ItsAboutMusic.com Signs The Hooters' Bassist Fran Smith, Jr.
ItsAboutMusic.com Signs The Hooters' Bassist Fran Smith, Jr. To Their Roster Of More Than 240 Great Artists.
(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 Osborne’s
"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 “When I’m 64” 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 "Tina’s Wedding," the longest running off-broadway
comedy.
Fran Smith, Jr.'s music can be sampled at: http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/fransmithjr.html
Press
photos are available for download at the following location:
http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/lib/itsaboutmusic/smith-press-shot.jpg
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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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb251090.htm