The FrannyO Show has released “Carolina” now available on Spotify and all the major music services, from the forthcoming album “Box Of Time”, out August 9th.
“I consider myself extremely wealthy," says Fran O'Connell, "but not in a conventional way. What I’m doing right now, this very day—as a nurse and business owner-turned-musician—makes me feel wealthy beyond measure in happiness and friendships.”
Fran believes he was given a gift early in life when he had a first-hand experience with death and dying—an experience he chose to parlay into his life's work. As a boy, Fran grew up with an extended family living in the same house. There were eight people, including a grandfather who did not move to a nursing home until he was 97 years old—where he lived just two weeks before dying. “My grandfather never missed a family birthday party or other celebration,” Fran remembers. “He was there, and I saw how much that enriched his life, saw it up close and personal.”
Fran was 20 years old when his grandfather died. He had been studying speech pathology at the University of Massachusetts. He didn’t really know what he wanted to do in his life. So, he took a basic nursing class—Nursing 101, basically—pretty much because he needed three credits and thought the course would be easy. But Fran hadn't forgotten what he'd learned from watching his grandfather: how important it was for someone to be at home as long as possible.
Meanwhile, about ten years ago, with three grown daughters, a second wife named Kim, and daydreams about running for mayor of Holyoke (which he eventually did), Fran was at his vacation home in Vieques, Puerto Rico, when his life took a dramatic turn. It all started with a guitar he had bought his oldest daughter, Alison. Never really warming to the instrument, she had left it in Vieques—under a bed, it turned out, which is where Fran found it late one afternoon.
Fast-forward to today, and Fran is known as the dynamo that powers The FrannyO Show. Two EPs, a full-length, and a steady stream of singles releases later, the band sits on the verge of releasing its sophomore album, Big Box of Time. The album further cements what Fran's following has known for years: that Fran is an irrepressible songwriter/frontman who's carved his own signature blend of Americana, blues, country, and rock.
"If you put Delta Blues, New England folk, classic Country, Irish tongue-in-cheek humor, and Caribbean rhythm into a pot and let it simmer," Fran explains, "you'd get The FrannyO Show."
"Carolina," the first offering from Big Box of Time, drives home Fran's long-held belief that home literally is where the heart is—it has little to do with physical location, just as wealth has little to do with how much money we have.
"This song," says Fran, "was written with my daughter Briana in mind. I can remember going through the divorce with her mom. I left the family home where my wife and three daughters lived. I literally felt like I was a man without a home—until something happened that I'll never forget. I can vividly remember Briana running up to greet me after I moved out . As she hugged me, I bent down to kiss her head and smelled her hair. It was at that moment that I understood I still had a home. My 'home' was wherever my daughters were, because home isn't a place but a sense of belonging in each other's hearts."
“I've tried," he continues, "to make certain that I never forgot the gifts from the people I was taking care of—what they told me about their lives, their regrets, etc. I've learned from those experiences and applied them to both the people I love and the music I make.”
The FrannyO Show — Big Box of Time
Tracklist:
1. Big Box of Time
2. Carolina
3. Black Tea
4. Let's Do It Again
5. Three Days of Rain
6. Black Sheep
7. Ricky's Daddy
8. Sadie
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