Frank @ Rockinbeerfest, Huntingdon
August, 2004

I like to listen to a lot of unsigned bands and when I heard a band playing I knew I had to watch! I entered the unsigned tent to find that it wasn’t a band but Frank Hamilton playing on his own with his acoustic.

The guy has a really unusual voice and if you’re into Damien Rice and Ben Folds then you will like the sound of Frank. Frank only had a mini set but I took some pics and had a listen till he had time to be interviewed. The guy seemed a lil nervous so I told him it would only be an informal interview and managed to make it into more of a conversation...

Hello Frank, How are you?
Hello Sam, I’m very well thank you.

Your set went really well the crowd really enjoyed you.
Yeah, thanks very much, there wasn’t too many people in at the start but they seemed to come in and stay and that is the main thing. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I had fun up there as always.

So, what are you trying to achieve out of playing music?
At the end of the day I want my music to be heard basically, I’m a song writer so I would like some point in the future to hopefully get that record deal and go out and sell CDs, just like anyone I guess.

So, you’re a song writer?
Yes, I’m a singer/ song writer.

Your music is quite inspirational, talking about politics?
It is, politics is a big part of my song writing, I mean I don’t know why, I’m influenced by Bob Dylan a lot and it just comes across in my songs basically.

Who would you say your inspirations were?
The main one is probably Bob Dylan, seen him four times, he's a genius, Ben Harper as well is a big influence and Michael Moore believe it or not, the American director, a bit radical but some of the points he says need bringing home in more ways then he can do.

Do you have a website?
I do it's www.frankhamilton.tk

Do you have an album out?
I don’t have an album out, however I do have a few EPs and demos out which you can get by contacting me but hopefully I will be working on my album when I go to study at ACM next year. I’m doing a course in guitar performance basically just studying music and they can help me get a CV together and show me were to take my music further.

You’re great at keeping your audience entertained, how do you achieve this?
I don’t know, I think I’ve seen the danger of a lot of artists who just sit there and play and I think sitting down for me is a really bad thing because the audience has nothing to engage visually but if they can engage visually by someone prancing around on stage and really getting into it and obviously feeling the music then I think that heightens the music and the message so that is what I try to achieve.

Have you got any gigs lined up?
I have one at St. Ives Burgess Hall, which is truly worth checking out as it should be a great evening of Battle of the Bands. And I just played the Cambridge Corn Exchange which I was really chuffed about.

How many people have you played in front of before?
The biggest is probably 500 which was at the Junction when I first started out.

You used to be in a band, do you prefer being a solo artist?
I do to be fair, obviously when I get myself together I’m going to have to get a band and go out and start gigging because I’m not going to get where I want to be just playing on my own but you just don’t have to rely on anyone and you’re the only one writing any of the songs, you’re the only one who can muck up, and its all down to you and that’s the way I like it sometimes.

Frank knows what he’s talking about, and after turning down record labels is going to university to make things happen for himself. You really need to see Frank perform to get an appreciation of how great his voice and lyrics are. Check him out on his website to find out more: www.frankhamilton.tk