Luke Franks

My album “Migraines & Love” is available in full...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:32:00 -0500

My album “Migraines & Love” is available in full quality download for the first time. Click the cover to stream it or buy it.

Album - $5

Songs - $0.50 each

March 6 - Last Bay Area Show (For a While)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:02:58 -0500

Come see me (Luke) and Ruben play at the Rickshaw Stop on Saturday Night. This is going to be my last bay area show (for a while) I’m heading to GA to see my family in a few weeks and then I’m going on tour in April. I’m not sure where I’ll end up after that. If you’ve been meaning to make it out to a show or haven’t seen me play in a while I’d love to see you there on Sat.

Click For Tickets

Another great incentive for coming is to see my incredible beard in person.

It will be shaved off in the near future. See it while you can.

Also, I added comments to the website. If you want to tell me that my beard is actually a goatee, complain about the quality of the photo, or invite me over for dinner, leave a comment.

Tour - Part 3 (After)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:37:00 -0500

After crashing in Santa Cruz with our friend Isaac we drove to San Diego where we played to an empty room. After the show our new friend Will, a part time Elvis impersonator (Wilvis) let us a sleep at his place. There are no photos from San Diego. What went on will remain a mystery.

After San Diego we drove across the desert to Tuscon, AZ where we played at Shot In The Dark Cafe. The people who worked there were great and we had tasty organic food.

After the show we were planning on sleeping in the cafe when a local girl named Cassandra was kind enough to offer us a place to stay.The next morning her sister Alex gave us a tour of Tuscon

…and made us an incredible breakfast.

After Tuscon we started heading towards Houston, TX. We made it halfway and stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Ft. Stockton. It was Aaron’s first time in a Wal-Mart and he was very disappointed. I told him not to judge all Wal-Marts based off of that one. He needs to see a Super Wal-Mart.

Dairy Queens Chili Frito Burger wasn’t very good but this Buffalo head made up for it.

Texas Long Horn…

In Houston we played at another organic cafe called Bohemeo’s. It was a great night. We played with some incredible songwriters. (Jaimee Harris, David Ramirez, Chris Hawkes)

After we played we stayed at David’s parents house. They had a room with 3 single beds so we felt the three bears.

The next day we made our way to Austin and played at Flamingos Cantina on 6th st. home of the world famous south by southwest. It was a stormy night so it wasn’t as crazy as it normally would be.

Today we played at Bill’s Records in Dallas. It’s a great place, jam packed with 45’s, lps, and lots of other random, hard to find music memorabilia. Bills has live bands all day every Saturday.

We went downtown and ended up in Dealey Plaza. It was surreal to see it in real life.

We’re about to head to Crooked Tree for our second show of the day. g2g. ttyl. <3.

Tour - Part 2

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:48:44 -0500

I’ve lost track of days, so this will just be called part 2.

Internet is pretty scarce.

Since my last post we’ve played in Seattle, Santa Cruz, and Tuscon.

Right now I’m in a cafe in Houston getting ready to play.

On our way to Seattle we stayed a night in Portland. The next morning our new friend Tyler took us to Pine Street Biscuits where we had the best biscuits & gravy ever. (sorry grandma)

That night we played at Seattle’s oldest Saloon. Before we played we had some time to kill so we walked around the city.

After the show we were able to stay with our good friend Madison in Tacoma. We got 3 hours of sleep and then hit the road for Santa Cruz where we played a house show.

Santa Cruz was awesome. We made a lot of new friends and hopefully a few fans.

That’s all for now.

Tour - Day 1 & 2

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:52:00 -0500

We survived our first day of tour. We played a house show in Arcata, CA at the Tree House. We had the best soup ever.

The show went really well.

This morning my alarm went off for 25 minutes. I didn’t wake up until I heard Aaron leaving for coffee. We were able to pack the van and leave in time to make it to Portland tonight, but 2 hours out of town…

We had to cancel our show in Portland. The vans in the shop. We’re sleeping in Arcata again. Hopefully we’ll be able to set up a Portland show for tomorrow night.

Here’s some solid gold…

We’re leaving today to begin our tour. Be sure to check...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:09:43 -0500

We’re leaving today to begin our tour. Be sure to check back for updates, videos, and pictures. Also check the shows page to see if we’re playing in a city near you.

The new Federalists album “The Way We Ran” is out...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:25:13 -0500

The new Federalists album “The Way We Ran” is out now on ITunes and we’re about to leave on our first tour. Check out the shows section for dates. Hope to see you on the road.

Video

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:16:52 -0400

The show last night w/ Aaron Godwater went great. Check back in...

