by Kimmie Chameleon:
Dan Franklin = Bad Ass
The creatively explosive Dan Franklin is set to trailblaze this planet with his endless talents. His current endeavors have him and his “Dan and Leland” bandmate, Leland Jackness on the brink of capturing all of our hearts and imaginations with their full-length rock album and graphic novel both titled, “Mind of Mirrors”. They have joined forces with the extraordinary artist Tom Hodges to conceive a story that blends both the visual imagery that a graphic novel presents to its readers, and also the thought provoking depths produced when listening to an emotionally charged album. In between this project, and delighting thousands of people daily at a well-known theme park in Anaheim, California where he is an extremely popular performer, Dan has managed to collaborate on another project with television’s “Pretty Little Liars” actress, Sasha Pieterse. Dan has produced and co-written a few songs with Sasha, and their first country single, “This Country is Bad Ass” is set to be released on April 12, 2013. With so many things on Dan’s plate, I was elated to have the opportunity to interview him while at WonderCon in Anaheim, California.
“It was breathed into existence.”
Kimmie Chameleon: So what came first, the story or the album?
Dan Franklin: Well, it’s funny…it kinda happened simultaneously. We (he and Leland) had been writing for our 4th album and started realizing that these songs were maybe telling a bigger story when you start putting them in a certain order. There was this weird, old picture with a face melted off at this music store where we used to write, which is Westwood Music in Westwood, California, and we sorta started writing this story about THAT guy. And since then it has completely evolved to NOT that, but we started taking these big long walks and talking about the story and outlining it. Then Leland would write that chapter of the book and I would edit it…just kind of go back and forth with it. Meanwhile, we were both writing the songs. It was really simultaneous, is the short answer. It was breathed into existence.
KC: How long ago did this start to happen?
DF: We started working on this about 5 years ago.
KC: How many songs are on the album?
DF: There are 12 songs. It’s a full length album. Each song is like a soundtrack to a chapter in the book and the music is very interesting. Its eclectic-outlaw-pop-rock. There’s banjo in it and outlaw country instrumentation to a very rock album.
KC: What is the tone of the story?
DF: It’s very dark…kind of ‘Vertigo’ dark…like Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’ kind of dark. It’s a very intellectual book. It’s very introspective. It tells one story from a couple different angles. There’s a supernatural element and a sort of psychedelic otherworldly thing. At the same time, there’s a moral story about the main character discovering that the entire time throughout the book he’s looking to all of these external factors to define who he is, rather than just sorta letting go and being who he is. It’s kind of a self-acceptance story.
And Now For Something Completely Different…
KC: Who is your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
DF: That’s a REALLY tough question because I LOVE them all. I’m gonna have to go with Raph. No…Leo. No…Mike. No, definitely Don. No…Raph. Raph.
KC: What’s your favorite cheese?
DF: It really depends on what the cheese is used for. That’s like asking me what my favorite tool is. Am I turning a screw, or am I tightening a bolt?
KC: What kind would you like on a cracker?
DF: What kind of cracker?
KC: A Triscuit.
DF: Which Triscuit? Just a regular run-of-the-mill Triscuit?
KC: No…Roasted Garlic.
DF: Pepper Jack.
Aaaand Back to the Project…
KC: How did artist Tom Hodges get involved with this project?
DF: Tom is a fan of a certain rock show that I perform in at a certain theme park in Anaheim, California. He started posting pictures of that online, and I checked out his art and was blown away. I had found out that he had done a lot of other things, like this Rush album that he did. He’s already done a graphic novel with an album. It seemed like the perfect fit and then I sorta reached out to him on Facebook, and he was totally into it. I sent him the album and he raved about the music.
KC: Is the album already completed and produced?
DF: Oh, yeah. It’s in the can and it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever done.
KC: Did you give Tom Hodges artistic freedom with the visual graphics in the novel?
DF: For some characters we had pretty specific concepts we were going for, but other characters were a lot more vague in our minds. We got the script and we know basically what the characters should look like, but I’m relying heavily on Tom for his input on that. The main concept picture, if you look at that, Mr.Green (the antagonist), looks nothing like I thought he would. Jack and Alison look exactly how I thought they would.
KC: Are you and Leland equally involved in this project?
DF: Leland is the main author. I’m the co-author. I’m more of the big picture guy. He’s the detail guy.
Kickstarter
DF: We are trying to raise money, not only to fund the production, but also the printing. The total creation of the book.
A Kickstarter campaign has begun, and lasts until May 4, 2013. Seeing this innovative project come to fruition would please not only Dan, Leland, and Tom…but also the many fans that respect and admire each artist individually for their enormous talents. Be sure to check out their Kickstarter and see what all the buzz is about!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mindofmirrors/mind-of-mirrors
You can also follow the project on their Facebook pages at:
Dan and Leland: https://www.facebook.com/danandleland
Mind of Mirrors: https://www.facebook.com/mindofmirrors
Tom Hodges: https://www.facebook.com/Hodgesart
Dan Franklin Music on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danfmusic
Dan Franklin Music on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/danfranklinmusic
“This Country is Bad Ass”
Be sure to download Dan’s other project with Sasha Pieterse, country single “This Country is Bad Ass” set to be released on April 12, 2013. Other forthcoming singles to follow.
DarkMedia contributing writer Kimmie Chameleon was born and raised with a healthy appreciation for horror and science fiction. She currently covers Supernatural, Ghost Adventures, BBC’s Being Human, Syfy’s Being Human, and Sherlock. When she’s not out ghost hunting with her kids, you can find her stealing a moment to add to her own pieces of fiction. Follow her on Twitter @dvsduo and “friend” her on Facebook.
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