Brian Franks

About me:

..Brian Franks | Create your badge
.. Hey....how you doin? Well,as far as i'm aware, I'm the only Left handed bass player playing a left handed Bass guitar strung Right handed with the fret board Quarter fretted (E and A strings to the 12th fret), 3/4 fretless (D and G strings and the rest of the E and A past the 12th fret) in the world! Correct me if you have seen someone else doing it please! Love to meet someone doing something like this too! How'd i end up playing this wacky Bass? Well,To start with, I've been winging the Bass now for 20 years,Back in the day,I wanted to be like Duran Duran's John Taylor in the 80's growing up in Kawerau, New Zealand, since all the HOT girls at school wanted him, i wanted to be like him, so i could get the HOT girls,therefore, i had to play the Bass too.Male Logic! My Mum though different and brought me a Left handed Electric Guitar for my 15th Birthday telling me i could play more songs on it than the Bass, which was upsetting at the time but i grew to like the guitar. I started getting into Van Halen and big hair 80's bands in the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal scene in my teens (as you do).Then i got the Classical guitar buzz ,wanting more of a challenge.I wanted to learn but my fingers were too soft and needed calasus, so a brought a cheap right handed Samick Bass for $150 from the local Music Shop(Keith Waugh's)to harden my finger tips with from playing. Bass Strings were too expensive for me so i learnt to play the Bass how it was righthanded. Then, in the 90's, after hearing "Alive" by Pearl Jam, i ripped all the frets from my bass and became enveloped with the fretless Bass.Loved the sound, still do!Kept to playing the Bass as more Bands were looking for bass guitarists at the time than guitarists! When i joined my first professional band, the guys noticed during some songs i would be flat or sharp in some places with my playing, so i decided to just fret the E & A strings, since the main structures of songs are usually played on these strings and it worked!Still does for me too! Thats how i got to playing this wacky Bass. Still experimenting with differnt Bass Pickup's and string combinations.Trying a Sustain Bar under the Bridesmaid's Bridge at the moment which is working well.I guess i'll never stop mucking around with my Basses, I can't help pulling them apart and trying to make them Better.Always striving to make them as efficent as they can possibly be! I'm living in beautiful Tauranga New Zealand At the moment, I'm playing Bass guitar for Tauaranga Local Legends "the Fabulous Most Groovy Brilleaux", aswell as Playing Bass and singing in Tauranga Covers band "Rockhouse Party", playing Bass and singing vocals in Tauranga 80's covers band "Max Headroom" and Playing Bass for Tauranga's "The Supertramp Experience" and now I'm honoured playing Bass for the Anton "Tipi" Ellkington Band. Working with various artists around Tauranga and doing session work at Colourfield studio. Constructing a colaboration with Tim Julian of Colourfield studios called "Depth of Field", an experimental musical journey concocting grooves to drink coffee to and chill! Lifes busy..but good! Enough about me now,how're you doin? .. Rough Bass Composition for a project My Band Brilleaux performing live on T.V.! My band Max Headroom captured live at a party!

Korg AX3000b demo 24 08 09 1952
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Zt2Y9Kz6U

26 08 09 Salegna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsLv5WeZIKw