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:08:00 -0400

The show last night w/ Aaron Godwater went great. Check back in the next few days for video.

Free Show - Saturday 8/8 at 6/|Pacific Bay Coffee Co./|Walnut...

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:51:10 -0400

Free Show - Saturday 8/8 at 6/|Pacific Bay Coffee Co./|Walnut Creek, CA/|w/Aaron Godwater

I'm Back!

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:03:00 -0400

Hello Internet,

I’ve neglected you, but I promise to show you more love. I know you probably don’t believe me because I promised you 12 solo albums last year and only delivered 6. I feel like I let you down. My band (The Federalists) got signed to Talking house and I had to focus on writing/recording a Federalists record and you and my solo recordings got put on hold. I’ll never let that happen again. I decided to give you everything I am and that’s why you can now follow me in more places than ever before.

http://www.myspace.com/lukefranks http://www.facebook.com/lukefranks
http://www.twitter.com/lukefranks
http://ioverheardalittlebird.tumblr.com

I’m not going to get complacent. I will continue expanding our universe my dearest internet. I’m even working on a new solo album that will hopefully make up for last years broken promises.

Please Forgive Me,
Luke Franks

Shows

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:39:00 -0400

Nov 11 2009 7:00P
The Tree House Arcata, California

Nov 12 2009 8:00P
The Red Room Portland, Oregon

Nov 14 2009 8:00P
Central Saloon Seattle, Washington

Nov 17 20098:00P
Shot In The Dark Cafe Tucson, Arizona

Nov 19 2009 8:00P
Bohemeo’s Houston, Texas

Nov 20 2009 8:00P
Flamingo Cantina Austin, Texas

Nov 21 2009 3:15P
Bill’s Records Dallas, Texas

Nov 21 2009 8:00P
Crooked Tree Coffeehouse Dallas, Texas

Nov 23 2009 8:00P
The Lost Leaf Phoenix, Arizona

Nov 28 2009 8:00P
Rickshaw Stop w/Dizzy Balloon - OUR CD RELEASE SHOW San Francisco, California

Bio

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:49:42 -0400

I’ve been writing songs for as long as I can remember. When people ask how long I’ve been playing I always tell ‘em, “The first time I remember being good enough to play for a girl was in 4th grade.” I started my first band in 5th grade. It was a Christian pop-punk-trio called “Flash.” After a few years we changed our name to “Vernon”, which was the name of the street that we practiced on. We recorded two Ep’s under that name and I hope you never come across one. They are painful to listen to, but I know it was part of the process. “Vernon” had to break up when I moved to California in 2001.

When I arrived in California I had the inspiration to write sappy ballads about missing my friends from Illinois. I scrounged up a cheap recording program that no ones heard of (N-Track Studio) and one of those long skinny white computer mics that look like they belong on The Price Is Right. I soon started work on what would become my first solo album entitled, “Journal of a Moving Man.” Having only one mic, I wasn’t’t able to record drums so I had to find other ways of filling out arrangements. I would use shakers, choirs of background vocals, pots and pans, or anything else I could find to create the illusion of production. Being forced to be inventive because of my lack of resources ended up being good training for my future recordings.

On my first day at my new school I became fast friends with a guy by the name of Clark Abbott. Our friendship was formed out of our mutual love of “Radiohead” and “At The Drive In.” We got a bassist and a drummer and started a band called “Yours Truly.” Playing in that band taught me a lot about what not to do. There were multiple leaders which inherently caused tension and creative disputes. The fact that I was young, blunt, and a perfectionist who hadn’t yet learned the concept of positive reinforcement didn’t help the situation. We lasted through high school and made some good music and some bad music.

After YT ended I talked a few of my childhood friends (Sam Swinson and Zak Kruz) in to moving from IL to CA and we started a band called “radio, radio”. Zak only stayed for a few months but me and Sam kept writing and recording. After about a year we still weren’t getting much traction and Sam decided to move back as well. I continued working on what we’d started and it became the album “Soft Enough To Hit”

When I finished the album I began looking for guys to help me perform the songs live. I ended up being joined by Brandt Walker on bass, Jason Roysdon on guitar, and Dustin Smith on drums. These guys brought so much to the songs that it was obvious that it had become a band. We named ourselves The Federalists and have been playing for the past 4 years or so. We’ve signed with Talking House Records, released 2 albums and gone through many changes both sonically and in reguards to personel. Our third album “The Way We Ran” is mixed and mastered and should be coming out in the next few months.

Although my focus shifted from solo to the band, I’ve still been writing, recording, and playing solo music that you can download here for free.

Photo

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:20:49 -0400