Chris Frasco: After the EP A songwriter's struggle for success in New York City. I spent 9 months recording my debut EP... Now what?! This blog will detail my day-to-day life as I try to move my career forward as performer, writer, and producer. The music scene in New York City is no joke. There are thousands of us out here trying to live the dream. Few will rise to the top. I'm not expecting an easy ride. here we go....           February 22, 2010     Music Video + Free Download + Recap...  Things have been up, down, and just generally insane. My apologies for the blog silence... let's bring you up to speed! News Overview: Free Download of "Anchor for the month of March!! "Anchor" has an OFFICIAL Music Video!! Steadily climbing since its debut, "Anchor" is now #65 in the Top 100!! Recent NYC shows at Trash Bar, National Underground, Brooklyn Lyceum... Headlining a show at National Underground on March 12th!! I'm offering a free download of the single, "Anchor," to anyone who makes the effort to come to the website. I'm hoping that people will signup for my mailing list, listen to the album, and consider buying it. It takes tons of time, effort, and money for unsigned artists to record/promote our music... so please support those you appreciate!! Click Here for the download page. I have a music video!!! How cool is that?! I was lucky enough to have my friend, Alex Sherman, direct it. It made the whole process much more comfortable right from the start. He already knew the song and he was really open to my ideas... as well as bringing a great creative vision all his own to the table. Going into this, I knew that I didn't want to just lip-sync to the album version. As much as that's the general procedure for a music video, it seems kinda silly to do that as a non-celebrity. Instead, I suggested that we do a stripped-down acoustic version of it. I played the song live with just my acoustic guitar six or seven times and he filmed it from a billion different angles. We ended up using the audio tracks from the FIRST TAKE ... which made me feel pretty darn good! :) You can watch the video on the aforementioned download page or on YouTube. It's been quite an experience writing a song, recording it, releasing it, and then having it hit the radio AND THRIVE!!! "Anchor" is up to #65 in the Adult Contemporary charts nationwide!! UNBELIEVABLE!! The craziest thing about this radio success is the realization that it doesn't immediately translate to fans. Me and my "Duo Du Jour" played three shows in the New York City area in the last couple of weeks. The attendance was less than impressive at all of them. It takes time. I know that. I just hate waiting. I'm so proud of this music and the musicians I have with me... I want people to see it!! They need to!! I need to rethink my strategy for promoting myself in New York. I think the reality of the situation is that 20-somethings don't listen to the radio much. They listen to their iPods, Blackberries, Pandora, etc etc etc... So, going forward, I need to make an effort to reach people who aren't friends, acquaintances, or facebook-junkies... I'm going to try a few different ways to get people to come out on March 12th. My "Duo Du Jour" and I will be headlining National Underground in SoHo!! It would be a real bummer not to have good attendance for that... That's all for now. Enjoy the Video, Download "Anchor," Signup for the Mailing List!!! Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------     February 13, 2010     Tons of News...   I feel like the world's lamest blogger. It's been over two weeks since I've updated. Inexcusable. I kept getting halfway through a new entry and deciding that I was rambling... but a lot has been going on.... "Anchor" hit #76 in the Top 100 this week!!! There's no fine print to that, "Anchor" was the 76th most played song nationwide this week. 76 out of 100 may not sound like much, but I am unsigned, which makes it UNBELIEVABLE!!! It's so hard to get commercial radio stations to play an unsigned song once, nevermind enough to make the charts. So, I'm in shock, disbelief, and overwhelmed with excitement. Woooooo!!!!! Joe Moser and I went to LA a week ago. We met up with old Berklee friends, networked, and I did a showcase for my promotions company. I was sick as a dog for the first 2 days of the trip, but the last two days were tons of fun! SHOWSSSSSSS!!!!!! Joe Pramik and Corey Dozier will be joining me next week for back-to-back nights of NYC shows! Great Venues! The Trash Bar Brooklyn, NY Thurs, Feb 18 8pm $6.00 OPEN BAR DURING OUR SET National Underground New York, NY Fri, Feb 19 8pm $10.00 More Soon... I promise! Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------     January 27, 2010     #1?! What does it all mean?...   My song "Anchor" is the #1 most added song to Adult Contemporary radio station playlists nationwide this week. The question I've been getting from everybody is, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?!" Here goes.... First of all... "Adult Contemporary" is the format with the largest number of radio stations nationwide. Off to a good start, right? Their "playlist" is the list of songs that they play regularly around the clock. So, it doesn't mean just one or two plays... these songs play constantly. So back to the #1 thing.... My song was added MOST this week to these playlists across the USA, beating out John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Owl City, etc etc etc Wow!! I'm loving 2010 so far. Where's my record deal, Sony?!! Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------     January 24, 2010     Rockwood Retrospective...   