Franco (band)

Franco
Also known as Franco Suspitsados [1]
Origin Manila, Philippines
Genres
Years active 2008–present
Labels MCA Music (2009–present)
Associated acts
Members Franco Reyes
Paul Cañada
Dave Delfin
Victor Guison
Past members Gabby Alipe
Ocho Toleran
Buwi Meneses
JanJan Mendoza

Franco is a rock band from the Philippines that was formed in 2008. The band started out as a supergroup with local rock icon members from different well-established Filipino bands. The original lineup, which consisted of Franco Reyes (InYo) on vocals, Gabby Alipe (Urbandub) on guitar, Paolo Toleran (Queso) on guitar, Buwi Meneses (Parokya ni Edgar) on bass guitar, JanJan Mendoza (Urbandub) on drums and Toshi De Leon (Traxikad) on 2nd vocals.,[2] disbanded in mid-2012. The band now has a new lineup which is made up of front man Franco Reyes and session musicians Paul Cañada on guitars, Dave Delfin on bass and Victor Guison on drums.

History

Franco started as a collaboration project between Alipe, Toleran, Meneses and Mendoza, who are veterans of the Pinoy rock scene. Later on, they decided to look for a front man to help their project band take off. In late 2008, Alipe, Mendoza, Toleran and Meneses collaborated with Reyes, who returned to the Philippines, to form Franco.[3] In 2009, they recorded songs that made up Franco's first album. After the release of their first album in 2010, their songs quickly became hits and topped the charts. The band dominated the 2010 NU Rock Awards with 4 awards and 9 nominations. They also won an award and were nominated during the 2010 Awit Awards. In 2012, Alipe, Meneses, Toleran and Mendoza left the band,[4] but Franco Reyes continued his music, collaborating with his former band mates in Cebu and other touring members. In 2013, he released his sophomore studio album, entitled Soul Adventurer. He now has tours with the new members of Franco - Paul Cañada, Dave Delfin and Victor Guison.

Music

Franco's roots are traced from the Cebu-based band Frank, which Reyes formed in 1996. Franco started by playing songs from Frank! and InYo. Frank was one of the bands that boosted the Cebu rock scene.[3] Though most of its songs were originally written by Reyes with Frank! and InYo, Franco's music is straight to the ears and considerably heavier than the reggae-leaning sound of Frank! and the alternative rock sound of InYo. Interestingly, two songs—“Touch the Sky” and “Song for the Suspect”—have Rastafarian messages.

Mainstream success

In 2010, they released their self-titled full-length album under MCA Music. Music videos for “Cast Away” and “This Gathering” were aired on Filipino music channel Myx. Franco also dominated the 2010 NU Rock Awards by winning four awards—Artist of the Year, Song of the Year for “This Gathering”, Album of the Year for their self-titled album, and the Listeners' Choice Award. The supergroup also won an award during the 2010 Awit Awards as the Best Performance By A Group Of Recording Artists - "Castaway", and was also nominated for the Best Performance By A New Group Of Recording Artists - "Castaway" and Best Rock/Alternative - "Castaway". [5]

The band was nominated multiple times on MYX Music Awards.

It was announced that four of the members parted ways from the band (Alipe, Toleran, Meneses and Mendoza) in mid-2012 to focus on other projects and their respective bands. Reyes decided to go on and collaborate with some former band mates during studio sessions while recording the second album.

In 2013, Soul Adventurer was released as the band's second album. With the new lineup, the band has won Best Alternative Recording (Awit Awards) for the song Better Days. [6]

On November 9, 2014, Franco launched an EP called Frank! at St.James Power Station in Sentosa, Singapore.

Band members

Current members[3]

Former members [7]

Discography

Studio Album

EP

Track listing

Franco (2010)

No. Title Length
1. "Seasons"   3:56
2. "Touch The Sky"   3:43
3. "Castaway"   4:30
4. "Memorykill"   4:44
5. "A Mass For The End of Time"   4:20
6. "Last Waltz"   5:49
7. "Next Train Out"   3:01
8. "Song For The Suspect"   5:06
9. "Tetrahydrochloridedub"   2:15
10. "This Gathering"   4:21
11. "For My Dearly Departed"   5:22
Total length:
48:12

Soul Adventurer (2013)

No. Title Length
1. "032"   0:32
2. "To Survive"   4:38
3. "Moonset"   5:03
4. "Better Days"   5:01
5. "What Is To Be Must Be"   0:21
6. "Renewal"   5:34
7. "Drifter"   1:19
8. "A Beautiful Diversion"   3:57
9. "Across The Milkyway"   5:15
10. "Razor"   5:41
11. "Blame"   5:24
12. "Follow That Light"   1:18
13. "Uprising"   5:39
14. "Babylonian Politicians"   0:31
15. "Muse"   5:26
16. "Lover's Fire"   4:27
17. "A Prayer"   4:16
Total length:
64:36

Awards and nominations

NU Rock Awards

The NU Rock Awards was an annual recognition program sponsored from 1994 to 2010 by the defunct Metro Manila based radio station NU 107.[3]

Year Award Work Results
2010 Artist of the Year Franco Won
Album of the Year Franco Won
Song of the Year "This Gathering" Won
Listeners' Choice Award Franco Won
Vocalist of the Year Franco Reyes Nominated
Guitarist of the Year Gabby Alipe, Paolo Toleran, Franco Reyes Nominated
Bassist of the Year Buhawi Meneses Nominated
Drummer of the Year JanJan Mendoza Nominated
Best New Artist Franco Nominated

Awit Awards

The Awit Awards are the most prestigious music awards in the Philippines given annually by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) to recognize the outstanding achievements in the music industry.

Year Award Work Results
2010 Best Performance By A Group Of Recording Artists "Castaway" Won[5]
Best Performance By A New Group Of Recording Artists Nominated[5]
Best Rock/Alternative Nominated[5]
2013 Best Alternative Recording "Better Days" Won[6]

MYX Music Awards

The MYX Music Awards is an accolade presented annually by the cable channel Myx to honor the biggest hitmakers in the Philippines.

Year Award Work Results
2011 Favorite New Artist Franco Nominated
2014 Favorite Rock Video “Better Days” Nominated[8]

References

  1. Tongson, Tomas (2014-11-01). "Myx Features: Artists React To Franco Break Up".
  2. Servando, Kristine (2010-01-04). "Music review: Pinoy rock 'superband' Franco". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 2010-03-10. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Franco Suspitsados Official Facebook page".
  4. Tongson, Tomas (2014-11-01). "MYX Features: OPM Rock Superband FRANCO, Disbanded?".
  5. 1 2 3 4 Tongson, Tomas (2014-11-01). "Awit Awards Official List of Winners".
  6. 1 2 Tongson, Tomas (2014-11-01). "Awit Awards Website".
  7. "Franco Superband Official Facebook page".
  8. Tongson, Tomas (2014-11-01). "Manila Bulletin: MYX noms indicate changing OPM climes".

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.