The old saying about March is “In like a lion, out like a lamb” but at Sundilla we’re saying that March started with a great concert, and it’s going to end with a great concert. This Friday, March 27, Denice Franke will be coming to Sundilla, with her new CD in tow. Showtime is 7:30, and admission is just $10, $8 for students, and free for children 12 and under. Chances are, you have heard Denice Franke before. Even if you missed her previous Sundilla appearances, you’ve heard her sing, you just might not know it. That wonderful voice singing harmony on all of those Eric Taylor CDs? That’s Denice Franke. And now that you can place the voice, you probably realize that you’ve heard it on other CDs as well, those by Nanci Griffith and Robert Earl Keen, among others. But if you haven’t heard Denice when she is center stage, you’ve been missing out. Pierce Pettis is a fan of Denice Franke, as are Lyle Lovett, Eric Taylor, Nanci Griffith… the list is long, and should only get longer after Friday night.
Denice Franke’s career is rooted firmly in her gift for singing, and an intuition for penning songs that get under the skin. She accompanies herself on the guitar with grace, and skill, and a repertoire of rhythms that rock listeners gently in place as they take in the ‘movie’ each song projects. Life as a touring artist began for Denice in 1978. Franke (pronounced “Frankie” – the name she answers to as readily as her first) will tell you straight out she’s grateful for the distances traveled, and for the water under the bridge. It’s what informs her music these days. What makes her dive more deeply into her own stories, and those of the characters who find their way to her songs.
“It took me a while to get to this place of digging deeper,” Franke muses, in the midst of naming off her core musical influences. “Of course, it helped being around Eric Taylor. Talking about songs. Listening to his songs, and to people like David Olney.”
But it wasn’t as easy as that. Before beginning her solo career, Denice played in the Beacon City Band, formed the duo Hudson & Franke and opened for Nanci Griffith for two years, played on the streets of Taiwan while touring Asia for six months, did a European tour as Hudson & Franke, worked as a bartender, and graduated from The University of Texas after following what she calls “the 10-year liberal arts plan.” (And to think my parents always thought I was the only one…)
“Out of her shell” and ready to get back into music full time, she turned to her old friend Eric Taylor. In 1997 she released a warm, richly textured acoustic gem of a CD called “You Don’t Know Me.” Produced by Taylor, the record caught critics’ and fans’ ears, and subsequently established Denice as a performing songwriter who showed genuine promise and potential. That promise and potential reached full fruition and exploded in 2001 with the release of the Taylor-produced “Comfort” – a tour de force of tight and variegated ensemble playing, passionate singing, emotionally stirring lyrics, and haunting, catchy melodies.
Fast forward to 2007. Having learned a few things about shells, and waves, and winds of change, Denice Franke up and moves to an island; Galveston Island, to be exact. And that has made all the difference. In 2008 Denice released “Gulf Coast Blue.” It includes a guest background vocal by Red House recording artist Eliza Gilkyson. The cover art reflects a woman who most definitely has come out of her shell. If ever the CD packaging term “jewel box” was appropriate, it is in this case. Inside, behold – a pearl. Franke’s latest takes you on a pulsing drive along a coastal landscape where the weather is fine, and the moments shine.
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on March 24, 2009. View the original page.
