Frank Turner
- View Web Site
Biography
Profile Views: 248
I was born in Muharraq, Bahrain, in late 1981... ah f**k it, let's cut to the chase. I started playing in bands aged about 12 after I got into Iron Maiden because I thought the posters were cool. When it became apparent that the music also rocked face, I got a guitar and started nerding away. My teenage years were a typically embarrassing catalogue of musical errors (I was seen to play a ska song of my own composition live on more than one occasion) but I did play in some bands that some other people cared about. First there was a school-based hardcore / emo outfit called Kneejerk, which came to an unceremonious end in around 2000.
Then it was a punk band called Million Dead. We were around for four years, from 2001-2005, and in that time we released 2 albums to 'critical acclaim' and 'underground success' (i.e. we weren't exactly U2). Nevertheless, we made a lot of friends and played a lot of shows, wrote a lot of songs and learnt an awful lot about playing music and making a living out of it. In the end we decided it would be best to part ways before we fell out and while we still had a chance of being a wicked underground band that no one liked at the time a decade hence (see: Slint).
Whilst in Million Dead, I'd started to do some shows on my own and started rediscovering a lot of the music I grew up with, like the Counting Crows, Johnny Cash, Weezer and so on, as well as getting more and more into my country and folk. When the 'Deadz came to an end, it seemed like the logical thing to do to try my hand at playing these songs more publicly and more concertedly than before. I also didn't want to stop touring, so I kept going.
Thus the 'neverending tour of everywhere' started in October 2005, and hasn't stopped since. The tally of gigs to date is nearly 350, much of it done travelling on the train and sleeping on the floor, although recently I’ve had the luxury of Travel Inns and Travel Lodges which rules.
In 2006 I shared stages with everyone from Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Gabby Young, and The Automatic. I hopped over to France and played with Hundred Reasons in Paris and embarked on my own East European tour taking in Latvia, Russia, Estonia and Lithuania. Somehow, I managed to find time to release my debut EP ‘Campfire Punkrock’ in May 06 with my old muckers Xtra Mile Recordings, a split with legendary US singer Jonah Matranga and recorded my debut album ‘Sleep Is For The Week’.
‘Sleep…’ came out in the UK in January 2007, featuring 13 tracks of pure sex. It received great reviews, has sold over 8000 copies to date and has recently made the shortlist for the inaugural XFM New Music Award 2007 alongside such bigger names as Kate Nash, Klaxons and The View. To tour this release I recruited members of Oxford’s most notorious indie rock pirates Dive Dive to be my band and off we went on my headlining tour of the UK – where many of the dates sold out.
Since then, I’ve toured the USA twice, East and West coast including shows at SXSW; supported Biffy Clyro on their huge UK tour taking in Camden’s infamous Roundhouse venue; headlined the Softcore Tour with pals Josh English, Jacob Golden and Jonah Matranga and played the set of my life at Reading and Leeds Festival.
I’ve also released ‘The Real Damage’ EP and a killer DVD called ‘All About The Destination’ which is basically a complete documentation of my solo work so far.
Now, it’s all about the next album. Written and recorded in a farm outside of Winchester, Hampshire with the help of producer supreme Ben Lloyd once again - it’s clearly the best album ever! One of the songs ‘Photosynthesis’ has already been played on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show by fans and new buddies Hadouken. If ‘Sleep…’ was a cracking rebound shag, then this new album is a budding new relationship with an altogether classier type of girl.
Out in the UK Spring 2008 through Xtra Mile Recordings
"Genius is a term often bandied about these days but Mr. Turner will deserve it if he continues down this road." 4/5 The Sun
"Turner is such a sharp observer that he really ought to write a book." The Times
"(Frank) has come up with a selection of originals...Bittersweet requiems for teen punk dreams and dark folk adventures in the flesh trade." Daily Mirror/Ticket
"Frank has unplugged his guitar and become Billy Bragg for 20-something punkers." The London Paper
"You may well take the punk rocker out of punk rock, but on this evidence, you'd struggle to take the punk rock out of the punk rocker.7/10 NME
"Turner's songs are jaunty, melodic, smart and instantly digestible." KKKK Kerrang!
