(PRWEB) June 15, 2005
"Rudy" Fran Smith, Jr. might not be a household name, but there is an excellent chance he has been in your ears before as the bass player for The Hooters. With his band the Ten Cent Millionaires, Fran cooks up some great Beatlesque pop that proves that he could easily be a major song writer in his full time band. "Rudy" is one of the highlights of this solo effort, and it is Grade A power pop! Really good stuff! - PopBang.com
Fran Smith, Jr. has music in his blood. Best known as the bass player in The Hooters and for playing the role of Paul McCartney in Beatlemania. Fran is clearly a lover of pure pop music. His tunes recall artists like Neil Innes, Badfinger, Mitch Easter, and The Beatles. Considering the quality of the tunes on "Man Meets Machine," one can't help but wonder why Smith's solo career has not overshadowed his bass playing stint with The Hooters. While his solo recordings are side projects, they sound like anything but. Fran writes clear, catchy, upbeat pop tunes that are easy on the ears and stick in the mind like glue. Not surprisingly, the sound quality is superb throughout and the vocals are brilliant. Top notch cuts include "Man Meets Machine," "Leonardo," "Shut Down Land," "Nothing In Return," and "Demented Supermarket." Fifteen great tunes. (Rating: 5+) - Babysue.com/LMNOP Reviews
Outstanding! Fans of David Grahame, The Semantics, Toy Matinee, Bill Lloyd, Owlsey, P. Hux and Sun Sawed In 1/2 this is something truly special to pay attention to. The spot-on Ram-era McCartney of "Leonardo" is worth the price of admission, such is the truly stellar nature of everything on this incredibly striking release that is rife with ringing 12 stringed guitars, exhilarating arrangements and brilliant, richly produced hooks. Thick, fleshed-out and richly produced melody structures (translation: extremely high production values), gorgeous vocals, high-reaching arrangements and song-after-song of memorable music...This is his most impressive solo outing that is a wonderfully sunny display of smoothly delivered guitar lines that slice the jugular - and a smile on the face. Surrender yourself to the captivating, gripping bewitching charms of Fran Smith Jr. No doubt here: Extremely Highly Recommended! - Bruce Brodeen, Notlame.com
Fran Smith, Jr. has enjoyed an illustrious career in music for over twenty-five years. For the past fifteen years, he has secured the bass playing duties in The Hooters. This band, which is originally from Philadelphia, has become one of the hottest bands in Europe. The Hooters have just returned from a four-week tour in Germany where they played more than 20 sold out performances. They have done extensive stadium tours, appeared on numerous television programs, and even performed at the Wall concert, in Berlin, with Pink Floyd. During one of their last trips to Germany, The Hooters filmed a television commercial for the largest railway system in Germany. Their latest CD, Largo, started as the recording sessions for a new Hooters album, but evolved into a collaboration between The Hooters and great guest artists like Taj Mahal, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Joan Osborne, The Chieftains, Carole King, Cyndi Lauper, David Forman, and Willie Nile.
"For me, it's very spiritual in content. You can correlate deeper meanings to the lyrics. It's kind of like a stereogram, where you look at it and see one pattern, then start moving away from it and see another pattern emerging. It's simple music, its power-pop." - Fran Smith, Jr.
Fran has received numerous platinum and gold records for his accomplishments with The Hooters. When Fran is not playing sold out concerts in Europe, he spends his time in a number of different ways. He plays in several original bands, including that of Eric Bazilian, the writer of Joan OsborneÂs "One of Us."
Fran has also played the role of Paul McCartney in Beatlemania, with the original Broadway cast members. Fran does many voice overs for television and radio, including a version of ÂWhen IÂm 64Â for Vanguard insurance company.
He also plays locally in his own group called Rory Kunkle. In 1996 he released a solo CD on Moskeeto Records and has performed at many clubs in the Jersey and Pennsylvania area. Several well-known artists helped to make the Rory Kunkle CD a success, including The Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Uosikkinen and Keith Mack. The CD was produced by Grammy-nominated engineer Steve Churchyard, who has produced George Michaels, The Pretenders, Pat Benetar and has worked with George Martin. Currently Fran is working on a new CD that will be released this fall. Fran has produced many projects ranging from a comedy record with Joe Piscapo to Flo and Eddy of The Turtles.
For the past four years, Fran has been playing the part of Carlo Cannoli in Tony and "TinaÂs Wedding," the longest running off-broadway comedy.
Fran Smith, Jr.'s music can be sampled at: http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/fransmithjr.html
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Promotional downloads of this artist's music are available upon request.
Full album downloads of this artist's music are available for review upon request.
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