A Dirty Dozen with FRAME 42 – December 2021 (BMA)

According to a recent press release: “This group of artists has shocked their audiences with their natural talent and pure entertainment power. Frame 42 started in Lapeer, MI, under the direction of four-time Grammy nominee Deb Barber.  Their style has evolved from many genres, based on a foundation in classic rock. Their expanding set of original songs has been widely received by their growing fan base.  Constantly evolving, Frame 42 respects the classic artistry of the past and has developed it into their unique sound fronted by two female lead singers. Frame 42 is finishing 2021 bol:, eager, and ready to rock their audiences with their EP, UNDERCROFT, produced by a multi-Grammy winning producer. All six band members of Frame 42 are from the Lapeer and surrounding areas in Michigan. Frame 42 is a finalist for the 5th Annual Banger Music Awards in the following category: ROCKIN’ THE D AWARD.” We get the band to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

This was exciting because it was our first release and ep ever. Something interesting that even the boys picked up on was a little word play in our song “Release.” When we say “to foresee it” it sounds like “two four” which backwards is “four two” or “42”. Another cool thing is Arianna’s singing bowl through the whole song of Paranoia. That’s the sound that you hear at the end of the song as well.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician? Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Ava: I have always been into music. I have a video at my second birthday party where I sit in my grandma’s living room and bang on the piano for my family. In third grade, I would have “sing-offs” between myself, my friend Peyton, and two girls a grade older than us. That was around the time I started taking guitar lessons with Deb. Then I took a few violin and piano lessons soon after. Unfortunately, those didn’t stick. What really inspired me to start writing was seeing the Beatles Cirque du Soleil when I was 12.

Arianna: What got me into music was definitely my Dad. He gave me an iPod filled with miscellaneous genres. That’s what made me start singing and I wasn’t good to begin with, that’s for sure haha. But what really made me want to be a musician was definitely when I first got a taste of Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster album. There was no one like her and she was so outspoken and unique and fearless. That’s who I wanted to be. On top of that, my first concert was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, with special guest Heart. That was my very first taste of live music and I never want to live without it.

Michael: I think that what got me into music was just being around it growing up and my parents surrounding me with classic rock. The moment I realized I wanted to be a musician was when I was first starting out and I realized I was able to recreate the classics that I’ve been growing up on with my own fingers. I would say that my very first concert, which was Kiss, guided me to what I would want to create and what I would eventually base my life around.

Ben: What got me into music initially was my parents who played everything for me from Michael Jackson to Metallica. But my friends were the ones who really pushed rock on me. What really set me in the direction of becoming a musician was seeing Iron Maiden in concert and witnessing the energetic and explosive performance they put on. From that day on, I knew I wanted to do the same thing.

Brock: I used to get into trouble all the time in an online game design class I took in eighth grade. The teacher was really strict and didn’t like music at all, so it was always a sort of “grand heist” to listen to music. But I always wanted to go further and watch full concerts in that class. I had been playing music for two years by that point and started to dip my toe into the heavier spectrum where I currently reside. I’ll never forget watching the video of Metallica in Seattle in 1989 playing “Master of Puppets.” Seeing how cool the four guys seemed playing the tune really drew me in, and really made me serious about playing music.

Lucas: I always had music around when I was young. I started super young so I think what got me into music was just I was always jammin’ on a table to everything so I got put into lessons. And the first major time I believed and knew it was possible to be a musician for a living when we recorded the album with Toby because we have never heard ourselves like that before and that was just such a surreal experience. I don’t have an artist, but some songs that can kind of outline my musical taste are “Boogie Nights,” “I Can’t Go For That,” and “Thrill Is Gone.”

3. What was your reaction to being included in the Banger Music Awards process? Did you ever think what you were doing would be elevated to “award” status?

This is the first award we’ve ever been nominated for as a band, so naturally it was very exciting to be recognized! For us a big dream is to be eventually nominated for a Grammy and being nominated for the Banger Music Award just assures us we’re on the right track.

4. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We would describe our music as classic or nostalgic, but new at the same time. We have a female dual-lead vocal paired with classic rock instrumentals which is extremely uncommon and makes us stand apart from other bands. With that comes the comparison of being “the next Heart”. While we like Heart, we disagree that we sound like them at all. We have also been compared to Fleetwood Mac. We feel that our lyrical style and vocal and instrumental harmonies make us unique. We want people to listen to us for what we bring and not compare us to anything.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

As a band, we think it would be cool to do a song with Joyous Wolf since we just got off tour with them and our styles are pretty similar. We also think it would be cool to collab with Greta Van Fleet since we are both from Michigan.

6. How important to you is the local music scene and acceptance by not only the fans but also your peers?

Very very very important. This is the foundation. If you can’t be accepted by your own town or your peers, then you need to do some reflecting and try something different. Lucky for us, we have a mutual respect with all of our local music family. We always love to support other local bands when we get the chance.

https://youtu.be/ZXU29b2dfgQ

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

When we hang out together, we usually leave the cooking to Culver’s or Applebee’s. As far as drinks, the diet coke and chocolate milk are always flowing. Brock is almost always the first person to get the guitar out.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

The last time we were starstruck was getting to meet Joyous Wolf before being asked to go on tour with them. It was also pretty cool on tour meeting and hanging out with all of the tech crew from Foreigner.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is to make music, simple as that. Also, it is great being able to express yourself through our music. Technically there are some rules when writing music, but you have full freedom to do whatever you want. We also love traveling and hanging out together for a living. If we weren’t musicians, here’s a fun list of careers we may have chosen:

Ben: Commercial fisherman

Michael: Navy

Brock: Mechanical Engineer

Ava: Children’s Author or a Teacher

Lucas: Bodybuilder

Arianna: Culinary Artist

10. What is one question you would like an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

If you could pick anyone to cover your songs, who would it be? Weird Al doing a parody of one of our songs or a Lady Gaga and Metallica collaboration. The one question we are tired of answering is how we came up with the name and how we got together.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Honestly, we would do nothing over. We are firm believers in “everything happens for a reason” and all of our past decisions and actions have gotten us to where we are today.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Ava: Beatles – The Get Back Rooftop Concert. I would love to sit and write with The Beatles. It was interesting to me to watch the new documentary on Disney+ of them writing for their rooftop concert.

Arianna: Lady Gaga – Fame Monster

Lucas: Led Zeppelin, because they are a legendary sound or Snarky Puppy, because sitting in on one of their sessions would be amazing.

Ben: Alice in Chains – Jar of Flies. After working with Toby Wright, who produced that album, and hearing stories about how they worked, I would love to go back and experience that.

Michael: Passion and Warfare – Steve Vai.

Brock: Van Halen. In order just to experience Eddie Van Halen.

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Category: Interviews