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DRUMMER..NIT-PICKER..LOVES CHOCOLATE
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Frank helped Mike to write
the Rhythm Knowledge books,
and because we know you just won't sleep
until you know all about him, here's his story.
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Frank's musical journey began in his native Ireland, where he traveled from one end of the rainbow to the other, with such acts as Gimik, Denis Allen, and Hi Energy. In between shows, he squeezed in as much studio-time as possible, both behind the drums and behind the faders, playing and/or engineering for rock bands, country bands, TV themes, radio jingles ... anything with a pulse! When he had developed his playing somewhat, he began to teach drums (primarily to gratify his compulsion to be addressed as "Sir").
Like many of his countrymen, Frank has a wandering spirit (why do you think there's an Irish bar in every town in the world?), so it was somewhat inevitable that he would one day set sail for the New World. The tour that brought him to the US finished up in Boston and, after reading a local paper's account of the thriving music scene, he decided not to bother taking the flight home. He spent the next several years performing and recording with some of Boston's finest, most notably Terri Bright and One Of Us. Whenever time allowed, he continued to teach, and he also "rediscovered his roots", working with the Celtic-influenced Spike Island, and playing percussion in more traditional Irish ensembles.
One night, quite by chance, Frank happened upon The Rick Berlin Band, whose drummer was ... Mike Mangini! His musical horizons were, in his own words "not-so-much expanded as exploded", and he promptly signed up as a student. He spent the next several years "at the feet of the master" absorbing as much "Rhythm Knowledge" (though it wasn't called that yet) as he could.
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