
this is Joerg from Germany. I`m an exhorder fan since the slaughter album. 
And "The Law" is a holy piece of music history for me. Got the album about 
five times. 
I built up my special exhorder bike. And I can say I´m a loyal and true fan. 
So I am really shocked to read about his dead on the homepage. 
The first time I saw Exhorder live was 1992 in Bad Wörishofen/Germany. 
The last time was on the Rock Hard Festival 2010. That was also the time I 
met Frankie personally. 
I talked a long time with him. He was looking for a stein. But of course he 
didn`t get one on 
the festival. So I promised him to send him two. And I did it. Frankie was 
inspired and want to 
send me an exhorder shirt. He forget becaus he had so much to do. He moved 
to Texas and got married. We stay all the time in contact. Two weeks ago he 
send me a mail whith an apologize. But he didn`t 
have to apologize. He was just a friend of mine. I´m proud to get to know a 
person like Frankie. 
Best wishes to my exhorder brothers. 
Frankie got a place in my heart. 
Rest in peace, brother. 
Yours truly 
Joerg 

.
Me and Bryan Santos, someone else Frankie met at LCC, are working on 
something else in memory of him ... possibly an instrumental piece or 
a full song. We both live about an hour apart, but I'm already set to 
do some recording around Easter, so if things work out, we may have 
something recorded by then and can possibly get it mixed this summer. 
To me, its the best way I can think to honor him- with music....Iron Man		  

 

 
 
Photos courtesy of Chris Nail circa 2001
 



 

I'm sad to hear that longtime Exhorder bassist Frankie Sparcello has left us all. Despite me never knowing him, I found Frankie to be a truly great guy who liked to have fun. At least I got to communicate with him a few times on Facebook. He seemed like a very down to earth sort of guy, and I'm sure that many people who actually knew him would agree. It's sad that such a young and talented bass player had to leave us all. I was really looking forward to seeing Exhorder play at Maryland Deathfest IX this year, but I guess it's too late for that. What truly concerns me is how his wife and kids are dealing with this -- they loved each other unconditionally, but their marriage together has been cut short. His kids are so young, it's just unfortunate that nature has decided to take him away from us. He was such a talented bassist. I'll forever remember him for those opening slapped bass riffs on the song "Un-Born Again"! 

I just hope that Exhorder continues playing shows and releasing songs. We've been waiting for so damn fucking long to finally get a successor to The Law. I'm pretty sure Frankie has already recorded his bass tracks on the new album, so I think Exhorder should release it when ready for the fans to remember Frankie's unique playing style that so few bassists can actually duplicate. The new Exhorder album is going to be the first studio album to actually feature Frankie playing all or at least most of the bass tracks (as far as I recall), so it would be a great way to dedicate it to the memory of Frankie Sparcello. If Exhorder decides to continue on, they're obviously going to have to find another bassist. However, it doesn't feel right to see another dude playing in Frankie's shoes, but what can you do? We can't have everything our own way, but I would encourage everyone at Exhorder to take a break from all this, to clear their heads on this. I honestly don't know what is to happen to Exhorder any time soon, but they should still continue on. 

I'm pretty sure Frankie would have wanted Kyle, Vinnie, Jay, and Seth to continue on for his own sake. It's his band after all, so I think that Exhorder shouldn't give up. So many people love Exhorder, and it's pretty evident when you check out the Facebook profiles of the band and the members. Lots of people paying their respects. Kyle, I'm so sorry that you lost a dear friend on your 41st birthday. I can't imagine what you're feeling right now. I do hope that you and the rest of the members the best. Exhorder SHALL prevail! Release that album for Frankie... it's what he would've wanted! I should stop writing now, because I've already said a lot.

Thank you, Frankie, for your amazing contributions to Exhorder! You have toured around the world and seen it all! I'll be blasting out Slaughter in the Vatican, The Law, and Live Death in your honor! You may be gone, but you are NEVER FORGOTTEN!!! God bless all the people who knew him and loved him like a brother.

RIP Frankie Sparcello

Sincerely, Alan