The show at Rockwood was definitely a success. It was my first gig with this group AND my first electric gig with the In Light and Shadow material. All things considered, it went so smoothly. The Set: Look Deep Inside Numb to Me Requiem (solo) Changes Handgun Abby, I Know Anchor Rockwood Music Hall is a great venue. The sound is fantastic. A lot of NYC clubs have stock gear because it's hard for musicians to get around the city with equipment, Rockwood takes this responsibility seriously. I played the show through their Bogner Shiva guitar amp... for those of you who aren't gear nerds, this things sells for around $3,000. The Peavey Classic 30 that I would've brought from home sells for about $550. Bogner = Serious Tone. Joe Pramik and Corey Dozier... damn those guys are good!!! Even after a couple of good rehearsals, I would say we were just barely comfortable with the material on stage. There was a lot of eye-contact cues and such. But, I would confidently say that nobody felt a bit of our hesitation, especially towards the end of the set. In Handgun, Joe got wayyyyyy into it. I looked over at him and his eyes were closed and he was bashing the snare, it was badass. Corey is a force. Everybody there (including the sound-guy) commented on how well he played. I am sooo comfortable in a rock-trio. All my best ventures in performance have been trios. Pilgrimage, Tumultuous Load, The Fantastic Frasco Fiasco ... all guitar, bass, drums. There's no net, tons of space, and infinite improvisational possibilities. I feel like it's a surprisingly uncommon format nowadays. Most bands I see have 5 members or more, which is awesome for sound layering and visual appeal, but there's just something about a huge sound emanating from only 3 people that I dig. I have to find a middle ground in my performance persona ... as weird as that sounds. In the past, I've been really animated and crazy at electric shows. But even when playing electric, singer/songwriter material doesn't call for antics. I have to find the line between animated and introspective. I felt like I was a little too shy with my body language last night. Meanwhile, Corey was rocking outtttttt!!! I sent press kits to venues all around NYC, so there should be more shows booked very soon!! Stay tuned.... Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------     January 23, 2010     10 Hours til Rockwood!!   Fried Chicken, Pizza, Beer, Vodka, and Whiskey all in one night. Really Frasco?!!? This is how I treat my body? I woke up at 6am feeling like I had walked across a desert. The only thing on the list that isn't overtly dehydrating is the Pizza, but I'm sure it didn't help. So, I took to the streets and got tons of bottled water and some tylenol (for good measure.) The gig at Rockwood Music Hall is 10 hours away and I'm feeling great about it. Joe, Corey, and I rehearsed again today, and right from the get-go we were on. The first two rehearsals were a bit laborious because we had to learn the songs and arrange them for a trio. Today we were just having fun. We ironed out some kinks and tightened up some hits, but for the most part we were just rocking out and goofing off. This trio is ready to melt faces. I've been thoroughly enjoying playing with Joe and Corey this week. It's been a long time since I've had a rehearsal with a complete absence of ego. The first rehearsal with a new group almost always has a silent power struggle, but these guys just love to play. And despite the fact that we're playing my songs, I feel no need to be "in charge." It's great. Relaxed. Music for the sake of music. That's why I picked up a guitar in the first place. Chris Frasco Trio Rockwood Music Hall 5:00pm   $5.00 Suggested (no actual cover) 184 Allen Street New York, NY Don't miss it!!! Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------     January 22, 2010     Rockwood Music Hall   It's been so long since I've played electric guitar in a live band!! The trio I'm playing with at Rockwood Music Hall (on Saturday at 5pm) had our second rehearsal today. Things are really coming together and sounding great. The new trio features Joe Pramik, who played on several In Light and Shadow tracks, on drums and Corey Dozier on bass. If you read my recording blog, you already know how fond I am of Joe's playing ... and he handpicked Corey to play for us ... enough said. Even though the album has such an electric sound, I wrote all the songs on acoustic. I've also performed them on acoustic many times now. Approaching this material in an electric setting feels so different!! I really didn't expect it to, but of course it does... Even visually, looking down at my Strat - rather than my Ovation - brings a completely different mindset with it. The challenge of singing effectively over a band is no joke either. The higher belting range of my voice is really comfortable in this setting, while my lower range becomes harder to control. I really need a guitar built for this sound. I had originally planned to play my Heritage H555 Semi-Hollow, which has a very Les Paul-like timbre to it, but it didn't work. I didn't feel like it responded to the dynamics of my playing and the overall sound didn't have enough clarity. I settled on my Strat, which is ALMOST perfect. Ideally, I think I'd get another Strat or a Tele and put hum-canceling single coils in it. I've been getting a lot of questions about my music being on the radio. Here's the deal: I've sent 350 CDs out to commercial and college stations throughout the US. I've got a promotions firm behind me and they're certain that In Light and Shadow, specifically "Anchor," will do well on major stations. The college stations might favor "Handgun" a bit more. Starting next friday, you'll have FULL DISCLOSURE on this whole topic: The stations that have it. Who's playing it. Everything. I need some time to organize the info and type it up before I can post it. I hope you're all enjoying the new chrisfrasco.net!! Please alert me to any issues, hiccups, misspellings, errors, etc that you encounter. :) Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------     January 16, 2010     New and Improved   Welcome to version 2.0 of chrisfrasco.net I've had this in the works for a couple months and it's finally finished. I'm really excited to have a sleeker, more professional looking website. One of this site's main features is the amazing photography by Emily Pearsons, Stephanie Green, Jeremy Mack, and Elizabeth Cofrancesco. This is going to be a really interesting year. I just shipped 100 copies of In Light and Shadow out to radio stations across the USA for airplay. We'll see what comes of that. I have a bunch of footage that I'm in the process of editing for YouTube. I'm trying to promote this album any way I can. I'm playing at Rockwood Music Hall on Saturday, January 23. It'll be my first electric gig with all this new material. I'm pumped. I've been doing a lot of solo performances lately, which I really enjoy, but there's no substitute for plugging in a strat and jamming out with a band. I'm hoping to get some really good audio/video recordings from this show. More Later! Frasco ------------------------------------------------ Back to Main ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------   Blog Archive In Light and Shadow Blog: Aug 4, 2009 through Dec 13, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------

All songs, music, lyrics, and blog entries written by singer / songwriter / guitarist : Chris Frasco
In Light and Shadow © 2009 Chris Frasco. All Rights Reserved. Titles registered to Christopher David Frasco, Frasco Publishing (ASCAP)