This story originally appeared in our June 10-23 print edition. Check out the edition online here and find where you can get a print edition near you here.
For the past nine years, Fruit LoOops has been pushing the boundaries of live music with post-pop performance art, turning every gig into a one-night-only spectacle. The trio consists of vocalist and creative director Jackie Switzer, drummer Patrick Apfelbeck and Kevin Hall on synths and soundscapes.
“Watching music itself is boring,” Hall said. “Or it can be boring. So we try to make it more than just a show. It’s an experience.”
In fact, they want you to be unsure of what you are experiencing.
“We’re just after things that make you kind of stop and be like, ‘Wait, what am I looking at here?’” Switzer said. “It’s not really about shock value. It’s about undercutting expectations, but in a way that isn’t overwhelming. Just enough to keep everyone on their toes.”
Fruit LoOops’ origin story is probably not like anything you’ve ever heard.
“Switzer had a dream where she was put on the spot at an open mic night, using contact mics on fruit and chopping them up,” Apfelbeck said.
Switzer posted about it in a Facebook group called the Dream Journal Collective.
“A bunch of our friends, including me, saw her post and were like, ‘This is actually a cool idea,’” Apfelbeck said. “‘Let’s try it in real life.’”
Their sets are often a compilation of whatever they can find or make — there’s a very DIY attitude about it.
“It’s just dealing with making what you can, with what you have, for costumes and physical props,” Switzer said. “I’ve known Apfelbeck for about nine years now, and Hall joined a few months after that. We all came together through other music projects. Fourth Wife, a post-punk group, was one of the bands where Apfelbeck and I first met Hall.”
What came from that was the band’s first performance.
“We tried the fruit thing, and it kind of worked,” Apfelbeck said, laughing. “Then we took it as a starting point and made electronic music with Switzer doing poetry over it.”
The band’s performances are more than just a concert; they are immersive theater, and always unpredictable.
“One of the really early sets, we had my roommate dress identically to me,” Switzer said. “I started the set, then ran to the back of the bar while my roommate, dressed the same, took my place on stage. We just like messing with the audience, amping up an expectation and then really undercutting that.”
The band aims to be interesting both audibly and visually.
“We’re definitely kind of extreme, sonically, so it made sense to be extreme visually, too,” Apfelbeck said.
The band is known for its wild themes. Anything you can think of, they’ve probably done it: checkerboard costumes, pizza mafia storylines, even a goat sacrifice.
“We had 50 red robes from the Cincinnati Boy Choir and gave them out to the audience,” Switzer said. “Then we made this effigy, and at a certain point, told everyone to rip it apart. People want an opening to interact, to feel a part of something when they go see live music.”
That sense of community is essential.
“The interactions with the audience are always personal,” Hall said. “We want people to feel included. If there’s speaking, it’s always about the world we’ve built for that set. It’s never just, ‘How are you tonight?’ It’s about inviting people into the story.”
Hall, who handles synths and studio overdubs, points out that the band’s eccentric style is also a way to bridge the gap for listeners who might be new to their abrasive, left-field sound.
“We’ve always been extremely loud, mildly to very dissonant at times,” Hall said. “We use a lot of micro-tuning. The songs can be pretty breakneck pace. Switzer’s vocal effects can be pretty abrasive. So there’s definitely a lot of elements that, if you’re not into extreme music, can push you away. The performance art gives people something to latch onto. But I wouldn’t say that’s why we do it. It’s just a nice thing that’s there. It helps give us a branch to people who wouldn’t normally be listening to this kind of music.”
Fruit LoOops has played around 200 shows, changing the theatrical set concepts for each show.
“The general rule is, we don’t play the same kind of theatrical set in the same city twice,” Switzer said. “If we’re on tour, we’ll repeat sets, but never at home.”
Where do the set ideas come from?
“It’s usually something that makes us laugh,” Switzer said. “Like, our next set is kind of about the Muppets, but really it’s about the peanut gallery — the two old men in the balcony, making fun of us. We just try to see how far we can take a simple idea with a $50 budget.”
A bit of improv plays its part, too.
“The theatrical part is kind of like a Christopher Guest or “Curb Your Enthusiasm” style,” Apfelbeck said. “We have point A and point B, but how we get there is up for grabs. The music, though, is pretty composed by the time we bring it on stage.”
Over time, their process has evolved.
“In the beginning, there wasn’t really a flow to it,” Switzer said. “Now, it’s like a play; an intro, a rise, a climax and a fall. We set out the variables, but it depends on who’s available and who wants to be there.”
The band has adapted to changes, like the departure of their original creative director, Sam, who moved to San Francisco.
“Now, sometimes we have comedians or friends step in, or we rely more on costumes and samples,” Switzer said.
Collaboration is key to how Fruit LoOops navigates so many creative voices.
“We’re all pretty opinionated,” Apfelbeck said. “But if someone has a strong idea, we’re good at rolling with it. Veto power is respected — if someone’s not into it, we don’t force it. We just follow the enthusiasm.”
“We’re all friends, so if someone’s serious about not wanting to do something, that’s it,” Switzer agreed. “We just want to be on the same page.”
Despite the challenge of living in different cities, the band still manages to perform as often as possible.
“We perform as much as we can because that’s the way to practice together, to evolve anything,” Switzer said. “It’s fun, and it reinforces the trajectory we’re trying to go forward with.”
Playing live is also their playground.
“I like to road test our new songs,” Apfelbeck said. “I’m not trying to write for the crowd, but it’s helpful to see what works. You can feel the energy in the room and iterate in the studio afterward.”
While the band has many favorite places to perform, they do have some that stand above the rest.
“Motor’s up there,” Apfelbeck said. “Northside Tavern can be cool too. But special shout out to Design Collective. They’ve been super supportive from the get-go, always an open invitation to play there. And they just get it. You can go to them with a wild idea and they’ll help make it happen.”
Now all we can ask is: what’s next?
“Finishing the album,” Switzer said. “We’ve been in the midst of a sound shift. It used to be more trap-influenced, frenetic, stop-and-start, but now it’s moving toward four-on-the-floor, still aggressive and dissonant, but with a danceable beat underneath.”
Switzer is also evolving as a performer, she said.
“I do a lot of vocal processing through pedals, but lately I’ve been dialing back the distortion, trying to get cleaner, maybe a little influenced by hyperpop, but still living in an abstract world.”
Hall echoes the excitement, saying he is really happy with the direction the group is moving in.
“There’s a lot of music right now where you can tell it’s a noise-rock musician who’s now basically making outsider techno, but as an individual artist rather than a live band,” Hall said. “I think we’ve hit on something that’s really unique for a multi-instrument, live band setting.”
With a new album brewing and a summer of shows ahead, Fruit LoOops is ready for whatever comes next.
“We have over 100 set concepts, and we’re always trying to push it further,” Switzer said. “We’re just following the laughs and seeing how far we can take it.”
For more information about Fruit LoOops, including upcoming show time and album releases, follow the band on Instagram at @fruitnloops
This article appears in June 10-23, 2026.
