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FRANK VAGNOZZI
March 3, 1964-May 20, 2003
Who was Frank Vagnozzi? Well, that is a valid question, I
suppose, but if you have to ask, you're probably not from
around these parts. Just about everyone in the Tampa-area
music scene knew Frank and everyone who met him loved him.
In Frank's final days and the next several weeks after, it
became apparent just how many people he touched. From the
hospital waiting room, bandmates Scott, Erron and Tony, made
endless phone calls with the terrible news. People I never
met before came up to me to ask if it was true. We all fielded
scores of concerned phone calls and emails.
Frank is best known as the guitarist and singer of the Reckless
Deerhunters, but he had other bands before, such as Mint Green
Slime, with Tony and Scott, back when they went to high school
together in West Virginia. Some of those Mint Green Slime
songs, like, "BB Gun," became Deerhunters standards.
Music was Frank's life-long passion. Frank loved music of
all kinds. Once, on a record hunting trip, he pointed out
some good jazz stuff to me and held a lengthy conversation
with the clerk about
a particular piece. He liked punk, but he wasn't really a
punk. He just liked what he liked and did what he did, regardless
of trends, fashion or peer influence.
His tastes were diverse, a point made crystal clear as Scott,
Erron, Tony and I scoured his record collection for keepsakes.
Black Flag, Cheap Trick, Little Richard, Devo, Flipper, Man
O War, Stooges, Howlin Wolf, B-52s, Beatles, Dead Kennedys,
The Who, AC/DC, Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer,
Slayer, Violent Femmes, Negative Approach, Fugazi, Nazz, X,
Burt Bacharach, The Clash, Ramones, Roxy Music, The Dictators,
The Smiths, Voivod and more, more, more. It wasn't a huge
record collection, but it certainly was varied and it reflected
Frank's fervent, unending pursuit of tunes. Always looking
for the next thing to kick his ass.
And now it is the day after splitting up Frank's collection.
I am sitting here, listening to one of his Black Market Baby
albums, picturing him digging through record store bins in
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Florida, and
who knows where else, hunting for vinyl treasure.
Often, Frank would sit with me in my record store for an entire
day, asking me questions and getting me to play stacks of
records. I couldn't keep up with him! As soon as I dropped
the needle on one platter, he'd have three others he wanted
to hear, too. He would dissect and discuss each record and
prod me for my opinion. These discussions were often hilarious
and insightful. Frank's visits to the shop kept me on my toes.
I'm going to miss them.
Frank loved live music, too, and if he was at a show, he was
most likely right up front, smiling the whole time. Frank
would watch almost any band, any style -- even bands that
really sucked. (I only
saw Frank walk out on a band once.) Let's just say that his
levels of enthusiasm and endurance far surpassed mine.
He was particularly supportive of young bands and always had
words of encouragement for them. Frank would find something
nice to say to even the least-talented and most out of tune/out
of time bands. His long-running, hard-working band, the Reckless
Deerhunters, played more shows than I can remember for various
local projects such as this album.
After Frank's passing, I dug through my file cabinet and looked
at the flyer layouts for all of the shows I have ever done
at the record store. The Reckless Deerhunters were on most
of them. That says something. The Deerhunters never got a
penny for any of these shows, nor did they ever ask. It was
all for the sheer joy of playing. Frank once told me that
playing music was the best thing inhis life.
I pulled out every flyer with the Deerhunters' name on it
and packed them up to mail to Frank's sister, Roxanne. It
was a very fat manila envelope. When Roxanne got the packet,
she emailed me to say that she had no idea how huge a role
the Reckless Deerhunters and our local music scene played
in his life. And I pointed out to her that Frank and the Deerhunters
played a huge role in our local music scene.
The Deerhunters were always there. Other bands came and went,
RDH outlasted and out classed them all. Boy, were they great
live. Their importance cannot be overstated. Many young band
members have been heard to exclaim, "Alright! We're playing
our first show with The Reckless Deerhunters!" The kids
looked up to Frank.
Like all Burn Brandon releases, this album was financed by
a series of benefit shows and a few donations. Oh, yeah, we
had a garage sale and a raffle, too. Creative financing makes
it possible for us to release records and give them away.
