March 17
2024
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2024
Welcome!
November 27
2021
Dimmi Come SarĆ ā¦ released!
Available through all your favourite streaming services!
A personal note ā¦
The title of this work directly translates to ātell me what it would be likeā. I chose to name it in Italian as the work itself was originally written as a simple Italian vocal pop song that I wrote while I lived in Italy for three months in 1993. Besides the beauty of the language itself, the slow romantic waltz-y rhythm was directly influenced by Jacurso, a small town located in the mountains of southern Italy. Although the song has gone through various changes over the last 28 years and has become the orchestral work you are listening to today, it was very important for me to preserve its Italian origin, rhythm, and the main theme that accompanies the lyrics perfectly.
The lyrics and overall theme of this work are very personal as they are directly influenced by the tragedy my family experienced in 1993.
Thereās much more to this story of course and this song is in no way meant to diminish what we experienced and continue to experience every day. It is however a snapshot of a place, a time, a feeling, friends, family, and the people surrounding me at a very vulnerable time of my life.
Dimmi Come SarĆ is one of those moments where music allowed me to escape a little while also dealing with the actual experience itself. The melody, lyrics, chords, and rhythm exist because of the unique ārecipeā of events taking place around me and would therefore not have come to life without those events having taken placeā¦ although I would easily give it up for the opportunity to rewrite the experience that set it all in motion to begin with.
1993. It was the month of May almost one month following my sisterās death and we were staying with one of my aunts. I remember waking up with one recurring sentence in my head that I had to quickly write down so that I wouldnāt forget it. Once that was done, I suddenly had a burst of ideas that allowed me to complete the whole song within 15 to 30 minutes. It just came to me. I believed in what I was writing and every word meant something to me.
Dimmi Come SarĆ is about feeling like you donāt belong anywhere, not knowing what it might be like after you leave somewhere or someone, and what it might be like to go back. What does the future hold? What changes? There was no plan to go back to Canada but there was also no guarantee that we could stay in Italy either. Do I get a job? Do we buy/rent a home? What if I met someone? What about my dad? My friends? School? Not having a country, a home, a job, or direction of any kind and worst of all, one less family member and 4 broken ones. Everything was on hold and I wanted answers so this was my attempt to ask for them. The lyrics are very simple due to my limited Italian vocabulary, and the song is pretty much a love song however the lyrics, the questions within, come from a person who had just had a life altering experience and who was experiencing confusion over something simple. While the lyrics are very simple, the orchestration in the instrumental version represents the complicated nature and countless experiences that exist ābehind the scenesā of a personās mind.
Dimmi Come SarĆ exists due to a real experience and while it isnāt a perfect work and could potentially be refined further, it does represent an important yet less than perfect time in my life and is a very important part of my story.
Thank you for the time youāve taken to experience it with me!
ā Frank
July 13
2021
Start me up!
As an introvert myself, the staying indoors portion of the last couple of years has been a godsend. Maybe not a āgodsendā but you know what I mean: Working from home; Not wasting time in traffic; Being confined to the place I feel most comfortable in with the people Iām closest to; these things have been great! Iāve never practiced as much (guitar) so Iāve never played better and Iāve never accomplished as much as I have in the last 2 years. Granted that it didnāt happen due to Covid alone as my change began with losing my job in 2019 and being forced to make changes that I simply continued to pursue throughout 2020 despite Covid.
There were and still are plenty of challenges, fears and confusion as well as the actual illness itself and all the physical, psychological, and social damage it has caused but those small āpositivesā Iām referring to were pretty much all I/we had to hold on to while waiting for the pandemic to take its course and while waiting for vaccines etc.
Itās been a heck of a roller coaster ride thatās for certain but it may finally be time to get back to ānormalā albeit a different normal than what weāve been used to.
There are still plenty of question marks on how exactly we need to proceed to go back to normal. Not only is it confusing to know what is ok or safe to do, we just donāt know what to expect when temperatures cool down again and flu season rolls back in or whether these vaccines have helped or not.
That said, weāve decided to start the band back up and now comes the challenge of logistics. What songs will we play? What styles? What equipment will we need? Who will play what? Where will we practice? When do we practice? How often? Small things but huge questions for everyone involved as everyone has their personal situations that need to be considered.
Weāre all a little confused right now but weāre also all excited as there is much to benefit from in hanging out with good people, performing with and exchanging ideas with good musicians with good intentions and at some point sharing our efforts with family and friends as well.
Iām looking forward to this so much and I canāt wait to get some answers.
For now, Iām tuning up and tuning out but please do stay tuned for more updates.
Sincerely,
Frank šš
July 4
2021
The boys are back in town!
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Hey Friends š
Itās been a long time since weāve had the freedom to gather ā¦and there was no exception among musicians either. Some still went against the rules for their own reasons but one thing is for certain, this pandemic will be part of our history and will be known as that time when we hit the pause button. Life itself still continued and weāve physically, and psychologically adapted to a new reality. Many people didnāt even live through it and we will probably deal with the psychological damage for years to come. That being said, it did permit us to reset ourselves, find a new way to doing something, make a change, maybe even reflect on things and appreciate things differently than before.
Here we are now. Vaccines are available. Most have had at least one shot and others are already on their second. Where we go from here and what will happen when the summer winds down is still unknown. For now, some normalcy is beginning to find its way through and people are finally beginning to see the light.
So whatās new? Well, for one thing the gang from Spirit Of Vintage (a long time baby/band of mine) will be regrouping and starting back up again.
Please visit www.SpiritOfVintage.com for more info!
Welcome back all and stay ātunedā! šš
Frank
June 27
2021
Listen To This
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Hey folks!
Weāve just added a new feature where you can now listen to the text instead of reading the articles for those who prefer to listen to longer articles.
Itās not the greatest tool however it does allow you to get a basic understanding of whatās written AND you can continue listening to music in the background while the text is being read.
Just click on the āListen To Thisā button at the top of every page for which the feature has been enabled and enjoy!
Just a note however, weāre actively attempting to fix the text to make it more listenable therefore please be patient if anything doesnāt sound just right!
Donāt like the voice you hear? Simply select the text you wish to have read and use your phone, computer, or tabletās voice to read messages or text in the voice you prefer. š
Thank you
Frank
July 8
2020
No Surrender!
Hey friends! š
We’re only half way through 2020 and it’s already been a rough one for everyone around the world. Maybe you know someone who’s been sick, has passed away or even simply trying to make sense of everything while trying to adapt to the new ‘normal’.
NO SURRENDER is my attempt at keeping busy, staying healthy, and fighting through life’s challenges! It’s a fun rock guitar instrumental and I’m dedicating it to everyone going through a rough time but getting right back up and facing the challenge(s) head on! We’re all in this together! No Surrender! Hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun recording it!
“Life is not about how many times you fall down. It’s about how many times you get back up!” – Jaime Escalante
Thank’s for listening and for supporting my music and art!
Frank Cefališ¤šš
*** NO SURRENDER is available in all your favourite online stores! šš