Biography
Profile Views: 248
I was born in Muharraq, Bahrain, in late 1981... ah f**k it, let's cut to the chase. I started playing in bands aged about 12 after I got into Iron Maiden because I thought the posters were cool. When it became apparent that the music also rocked face, I got a guitar and started nerding away. My teenage years were a typically embarrassing catalogue of musical errors (I was seen to play a ska song of my own composition live on more than one occasion) but I did play in some bands that some other people cared about. First there was a school-based hardcore / emo outfit called Kneejerk, which came to an unceremonious end in around 2000.
Then it was a punk band called Million Dead. We were around for four years, from 2001-2005, and in that time we released 2 albums to 'critical acclaim' and 'underground success' (i.e. we weren't exactly U2). Nevertheless, we made a lot of friends and played a lot of shows, wrote a lot of songs and learnt an awful lot about playing music and making a living out of it. In the end we decided it would be best to part ways before we fell out and while we still had a chance of being a wicked underground band that no one liked at the time a decade hence (see: Slint).
Whilst in Million Dead, I'd started to do some shows on my own and started rediscovering a lot of the music I grew up with, like the Counting Crows, Johnny Cash, Weezer and so on, as well as getting more and more into my country and folk. When the 'Deadz came to an end, it seemed like the logical thing to do to try my hand at playing these songs more publicly and more concertedly than before. I also didn't want to stop touring, so I kept going.
Thus the 'neverending tour of everywhere' started in October 2005, and hasn't stopped since. The tally of gigs to date is nearly 350, much of it done travelling on the train and sleeping on the floor, although recently I’ve had the luxury of Travel Inns and Travel Lodges which rules.
In 2006 I shared stages with everyone from Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Gabby Young, and The Automatic. I hopped over to France and played with Hundred Reasons in Paris and embarked on my own East European tour taking in Latvia, Russia, Estonia and Lithuania. Somehow, I managed to find time to release my debut EP ‘Campfire Punkrock’ in May 06 with my old muckers Xtra Mile Recordings, a split with legendary US singer Jonah Matranga and recorded my debut album ‘Sleep Is For The Week’.
‘Sleep…’ came out in the UK in January 2007, featuring 13 tracks of pure sex. It received great reviews, has sold over 8000 copies to date and has recently made the shortlist for the inaugural XFM New Music Award 2007 alongside such bigger names as Kate Nash, Klaxons and The View. To tour this release I recruited members of Oxford’s most notorious indie rock pirates Dive Dive to be my band and off we went on my headlining tour of the UK – where many of the dates sold out.
Since then, I’ve toured the USA twice, East and West coast including shows at SXSW; supported Biffy Clyro on their huge UK tour taking in Camden’s infamous Roundhouse venue; headlined the Softcore Tour with pals Josh English, Jacob Golden and Jonah Matranga and played the set of my life at Reading and Leeds Festival.
I’ve also released ‘The Real Damage’ EP and a killer DVD called ‘All About The Destination’ which is basically a complete documentation of my solo work so far.
Now, it’s all about the next album. Written and recorded in a farm outside of Winchester, Hampshire with the help of producer supreme Ben Lloyd once again - it’s clearly the best album ever! One of the songs ‘Photosynthesis’ has already been played on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show by fans and new buddies Hadouken. If ‘Sleep…’ was a cracking rebound shag, then this new album is a budding new relationship with an altogether classier type of girl.
Out in the UK Spring 2008 through Xtra Mile Recordings
"Genius is a term often bandied about these days but Mr. Turner will deserve it if he continues down this road." 4/5 The Sun
"Turner is such a sharp observer that he really ought to write a book." The Times
"(Frank) has come up with a selection of originals...Bittersweet requiems for teen punk dreams and dark folk adventures in the flesh trade." Daily Mirror/Ticket
"Frank has unplugged his guitar and become Billy Bragg for 20-something punkers." The London Paper
"You may well take the punk rocker out of punk rock, but on this evidence, you'd struggle to take the punk rock out of the punk rocker.7/10 NME
"Turner's songs are jaunty, melodic, smart and instantly digestible." KKKK Kerrang!