BBR operates on a very simple principle: we're all in this
together. We play shows together, we support each other. What's
good for one is ultimately
going to be good for us all.
Frank and the other Deerhunters were at the meeting when we
discussed making this album, the fourth on our community-run
label. We already had released a CD and two 7" records.
It was time for an LP.
But what to put on it? As with the other releases, we decided
it was best to give more than just one band a shot at beingimmortalized.
The LP format would allow for several bands to have several
minutes each to strut their stuff. We had an informal discussion/debate
and came up with the names of six bands that we at the meeting
thought were most worthy of being on the album. Playing ability
was a factor, yes, but a bigger factor was involvement within
the scene. We wanted the bands on the album to be the ones
who had paid their dues -- bands who consistently play shows,
support each other and generally just hang out. All of the
bands on this LP have played with each other in some combination
on many occasions.
It was agreed that each band would finance its own recording,
getting about seven minutes of album time each. A deadline
was set for the music to be completed and, amazingly, nobody
blew the deadline! (Musicians are not known for being the
most punctual or organized people.)
At the meeting, nobody could come up with a title and cover
concept, so we decided on a cover contest. The only rules
were turn in your cover design the right size and in black
and white. You come up with the title and the artwork. Several
people were discussing concepts for the album cover. I envisioned
a post-apocalyptic Brandon cityscape, with radioactive zombies
feeding on the brains on soccer moms.
Then Frank died, and it became obvious that the album must
be dedicated to him. This cover design was chosen by his peers.
I sent an advance copy of the cover art to Roxanne and she
loved it. She wrote in an email that Frank seems to be saying,
"Look at me, I'm on an album cover!" Yes, you did
it, Frank!
I love the picture on the cover. Every time I look at it,
I am reminded of Frank's zeal. I first saw the photo about
a week after Frank's death. When Pete Watson handed it to
me, I started laughing. I laughed every time I looked at it
for a couple of weeks. Take a good look at it -- Frank is
having a blast, rocking his heart out -- and that is how I
want to remember him.
-- Bob Suren, Brandon, FL, August 2003
This album was made possible by the cool bands who
played the benefit shows, all of the kids who passed out flyers
for the shows and, of course, all of the people who paid at
the door. Give yourselves a big round of applause.
All of the companies involved in the manufacturing of this
album were kind enough to extend generous discounts. Special
thanks to Beth Proctor at United Record Pressing, Tracy at
Frankford Wayne Record Mastering, Walter Rossman at Imprint,
Lynn Price at Dorado Press and the entire Audio Lab crew.
United Record Pressing
(615) 259-9396
www.urpressing.com
Frankford Wayne Record Mastering
(212) 302-8300
www.frankfordwayne.com
Imprint
(941) 497-0510
www.iloveimprint.com
Audio Lab Studios
(813) 875-2501
2101 W. Hillsborough Ave, Tampa, FL 33603
Dorado Press
(818) 365-4433
717 Arroyo Ave. San Fernando, CA 91340
Cover design by Bob Suren. Insert design by the bands.
BURN BRANDON RECORDS #4
This album is FREE. If you see someone selling it, kick himor
her in the groin.
600 copies made.
SIDE ONE: RUNNING TIME 19:32
Reckless Deerhunters
1. Life
2. Heartfelt Verse Of Endearment
3. Father's Day
Anoxia
4. Serendipity
5. American Dream
6. Oppression
John Madden And The Electric Condoms
7. President Cokehead
8. Sexual Confusion In The Squad Car
9. Anarchy Rocker
10. We Got Raped By The Beach Boys
11. Don't Spit In My Burrito
SIDE TWO: RUNNING TIME: 20:30
Lawnmowers Gone Awry
12. The L.G.A. March
13. Checkmate
14. Kill Yourself
15. The Only People...
16. Make The Call
17. Nullified Prognosis
Dancing Lepers
18. You Gotta Get 'Em While They're Young
19. Vampire Reflection
20. Buy Your Freedom
D.F.C.
21. Live N Die
22. Not Gona Change 4 U
23. In My Head
24. Crap'n Everywhere
It is the hope of the Frank Vagnozzi Music Foundation
that he and his music shall live forever. As Carlos Santana
said at his induction to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, "May
the music set you free." We hope Frank's music does the
same for you!
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