Bio

What is it that makes a good song a good song? Is it the ability for an audience to instantly feel at home while listening to the singer? Is it the emotion in which the song is delivered? Is it the lyrics that all too often seem to open up a door in one’s heart? Is it the melody you just can’t forget no matter how hard you try? Or is it the fun thats had when a group of people can all sing in unison the chorus to an acoustic trip that was written for a single time and place but has seemed to travel through several years and hearts?

Carter Francis set out after the untimely and forced disillusion of his Dallas-based rock outfit 8th Straight Loss to create not only a record full of songs he was unable to sing in his hometown of Garland, Tx, but to create something entirely new and different. His first solo release The Tourist in 2004 captured several different emotions focussing primarily on the feeling of being in an entirely new and different place alone and without lifelong companions. Songs like “I’m Choking” and “First Night Alone” captured audiences and were given some airtime on local campus radio KVRX.

After completing his first year in Austin, Francis headed home for a 3 month long retreat to complete a record of entirely new material intended to focus less on typical subject matter, and avoid standard song structures. The record was finished in a wave of confusion, and with one day left before heading back to Austin, Tx permanently, a show was played at The Door in Dallas to celebrate the new 12 track record fittingly titled “Finding Someplace Real”.

Perhaps it was in struggling to find the roots of human emotion and love in “Finding Someplace Real” that led to the conclusion of a 4-year-long segment of Carter’s life, but when fall of 2005 rolled around, things were changing.

In the midst of a challenging degree program, the artist was finding new outlets in film and photography that had previously gone undiscovered. Seemingly falling off the musical map for the later half of ’05, Carter had instead been toiling over the most important release to date.

By January 06, more than 40 songs had been written for the upcoming EP. The carefully planned, record had been narrowed down to a 6 track EP consisting of four songs and two musical interludes. This was to be a back-to-basics record. A comeback of sorts.

“SAFE” was released on February 5th, 2006 to an overwhelmingly positive response. Released free of charge online from 3 different sources simultaneously, and distributed freely in pressed format at shows, the brutal honesty and heartfelt lyrics that make up “SAFE” hit audiences hard, and the song “Safe” was finding its way into a frequent rotation on KVRX 91.7fm. “Its Harder” was also performed live on the popular Austin-wide television late-night show entitled “The Benjamin Carter Show”

Deciding it best to stay in Austin over the summer and capitalize on the success of the EP, Carter began playing shows on a frequent basis. Soon the venues were getting to be larger than Carter had anticipated with set times requiring he dig deep into his growing back-catalogue to provide an hour lock rock spectacle.

He asked a friend and fellow songwriter/performer Bobby Martinez to join him onstage over the summer. Once Bobby and Carter began performing together, there was no looking back, and what began as Bobby simply appearing and helping out with backing vocals and piano soon became a show which capitalized on the strengths and songs of both artists resulting in large crowds and positive reactions.

Throughout the long summer months, a project began stirring.

“Kites on Fire” was Carter Francis’ next project.

And what a project it was. “Hundreds of hours have gone into the preparation of the story,” says Carter, who has been toiling over the concept record since last March. “It’ll be different,” he says, “whether or not I’ll keep or lose fans I’ve yet to decide, but in the end, I’ll be happy, and it will be the story that needs to be told.”

Dedication to one’s craft has never been so steadfast.

With the barrage of shows that are already in the works, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of slowing down in the near future.

A comprehensive Bio