Then it was a punk band called Million Dead. We were around for four years, from 2001-2005, and in that time we released 2 albums to 'critical acclaim' and 'underground success' (i.e. we weren't exactly U2). Nevertheless, we made a lot of friends and played a lot of shows, wrote a lot of songs and learnt an awful lot about playing music and making a living out of it. In the end we decided it would be best to part ways before we fell out and while we still had a chance of being a wicked underground band that no one liked at the time a decade hence (see: Slint).
Whilst in Million Dead, I'd started to do some shows on my own and started rediscovering a lot of the music I grew up with, like the Counting Crows, Johnny Cash, Weezer and so on, as well as getting more and more into my country and folk. When the 'Deadz came to an end, it seemed like the logical thing to do to try my hand at playing these songs more publicly and more concertedly than before. I also didn't want to stop touring, so I kept going.
Thus the 'neverending tour of everywhere' started in October 2005, and hasn't stopped since. The tally of gigs to date is nearly 350, much of it done travelling on the train and sleeping on the floor, although recently I’ve had the luxury of Travel Inns and Travel Lodges which rules.
In 2006 I shared stages with everyone from Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Gabby Young, and The Automatic. I hopped over to France and played with Hundred Reasons in Paris and embarked on my own East European tour taking in Latvia, Russia, Estonia and Lithuania. Somehow, I managed to find time to release my debut EP ‘Campfire Punkrock’ in May 06 with my old muckers Xtra Mile Recordings, a split with legendary US singer Jonah Matranga and recorded my debut album ‘Sleep Is For The Week’.
‘Sleep…’ came out in the UK in January 2007, featuring 13 tracks of pure sex. It received great reviews, has sold over 8000 copies to date and has recently made the shortlist for the inaugural XFM New Music Award 2007 alongside such bigger names as Kate Nash, Klaxons and The View. To tour this release I recruited members of Oxford’s most notorious indie rock pirates Dive Dive to be my band and off we went on my headlining tour of the UK – where many of the dates sold out.
Since then, I’ve toured the USA twice, East and West coast including shows at SXSW; supported Biffy Clyro on their huge UK tour taking in Camden’s infamous Roundhouse venue; headlined the Softcore Tour with pals Josh English, Jacob Golden and Jonah Matranga and played the set of my life at Reading and Leeds Festival.
I’ve also released ‘The Real Damage’ EP and a killer DVD called ‘All About The Destination’ which is basically a complete documentation of my solo work so far.
Now, it’s all about the next album. Written and recorded in a farm outside of Winchester, Hampshire with the help of producer supreme Ben Lloyd once again - it’s clearly the best album ever! One of the songs ‘Photosynthesis’ has already been played on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show by fans and new buddies Hadouken. If ‘Sleep…’ was a cracking rebound shag, then this new album is a budding new relationship with an altogether classier type of girl.
Out in the UK Spring 2008 through Xtra Mile Recordings
"Genius is a term often bandied about these days but Mr. Turner will deserve it if he continues down this road." 4/5 The Sun
"Turner is such a sharp observer that he really ought to write a book." The Times
"(Frank) has come up with a selection of originals...Bittersweet requiems for teen punk dreams and dark folk adventures in the flesh trade." Daily Mirror/Ticket
"Frank has unplugged his guitar and become Billy Bragg for 20-something punkers." The London Paper
"You may well take the punk rocker out of punk rock, but on this evidence, you'd struggle to take the punk rock out of the punk rocker.7/10 NME
"Turner's songs are jaunty, melodic, smart and instantly digestible." KKKK Kerrang!
Comments
Total: 0 | Add A Comment