NYC Artist Spotlight: Pete Francis Goes West To Make “Movie”

NOHO, MANHATTAN: NYC-based singer/songwriter Pete Francis opted for a total change of scenery and production approach in the making of his latest record, The Movie We Are In.

Pete Francis

Francis, formerly of the roots-funk, jam band trio Dispatch, hooked up with songwriter/producer Jeff Trott (Sheryl Cross, Rob Thomas, Stevie Nicks), headed West and found new musical ground working with a totally new lineup of musicians, studios and sounds.

With Dispatch, an independent band whose reunion shows sold out three nights at Madison Square Garden in ’07, Francis played a fusion of jammy roots-rock, reggae, ska and indie-folk.

In his solo career, he’s stayed relatively Americana-rootsy, exploring his soulful singer/songwriter side through mostly folk-rock and alt-country band arrangements and production on Untold (’03), Good To Finally Know (’05), Everything Is One (’06) — a collab with NYC-based producer/songwriter Craig Dreyer — and Iron Sea and the Calvary (’08), featuring the great driving tune, “Shooting Star and the Ambulance.”

Production on The Movie casts Francis’ folk singing in a new light, swapping out B3s for Nord Leads and adding electronic percussion and flourishes that punch up his songs with a new energy. Give album opener “Glue” a listen: here

And here, Francis lets on how The Movie got made…in Los Angeles:

Q: How did you end up working with Jeff Trott and how did you guys actually work together — was he co-writing with you? Co-producing?

A: I sent out a bunch of raw demos to about 5 or 6 producers. I was trying to get a vibe in my conversations with them on how they would approach the songs. When I spoke to Jeff Trott, I knew immediately he was the guy. He could sense that I was not looking to make a rootsy record in the traditional sense with drums, bass, keys, guitar vocals and having all the musicians in the same room tracking together.

He mentioned using synth sounds and drum programming to complement my guitar and vocal while bringing in elements of live drums and bass. Jeff is an excellent songwriter, guitarist, engineer and producer. It’s like he gave my songs a good haircut.

Why was Jeff the right producer for you to work with? How did your songs evolve with his influence?

I really liked how he brought out the best elements of a song and gave those elements a bigger presence. If the bridge was cool he say let’s repeat it.

Who else was involved and where did you guys make the record?

Jeff and I worked out the basic demos for a week in his studio, Dr. Babyhead, in Manhattan Beach, CA. For the second week, Jeff had lined up a keyboardist, Brian LeBarton (Beck’s musical director) and a drum programmer, John O’Brien. During this week we laid out the blueprints of the songs. This is where the record began to take a modern direction.

Everything I ever knew about making a record was reversed. It was like we were making the frosting and sprinkles before the cake…the sounds were very tasty. In the weeks to follow I tracked my acoustic and electric guitar parts as well my vocals. Jeff also added his musical parts including acoustic and electric guitar, cumbus, keys, synths, and background vocals.

During the final weeks is when we put the cake in the oven. Jeff brought in a phenomenal rhythm section, Victor Indrizzo (Beck, Daniel Lanois, Willie Nelson) on drums and Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Tori Amos, Air) on bass. We recorded the drums and bass at Sage and Sound Studios in Hollywood. This is when the songs really came alive. They were sort of like Pinnochio in the shop before and then became living and breathing. Jeff brought in engineer, Bob Salcedo, to mix the record. Finally the record was mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering.

What were any sonic reference points you had going into this record, and what was incorporated to achieve the desired sounds?

I wanted a kind of hybrid record — some electronic and modern, some acoustic driven rock. I was totally digging Beck’s Modern Guilt, M. Ward’s Hold Time, Emiliana Torrini’s Me and Armini, Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago as well as some classic Van Morrison and the entire Stax collection. Brian LeBarton brought in some amazing keyboard/synth sounds like ‘spaceship rainbow vacuum’ and ‘tornado blast off.’

Jeff played an Ethiopian instrument called a cumbus that had a futuristic banjo sound. Also John O’Brien’s drum programming had a hip-hop jungle groove at times.

From your previous solo records, The Movie is a bit of a departure as far as the electronic element and a different musical palette? What did you find were the creative benefits of mixing it up like this?

The process took some getting used to for me as I was not used to making a record this way. But it allowed us to move the pieces of the songs around before putting them into their final place. This was a new kind of freedom for me in the recording process.

You’ve seen the music biz change quite a bit since you started out with Dispatch in ’96 — but you guys were always so fiercely independent and managed to grow a huge audience nonetheless. What challenges are you facing now that didn’t exist then?

I feel that one of the major challenges is that too many music portals exist. I often wonder: how do you make an impression? When I started with Dispatch we printed and sold as many CD s as we could. Now it’s a whole different game, and everyone is trying to find some sort of digital system to thrive in. At the same time, there are so many avenues to hear music. In particular, I utilize Rhapsody and have a subscription with them. But nothing beats VINYL!

Are there other musical and/or production pursuits you’re involved in that you’d like to mention?

I would love to have my music appear in television and film. We are always on the look out for those opportunities.

So, you may have left NYC to make this record, but you are based here. Are you utilizing any NYC-based resources in the touring and promotion of this record?

Right now I’m working with New York based musicians. Two of the guys grew up in Staten Island. We often rehearse at Euphoria on 27th street. My publicist is named Kip Kouri from Tell All Your Friends PR and he is based out of Manhattan. By the way we are playing Joe’s Pub on May 26th. Hope to see you there!

For more on Pete Francis, visit http://www.petefrancis.com and follow him on Twitter @PeteFrancis.

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