Franky Perez

Franky Perez is an American musician best known as a solo artist, singer of Finnish Cello based rock band Apocalyptica, and as former guitarist for Scars on Broadway. He has released three solo albums, Poor Man's Son, My 4th of July and ADDICT, and performed with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash in his live band before Slash assembled the touring band that backed him during his first full solo tour with Myles Kennedy. Perez has also collaborated with Slash's VR band mate Dave Kushner, releasing songs under the pseudonym of DKFXP, as well as the virtual band Pusher Jones, contributing the song "Count Me Out" to the The Avengers soundtrack.

Perez has also performed with a number of all star cover bands over the years including Camp Freddy, Ducati All-Stars, Royal Machines, Kings of Chaos and formed Carnival of Dogs with Matt Sorum, Tracii Guns and Phil Soussan. As of 2014, Perez is the singer of Finnish metal band Apocalyptica.

Biography

Solo (2002–present)

Perez is the son of Cuban and Spanish immigrants; his mother was a folk singer and poet who would perform at various functions, with her young son right beside her providing backing vocals and on occasion playing the spoons or whatever other makeshift instruments he could find. A natural talent, by 16 he was already a seasoned veteran of the Las Vegas music scene, performing at bars and venues he wasn’t even old enough to attend.

It was no surprise to anyone when Lava/Atlantic Records snapped him up, and his debut self produced album “Poor Man’s Son” was released in 2003 to critical acclaim. Containing 17 tracks of impassioned honest songwriting, it led AllMusic to state that “he successfully experiments with a buffet of tastes including sultry blues, roots rock, and anthemic pop." VH1 soon picked up the video for the single "Something Crazy” and CMT.com listed the album on their list of top 20 gems of 2003.

After touring in support of his Atlantic release, Perez returned to his native Las Vegas to write and re-charge and in the winter of 2004, recorded his second album, ‘My 4th of July’ in the intimacy of his own home. Fulfilling a need to create a body of work that was true to his own vision and himself, Perez produced and played his own drum parts, guitar, keyboards, and sang vocals at his own pace in his own control room. Having the freedom to press 'record' whenever he wanted, he produced a body of work with a cohesiveness and honesty of which Perez is incredibly proud. The songwriting is tight, well-crafted, and highly accessible. The production is both dynamic and pleasing while allowing Perez the freedom to express his clear and soulful voice. ‘My 4th Of July’ was released in 2005 and Perez spent much of that year and 2006 touring in support of the album.

By the time the touring cycle was wrapping up however, Perez had developed ‘expensive habits that he couldn’t afford’ and was paying the price personally for his success. It became clear to him that time out was needed and he stepped away from the spotlight for the whole of 2007.

After a year of soul searching and major change, Perez would step back onto the world's stage in 2008 as part of the band Scars on Broadway (Interscope) with Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (both of the band System of a Down). Assuming the role of guitarist, the band played their first show at the historic Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles with the album release following closely in July that same year.

Even before the Scars On Broadway tour had come to an end, the music industry was already sitting up and taking notice of the now heavily bearded guitarist. Recruited to lend his vocals to Camp Freddy’s live shows on continual and numerous occasions, in 2009, legendary guitarist Slash, confirmed his live band Slash & Friends and announced Perez on vocals. Perez had also formed a new collaboration with Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) and tracks began appearing online under the moniker ‘DKFXP’. Initially offered as free downloads, it wasn’t long before they got the call saying Meat Loaf had heard ‘Party of One’ and wanted to make it his own. The track would be recorded by Meat Loaf and released on his 2012 album ‘Hell in a Hand Basket’.

It was this same year that Perez would also get the call to lend his vocals to a cover of ‘Slip Kid’ with Anvil for the FX television series ‘Sons of Anarchy’ – a relationship that continued through its 7th and final season. Perez also performs live as a member of the Sons Of Anarchy band The Forest Rangers featuring Katey Sagal. The Forest Rangers are booked to appear at 2015's Stage Coach Festival.

