Today we’d like to introduce you to Fran Trachta.
Hi Fran, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Music has always been a part of my world and my outlet ever since I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I used to sneak into my older sister’s room and listen to her albums on headphones while immersing myself in the imagery and artwork on the album sleeve and cover. I would play the songs over and over while trying to interpret the lyrics, not knowing exactly what they meant at the time, but always reading and trying my best to understand what life had in store for me when I got older. My youthful world disappeared for as long as I could hide in my sister’s room and allow my imagination to create visual interpretations of the songs.
A childhood friend of mine had an older brother who was a musician and I would hang out with him while he played guitar for hours. He eventually helped me learn how to play my first song on bass guitar because it was a lot easier to play than the electric guitar. He also thought that bass was a good fit for me and he said that everybody played guitar and that if I learned how to play the bass I could easily join a band. Turns out he was right, and not too long after learning my first song, I landed my first bass guitarist gig in 6th grade and music was once again my creative outlet.
I focused my energy on learning the same albums that I listened to growing up as a little kid in my sister’s room. I spent hours, weeks, and even entire summer vacations honing my skills as a bassist while our band slowly grew into a small business venture. We spent hours together every week in the basement learning songs and building a setlist that we eventually played for parties around town. Music provided the perfect platform for us to channel our anger and cathartically release our angst into the world. A strange form of creative energy soon emerged and provided me with my own personal form of expression and communication.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Writing, recording, and producing music as an independent artist is not a very lucrative business, it’s time consuming and often expensive. Live performance seems to be the most productive way to make money, but the writing and recording process takes a lot of time and I also have a full-time job so it’s often difficult to merge those two worlds. I’ve spent a lot of time in the studio recently and have recorded 12 songs that I am extremely excited to share with the public. I’ve also produced 6 music videos that have been submitted to film festivals and are great resources to help promote the music on my YouTube channel and various social media sites.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Hopefully, my music will speak for itself. I’m often asked what type of music I write and I never have a straightforward answer because not all of my songs sound the same. I’m so fortunate and blessed to have so many talented musician friends that I have collaborated with in and out of the studio. I feel like my interest in collaborating with other musicians is most important, my song idea is the framework and only the beginning of the process. It’s so important to bring in other musicians and artists to build on that energy and turn a good idea into something extraordinarily special. I grew up listening to the Beatles and love vocal harmonies and think I have a good ear for building vocal arrangements. But again, it’s only a concept or an idea at first, and it’s so important to bounce those ideas off of someone who can sing better than me and make those ideas come to life.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love winter in San Antonio because it’s more like spring and fall in Baltimore! Our food is so good, so many new restaurants are popping up all over the city. I’ve also really enjoyed watching San Antonio grow since I moved here in 2006. I used to drive to Austin quite a bit for live music and now I’ve noticed more touring bands have started playing in San Antonio and now there are way more live music venues than when I first moved here. I also love the fact that S.A. has been improving our biking trails, with more improved paved and greenway trails throughout the city and surrounding areas.
I still have not acclimated to our summer weather here in S.A. Let’s be honest, our summers are brutal! I was moving some things around in my garage recently and noticed that my ski boots from when I lived in Colorado were basically melted and the inside fabric had fully disintegrated after a few years in the garage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.frantrachta.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frantrachta/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrachtaMusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@frantrachta
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/trachta/495347143
