As the entire music industry scrambles to redefine what it means to be a band in the 21st century when its not as much about record labels throwing money around and radio spinning a tune to a mass audience who will in turn run out and buy the albums, as it is about finding an audience the old DIY way of playing shows and meeting fans ? a group of high school friends, from the southwest suburbs of Chicago, called The Frantic are too busy making music to give the old business side of things much thought.
"We just like to have fun up on the stage," says 17-year-old vocalist/guitarist Kyle Dee.
The band may be young (Kyle and guitarist Ian Farnesi are both 17, while bassist Chris Farnesi and drummer Brett Hartwell are 18), but don?t let their age fool you. They?ve been playing together, in one form or another, since they were 9 years old (?we weren?t too good at age 9?we were just making noise,? they say with a laugh). While what began as a bunch of kids playing punk and rock covers in their parents basements has since evolved into a well-versed punk rock band who have opened shows for Riverboat Gamblers, Bad Brains, The Casualties, U.S. Bombs, Youth Brigade, Pink Spiders, Treaty Of Paris, Dillinger Four, and many more and have performed on the 2007 Warped Tour via the Hot Topic/Kevin Says Stage, that initial passion to play that brought them all together when they were barely out of the sandbox continues to grow by the day.
After their high-energy live show blew the mind of famed multi-platinum producer Mudrock (Riverboat Gamblers, Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Alice Cooper), the wide-eyed band of teens were flown out to L.A. where they recorded their debut full length for Sinister Muse Records, AUDIO & MURDER (released by Sinister Muse Records in November 2007). Like hometown pop-punk heroes Alkaline Trio, The Frantic?s music has found that fragile balance between pop and punk that can simultaneously cause a nose bloodying circle pit and mass sing-a-longs.
Like the hair metal bands of the 80?s, of which The Frantic sound nothing like, by the way, these boys are set on enjoying life as a rock ?n? roll band. They?re not here to make a fashion statement and their main goal is to play for as many people as possible. After playing the same venues in their same small town for years, they?re bursting to get on the road and take on the world. Well, here they come.