Benjamin Francis profile picture

Benjamin Francis

About Me

Invoking a classic songwriting style and drawing on influences as varied as Scriabin, Stephin Merritt, and Tom Waits, Benjamin Francis has spent the majority of his short life preparing himself for the world of pop Music. At the age of three he began singing, and at four began playing the piano. His formal piano training began the next year, and he has since garnered awards for piano, voice, and composition in the classical arena. However, deciding at the age of fourteen to pursue a career as a pop Musician, he began to compose in the genre, feeling out his personal style. What has evolved is what Benjamin Francis calls "Progressive Cabaret": a fusion of classical virtuosity, pop sensibility, and a keen appreciation for the dramatic capacities of Music.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 20/07/2005
Band Website: Coming soon:
www.benjaminfrancis.com" Coming soon:
www.benjaminfrancis.com
Band Members: Acoustic piano, keyboards, melodica, production, arrangements, and voice: Benjamin Francis
Influences: Major influences include Prokofiev, The Magnetic Fields, Rufus Wainwright, Antony & the Johnsons, Tori Amos, Jeff Buckley, Brian Wilson, and a wealth of artists in the 80's synth-pop arena.
Sounds Like: An effeminate man filled with rage and tenderness taking out his joys and frustrations on his piano and vocal cords.
Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

Updates and a journal entry

Hey Friends, Some updates:1) Looks like Arizona won't be happening. Work schedules (time) and paychecks (money) don't seem to be looking fondly at that idea. Plus, I need to see my family in Oregon so...
Posted by on Fri, 02 May 2008 09:10:00 GMT

The solo at the opera...

Friends, As I'm sure you know, I started rehearsals last month for the San Francisco Lyric Opera's production of Puccini's La Boheme, for which I'm singing in the chorus. A recent development was the ...
Posted by on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:19:00 GMT

Benjamin Francis in an opera?!

Hey friends, No, I'm still not dead. Last week, on Friday, I had my first voice lesson in years with the very talented Anja Strauss (http://www.anjastrauss.com), in preparation for application to the ...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:25:00 GMT

My gig, and side-projects.

Greetings, Friends, *Phew* A lot has been happening. I finished recording the three songs I wrote for Terminally Female: A Cabaret by Sapna Ghandi that will open in San Francisco on November 3rd. Curi...
Posted by on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 08:10:00 GMT

Concerts and Connections!

Hey Friends, So this past week (Monday-today), I've been doing temporary work for the Center for Culinary Development, a center that (strangely enough) develops and helps develop culina...
Posted by on Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:36:00 GMT

I'm still alive...

Hi Friends, So I'm sitting here in San Francisco in a robe and I just got done with my morning dose of David Sedaris and composition. The songwriting's going well; I've written 3 since I moved ("Bleed...
Posted by on Fri, 01 Sep 2006 09:11:00 GMT

SO...

Hey Friends, I miss y'all (though mostly are never-met). I'm here at work (an art gallery on the uber-touristy Pier 39 in San Francisco) at the Oh My Godard gallery. Some amazing art, but I myself am ...
Posted by on Sat, 24 Jun 2006 21:21:00 GMT

California, here I am!

Hey Friends, I am now living in Berkeley, CA, and loving it. It's beautiful, clean, close to San Francisco, and filled with things to write songs and stories and poems about. Even the public library c...
Posted by on Fri, 09 Jun 2006 15:26:00 GMT

Packing things.

Friends, This evening I realized how daunting it is packing things up to move out of a place you've been living in for almost 16/19ths of your life. I stood at the entrance to my (absolutely bombshel...
Posted by on Tue, 30 May 2006 00:31:00 GMT

Twists & Turns.

It's not that I make mountains out of molehills by nature. It's just that I feel things far more deeply than others. I am sensitive and easily hurt, most often by no fault of others (and in this case ...
Posted by on Wed, 24 May 2006 15:29:00 GMT