A new cover band composed of musicians and Ducati enthusiasts, calling themselves the Ducati All-Stars, featured Perez on vocals, Billy Morrison (The Cult), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Chris Wyse (The Cult), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin) , Donovan Leitch (Camp Freddy) and Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray). Their debut performance was at the Roxy Theatre on January 2nd and that spring they set off on an acoustic West Coast tour. Riding from LA to Seattle, playing low key intimate shows, the tour married up Rock n Roll and Motorcycles proving that the 2 combined does not, in the words of Billy Morrison, always mean “long haired hippies and choppers’.

Tour done, Perez would now draw from his 2004 recording experience when he and industry legend David "Beno" Benvinesti discovered 15-year-old Jackson Guthy and took on the role of mentor/producer/songwriter. A year spent in development and with a performance on Ellen already under the now 16-year-old Jacksons’ belt, Perez also worked tirelessly with him on his live show that saw Jackson through arena tours across the US with Big Time Rush and One Direction, as well as securing him a deal with Universal Republic.

In 2012, Perez along with Dave Kushner/Velvet Revolver, Scott Shriner/Weezer, Joey Castillo/Queens Of The Stone Age, and Dave Warren/The Simpsons formed PusherJones and released an EP. The single 'Count Me Out,’ written by Perez and Kushner, was featured on the soundtrack for The Avengers.

That same year Perez was bestowed the honor of being the vocalist for The Doors at the Sunset Strip Music Festival in Los Angeles, California.

Franky Perez has always been a prolific artist but 2013 proved to be one of the most creative of his career. With two albums worth of new material, he released his third studio album entitled ADDICT. Songs from ADDICT were included throughout the Sons Of Anarchy 7th and final season and will be featured in the Sons Of Anarchy documentary set for a 2015 release. "Stay" from the "Addict" LP (available on iTunes) made it into the "Songpickr: 2014 Best Songs of the Year" The playlist is available for all Spotify users worldwide. It currently has over 67.000 followers and many more listeners with the majority of streams coming from the US, Australia, UK and Germany.

In Late 2014 Franky was chosen to join Finnish rock band Apocalyptica. Having collaborated with artists like Gavin Rossdale (BUSH), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER) and Ville Valo (HIM) on past studio albums, Apocalyptica decided to take on a new musical challenge: For the upcoming LP, the band worked with Franky as exclusive singer on the vocal tracks — this time not only during production, but for the whole cycle, including the tour. The new Apocalyptica album titled Shadowmaker was produced by Grammy award winning producer Nick Ruskulenicz and mixed by Greg Fidelman and is set for a spring 2015 release. The release of the Shadowmaker LP will be supported by an 18 month world tour.

In 2015 Perez’s career continues to go from strength to strength, his only problem now is not having enough hours in the day. Perez recently became a BMG writer/artist, Perez is a staple on the LA and Las Vegas live circuit, the Ducati Allstars continue to ride including a recent trip to Italy for performances at Ducati Bike Week, Pusher Jones is working on material for a full-length album and an animated series on Adult Swim, Sons of Anarchy will release a documentary featuring Franky's voice and original music, The Forest Rangers continue to play shows (recently selling out the Troubadour in West Hollywood and are scheduled for a 2015 Stagecoach appearance) Franky is a regular guest with Camp Freddy off shoots The Royal Machines (recently selling out two nights at The Roxy in Hollywood, CA) and Kings Of Chaos, Apocalyptica featuring Franky Perez is preparing to take the rock world by storm with their Eleven Seven Music Group release of Shadowmaker. All projects are ongoing.

Scars on Broadway (2008–2012)

After recording an album and posting their first track online, titled "They Say", Scars on Broadway collaborators Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (both formerly of System of a Down) recruited new members to perform for upcoming live shows.^[2] Added to the lineup were Perez, on guitar, Dominic Cifarelli, on bass, and Danny Shamoun on keyboards and percussion. They played their first live show in April 2008, at the Whisky a Go Go, and played the Coachella Festival in the same month.^[1][2] The group's debut album, Scars on Broadway, was released in July the same year.^[2] In August they announced their first North American tour in support of their debut release, while also releasing a music video for the track "World Long Gone",^[3] however the tour was canceled by Malakian for "compelling reasons".^[4] Perez addressed the fans about the tour cancellation saying:

Almost a year after the tour cancellation, Scars on Broadway announced they were to tour U.S. Army bases in Iraq without Malakian. Perez stated that "we all wish that our brother D [Malakian] would come as well, but he has other commitments in the States. He has given us his blessing to go perform and supports the cause completely."^[5] In the same year, Malakian, Dolmayan, former System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and Perez performed together at Odadjian's Halloween party at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood on October 31, 2009.^[6]

On April 13, 2010, Scars on Broadway announced that they were performing a comeback show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood on Sunday, May 2, 2010.^[7] During the show, they debuted a new song, reportedly titled "Talkin' Shit", and were joined on stage by Shavo Odadjian, on third guitar, for two songs.^[8]

On September 22, 2012, Scars on Broadway performed their first concert in over 2 years at the Epicenter festival in Irvine, Ca. Franky Perez did not appear, and he confirmed on Facebook that he was no longer in the band.^[9]

Other work

In 2009, Slash announced that Perez was part of his live band, along with John 5, Chris Chaney, Jason Bonham and Teddy Andreadis, to perform at his headlining appearance at the Quart Festival on June 30 in Kristiansand, Norway.^[10] He was once again part of Slash's live band, this time on lead vocals, at his show in Las Vegas on October 2 the same year.^[11][12] On September 10, Perez performed at the Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.^[13] Guests at the tribute included Henry Rollins, Tommy Lee, Slash, Billy Bob Thornton, Lemmy and Corey Taylor among others.^[14]

On June 20, 2009, Perez announced via his official Myspace that he was in the studio collaborating with Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner.^[1][15][16] The songs recorded were released under the pseudonym of DKFXP (a combination of both Perez and Kushner's initials), the first released on September 19 titled Party of One.^[17] On November 16, another song, titled The Collapse, was made available to download.^[18] On December 1, Perez listed all the songs that had been released for free previously, as well as the codes to download them, including the song Beyond the Wire which was previously only available to US troops serving in the war.^[19]

In October, Perez stated on his Twitter account that he and Kushner were jamming with Weezer bassist Scott Shriner and his Scars on Broadway band mate, drummer John Dolmayan.^[20]

Also in 2009, Perez recorded a cover of The Who's Slip Kid with heavy metal group Anvil, released on Sons of Anarchy: North Country, a five-song EP featuring music from the FX television series "Sons of Anarchy".^[21] In 2012, Perez performed a cover of Stevie Wonder's, "Higher Ground" for the fifth-season soundtrack of 'Sons of Anarchy', along with Sons of Anarchy house band, The Forest Rangers.^[22]

In 2010, a cover band of musicians and Ducati enthusiasts, called Ducati All-Stars, was announced featuring guitarists Billy Morrison (Camp Freddy, The Cult, Circus Diablo), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Chris Wyse (The Cult) on bass, Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin) on drums, and Donovan Leitch (Camp Freddy), Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) and Perez on vocals.^[23] They played their first show at the Roxy Theatre, Saturday, January 2. The group plan on performing more shows, including a possible tour of the West Coast and overseas.^[24]

After performing together at the "Giving 2010" benefit event on May 3, 2010,^[25] Perez formed the cover band "Carnival of Dogs" with Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver, Camp Freddy, formerly of Guns N' Roses and The Cult), Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns, Brides of Destruction) and Phil Soussan (formerly of Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol and Vince Neil).^[26][27]

Perez has performed with the cover band Camp Freddy on numerous occasions over the years.^[28][29][30]

As of 2015, he is the exclusive singer on the vocal tracks for the new Apocalyptica album, Shadowmaker. He will also sing on the subsequent live shows.^[31] Regarding the possibility of having him as an official member, Apocalyptica co-founder Eicca Toppinen said "it's too early to think about it but nothing is decided! Now we got the record done and then we will have touring more or less for 2 years and at the end of that time or sometime during those 2 years we will know. But it wouldn't be an impossible option to have Franky [...]".^[31]

Discography

Studio albums

• Poor Man's Son (2003)
• My 4th of July (2005)
• ADDICT (2014)

with Apocalyptica

• Shadowmaker (2015)

References