Music
Press
May 29th, 2007
Check out this awesome interview with Robert Edgar of local band Fourteen Bindlestick Frank:
The band’s background story:
I played in bands through junior high and high school and then studied electronic music composition for 5 years in college - splicing tape and razor blade composition using a roomful of Moog. I met Tom, our electric guitarist and keyboardist, in a bluegrass band in Palo Alto and met Roger, our bass player, in our world music project Ragaphonia, with Purna Prasad and Shuba Gunapu. Robin, our drummer, is my son so we’ve known each other for a long time.
Frank’s story is laid out in detail on our website (www.14bindlestickfrank.com). How much of it is true is kinda up to Frank.
Describe the first impression a new listener is likely to have of your music:
People tell me they like it, and that it doesn’t sound like anyone else’s. I compose and play some strange music sometimes, but our gravity is more popular than strange. Maybe bits of Wilco, some Neil Finn, some Don Van Vliet.
A summary of your sound would be:
Electro-acoustic compositions with tasty lyrics.
What’s your favorite song to perform live?
Ah, always our latest one. Right now our song “Lullaby for Stardust” is fun to play. It’s a song with lyrics by the local writer Ethan Place, about a satellite on its way back from capturing dust from an asteroid that is put to sleep so it has enough energy to return to earth. I use some looping in a break or two in it…all acoustic. Works well for staring at stars over the ocean.
If the band was a San Francisco landmark, it would be:
The way SF looks from the air, at night: like an ocean rock encrusted with barnacles and glistening seaweed.
Favorite SF venue:
Haven’t been to Specs in a while. Is it still there? I like the music at the Luggage Store Gallery on Thursday nights.
Other SF spots where you can be found:
Cha Cha Cha’s. And Brainwash Café…they’re great to musicians trying to play around, trading music for food. That just seems like an honorable trade.
Where do you want to be a year from now?
I have three music projects: Frank, a computer-performance project with the Berkeley artist Sonya Rapoport, and ragaphonia. I hope they all are successful, and have an audience that knows how to feel with their imagination.
If there was anything that you could make sure your fans knew, what would it be?
Art is how you learn with your senses.
Where to learn more: www.14bindlestickfrank.com, www.robertedgar.com, www.myspace.com/fourteenbindlestickfrank
- www.sanfranvoice.com
Discography
Listen to current tracks at www.14bindlestickfrank.com
Frank is presently working on their first studio album.
Photos
Bio
Robert played in bands through junior high and high school and then studied electronic music composition for 5 years in college - splicing tape and razor blade composition using a roomful of Moog. He met Tom in a bluegrass band in Palo Alto and met Roger, in a world music project Ragaphonia. Robert and Robin have known each other for a long time.
People say they like Frank's music, and that it doesn’t sound like anyone else’s. They compose and play some strange music sometimes, but the gravity is more popular than strange. Maybe bits of Wilco, some Neil Finn, some Don Van Vliet.
Then there's Frank's legend.
Some say Frank “hopped the westbound special” a long time ago. “I heard he froze when the gondola he was ridin’ got sidetracked durin’ a blizzard up in the Dakotas,” says one old ‘bo. “They put his body in a reefer car and it gets coupled to one cross-country freight after another, without no bill of lading or nothin’ official. He just goes back and forth down the line forever, kinda lyin’ in state you might say.” But many others are sure Frank is alive and well. He’ll show up in a ‘bo jungle somewhere, toss a few victuals in the slumgullion simmering on the fire, twist up some dream leaf, and serenade the vags until the moon turns red or the bulls come over and roust them out. He’s got a lot of monikers, a lot of tunes, but it’s always Frank.
It’s the milk and honey line, alright. Whistle wailin’, highballin’ gandydancin’ all the way back to the roundhouse.
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