hanging francis

Hanging Francis is a punk ass power pop foursome based in Atlanta, GA. Formed by singer/guitarist Johnny Powell, the band set off to make waves in the local music scene and that they did. With an English degree, Johnny turned his talent for writing prose into writing emotive lyrics. Johnny met the band’s current drummer Randall Gregg at a late night diner, notorious for its clientele of local musicians. The chemistry was immediate and immeasurable; Randall joined forces with Johnny to collaborate on the future endeavors of Hanging Francis. They next enlisted the aid of lead guitarist Brett Richards, an avid gloom cookie glam rocker from North Carolina. Johnny, Brett, and Randall went in search of a bass player and recruited former Collective Soul bassist Ray Franklin.
Hanging Francis was voted one of the best local bands in Atlanta. The Franciscans, however, wanted to conquer more than just the local music scene so they logged hundreds of hours of road time in a beat up brown van and began taking on bigger and bigger shows. They began being compared to a 77 era Clash with a healthy dose of the Replacements. They opened for Smashing Pumpkins, Hoodoo Gurus, Juliana Hatfield, and the Black Crowes, among others.
. Soon after, the foursome found themselves in the house turned recording studio of Palmer Woods, cutting tracks for the CD that would be titled “Changes.” “Changes” received attention from local radio promoter Randy Sadd, and soon the band found itself with specialty airplay on over 30 radio stations up and down the east coast, as far north as Boston and as far south as Key West FL. The band followed up with several road trips up to NYC, Philly, D.C. Boston, and all over the South, including an appearance at the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Hanging Francis was invited to play the Gigamerica showcase at the 2001 SXSW Festival, sharing the stage with NYC’s the Strokes. This past summer the Franciscans were invited to have some MP3’s of their music on the new Tombstone Pizza website (www.tombstone.com), wherein Tombstone brags about discovering them before the record companies! Most recently the band was voted in the Atlanta City Search as #10 in the top 10 best “local” acts, as voted on by Internet pollsters. The list also included Marvelous 3, Rehab, and other National acts. Hanging Francis was selected as one of 15 bands to be sponsored by Jim Beam this year, and just returned from a showcasing appearance at the Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA.
The band has developed a relationship with Rick Curtis Meyer, former owner of Triclops Studios in Atlanta, GA, whose credits include Smashing Pumpkins’ “Siamese Dream”, Hole’s “Live Thru This” and tracks for Matchbox20. The Franciscans are currently in Rick’s studio cutting tracks for their next release and are working with Protocol Music’s Randy Sadd, who was instrumental in breaking other Atlanta acts like Marvelous3 and Shawn Mullins on commercial radio stations across the country.
The Franciscans are well traveled, tight, and ready to plaster their music across the face of the planet and beyond. Compared in the press to the Clash and the Replacements, one can hear more diverse influences, from the Ramones to the Beatles, Weezer, the Buzzcocks, and Blink182 when listening to their catchy stick in your head songs. Listen for them on the radio in your town soon and try to resist singing along!!!