S3 MUSIC + SOUND

FRANKIE SPELLMAN

Frankie Spellman did his first club gig when he was only 8 years old. Playing trombone and singing in his dysfunctional family band. By the time he hit high school, Spellman understood the trombone would not fuel his rock-and-roll dreams so he wisely switched to guitar and focused on song writing. Upon graduating High School, Frankie’s father, (a prominent Boston Surgeon) suggested that Frankie attend tractor trailer driving school. Frankie however, yearned to attend Berklee College of Music. But, as his dad saw it, going to college for music was like going to Italy for a slice of pizza. No necessaryio. Frankie convinced his parents to let him attend Emerson College in Boston. At Emerson Frankie excelled in Film and Fine Arts.

After graduation, Spellman moved to L.A. to become an actor. One day Frankie got his shot at stardom and auditioned for the part of a young Nazi Captain running a concentration camp. When the cast watched Frankie’s playback, tears were flowing. Not because Frankie’s acting was so good, but because everyone found him hysterical. “It’s not that you suck,” the casting director told a dismayed Frankie, “The stuff that comes out of you is just, funny. I think it’s in your eyebrows?” “Oh yeah!” a pissed off Frankie barked back, “ You sick bastards find the holocaust is funny?” That only made the cast and crew laugh harder.

Frankie gave up on acting, moved back east and joined a wedding band. That band was where he got to work with his musical soul mate, Stevie Buzzell. Frankie recalled in a recent interview, “Stevie and I hated most of the songs we had to play. But we still rocked our asses off. I quit after a year. The real magic happened when Stevie and I started writing together. I was a good songwriter but not a technically strong musician. As I matured, this ceased to matter. I play well enough to lay down what I hear in my head on several instruments. Stevie’s musicianship and love of chord construction works perfectly with my passion for melody and lyrics. Spellman continued. “We started writing some really good songs. “

Frankie still held on to his dream of making it. His music was heard by L.A. record producer, Jeff Weber. “Jeff was producing Kenny Rankin and David Benoit around the time he called me. I’ll never forget the two words he used to describe my songs, ‘refreshingly funny!’ I was about to hang up on the rat bastard when he said, ‘Let’s make a record with, and he listed the best session players on the planet. I looked down and noticed a puddle on the floor.... I had peed myself. JVC records signed me and the details were to be worked out. Jeff and I became friends and were really pumped about the CD. The day I got out to L.A., JVC dropped me for a rap artist.”

Frankie’s went back to playing solo. His low point was performing his music at a charity held at a McDonalds. A gig Frankie calls, “The McSuckfest.” After that gig Frankie played at a crab house in Florida where he couldn’t be heard over the banging of the claw cracking mallets. Frankie wrote his 4th CD, “Blues Without a Net.” Which is as good a CD as you could ever own. But since Frankie was not a sanctioned “ blues artist,” by the blues powers that be, he got squat for airplay. One of the tunes on the cd, “Holy Hell,” was picked up by a ski company and used on a national commercial. A friend talked about the success Frankie had with Holy Hell to a media music company in L.A. They asked Frankie and Stevie to write background tunes for shows such as, The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie and the crappy reality show, “Starting Over.”

Frankie Spellman is a tough guy to pin down, musically. Sometimes he's warm and fuzzy singer-songwriter type. Sometimes he's a keen, detached observer, commenting on hipster chic. Sometimes he's funny, sometimes he's mean. His influences range from Hoagy Carmichael to Tom Waits. "Blues Without a Net," is one of my favorite CD’s of all time. With lyrics like, “I must have to been on crack the day I made you my wife.” How can you not love his music?

I truly feel he is one of the best singer songwriters alive today. Just listen to his song, “Slip Away” and then tell me differently. To sum it all up. If you want to hear something creative and clever. listen to Frankie Spellman. In a music world so full of pabulum, Frankie Spellman is refreshingly funny. (Sorry Frankie!)

-Cogs Baitwell 2007

Frankie Spellman has recorded 5 cd’s. "Pastels in Shade" in 1991, "Bongo Cafe" in 1994 and "Dreams in the Tide" in 1998 - “Blues Without a Net” in 2001 and “Spellbound in 2004.” He and Stevie Buzzell own Spellman/Buzzell Media Music a.k.a. writersofmusic.com They have recently composed the score for the upcoming Canobie Films movie, “Hats Off.” He lives in Juno Beach, Florida with his wife and two children. He is a music teacher at a private school. And he has vowed to never act again.

P.S. His great uncle was Cardinal Spellman of New York.

“Blues Without A Net” is available on itunes.

www.frankiespellman.com

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Feather Light

:23

Sweet, melancholy rubato solo piano.

stinger

Minor Picking

2:54

Minor acoustic guitar picking calls forth memories of the past; time to live with one's decisions.

Instrumental

Midnight Cowgirl Harp

:33

Harmonica lead, rhythmic chordal guitar accompaniment.

Instrumental

Pleasure1

1:32

Guitars with country, ethnic flavor. Positive, breezy feel.

Instrumental

You Regae me Jane

:19

Reggae cue with guitars, rhythm section

Instrumental

Who's Your Daddy?

:30

Sax lead, rhythm guitar, bass and percussion in this modern jazz cue.

Instrumental

World Party 2

1:17

Quirky, humorous dance/world music with digeridoo, funky guitar, beats, violin, banjo

Instrumental

Winter Solstice

:29

Classy, jazzy modal piano and acoustic bass duet.

stinger

Why Worry?

:32

Jazz ballad-type, emotional solo acoustic piano transition.

stinger

Why I Quit Berklee