What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
Well, the name I perform under is my birth name, which means “song,” so I do have a lot of people ask me, is that your real name? My parents say (with a laugh) that my name is the only thing they ever agreed on.
I listen to almost exclusively music made before 1980, with the exception of Chaka Khan, which I listen to before I go onstage, which works scarily well to to get me in the mood. Otherwise it’s Blues and Country music, I have an endless appetite for those genres, as I get older I listen to more and more Delta/Mississippi Hill Country stuff. I like the deep grooves. I also would happily move to a desert island if I could take Merle Haggard’s entire discography with me. “Mama Tried” should be sent on a rocket to oblivion, if there are aliens that song should be their first impression of earth.
How do you approach songwriting?
Songs are elusive. I might invite one to come over and visit me at my home. Then, when I am so sure that the song will arrive, and I have coffee made and just the right sunlight is coming through the window, the song doesn’t show up. I might be driving down the road the next day in traffic, miles from the next pen and paper stand, and then a song gives me a call and wants to hang out. I guess the best thing is to not appear too desperate or songs don’t want anything to do with me. No song ever comes the same way twice, so it’s pretty useless to sit down and try to write one, but if I don’t at least spend some hours working on music then that will also offend the gods and nothing will come. I suppose that it’s best to wait, stay sharp and a song will arrive.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
I write to reach out to the world in all the ways that I fail to do that in my daily life. There is so much I wish to say to people. There is so much that I don’t feel I can say. Music can ease the gap between the world of the heart and the physical world. I hope to build a bridge between the two, or at least try to do so.
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
If you want to see a small example of what I sound like live check out my instagram
www.instagram.com/cancionfranklin . I play a lot of shows and I usually play for around two or three hours, so I have time to play most of what I’ve written. I never use a set list so I will try and read the crowd and feel what is best to do next, but it’s a high wire act that I fail at all the time. When it works though, it’s something that is unfolding in real time and it’s definitely different every time, so for the people that come to see me at most of my shows there is always something different to enjoy.
What plans do you have for the future?
There tends to be a lot of planning that goes into being a musician. From booking shows to posting on social media, it’s easy to end up in a super regimented life where nothing spontaneous can happen. My plan is to try and find ways to end up in smoky bars in far flung places with my guitar at strange hours of the night. I want to bring music back what it used to be, a part of life and not just the dessert that everyone gets to enjoy on a rare occasion. I’m not exactly sure how to do this but I will be getting in my truck and trying to make it happen over the next few years.