Exposed Vocals sits down to an exclusive interview with Frank Hamilton

Frank Hamilton, the multi-instrumentalist hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina is releasing his first full-length album, Meteor, on May 27th, 2016. Meteor is a tribute to Final Fantasy VII that both fans of the game and instrumental music will love.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Frank Hamilton: I’ve been up and down the East Coast most of my life, but North Carolina has been home for nearly twenty years now, specifically the Raleigh/Durham area. I don’t think becoming an artist was ever a conscious decision, as it’s always been in my blood. I do, however, remember hearing the intro melody to Guns’ “Paradise City” for the first time as a kid and thinking “OK – I need to know how to do that”.

 

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Frank Hamilton: Sharing music online allows musicians unparalleled freedom when it comes to our art, so I will always be a fan. I think the most important part of that is being able to actually interact with the listener. It’s really something special to be able to get feedback from someone who listens to your work.

 

I do share a lot of my music for free through YouTube (youtube.com/FHamiltonMusic) which is always a blast to do. Having a consistent upload schedule keeps me focused and working hard on releasing more. It’s a real motivator for me, and I think has made me a better musician overall.

 

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Frank Hamilton: Yeah, absolutely. I have two big ones: Don’t be a jerk – treat your comrades with respect and humility. Also, don’t be afraid to suck. Art in any form is never finished, it’s just a matter of saying “OK, this is where I’m at” and baring your soul, regardless of how well you can play your instrument or mix a track, etc.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

 

Frank Hamilton: Ha, constantly. I have a tendency to play things differently almost every time I play it, so I’m mistake-prone as a result. It keeps things interesting for me, and isn’t a totally conscious thing, it’s just sort of woven in to my playing.

 

The big thing to keep in mind when making mistakes live though, is to just simply move on. Pick up at the next note that you’re able to execute correctly, regardless of the musical situation. Cutting your losses and realizing that a mistake was made and nothing will allow you to go back and fix it is a very sobering thing. Just get to the next note and keep on keepin’ on.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

 

Frank Hamilton: I don’t tour, no, but I’m sure I would if given the opportunity to tour with the right folks. I’d love to tour the Meteor record and some of the other stuff that I’ve done. Maybe someday!

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Frank Hamilton: So little of the work I share is original music, it’s hard to say. I will say that when it comes to creating the arrangements and ideas for a lot of the covers I do, it all comes down to inspiration from my surroundings. In a lot of cases, it may be because I’m going through the game itself if I’m working on a video game cover, or it may be something as seemingly insignificant as hearing construction outside of my apartment. Riffs don’t get any more metal than construction equipment influenced riffs.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Frank Hamilton: I do! You can access my main website at www.frank-hamilton.com. My YouTube channel (youtube.com/FHamiltonMusic) is the most active platform that I use, but I’m also on soundcloud (soundcloud.com/fhamilton) for those that prefer just the audio tracks while they’re doing other things.

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

 

Frank Hamilton: Oh, I absolutely have some embarrassing stuff on there. From all the cover bands I’ve been in, there’s tons of cringe to be had. Not necessarily embarrasing, but just earlier today, I was listening on shuffle and it went from Meshuggah’s “Bleed” to the Award Fanfare from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. My iPod not only went from brutal to adorable, but was kind enough to congratulate Meshuggah. “Congratulations, Meshuggah, you played all of the polyrhythms. Each one of them. Thall.” That’s a direct quote from my iPod. True story.

 

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Frank Hamilton: I’d get a dog and name him Buster. That’s all I really want in life!

 

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

 

Frank Hamilton: Yes! Lots of upgrades to happen through the year. As it stands, I actually have been doing everything on my ATH-M50Xs. My old monitors died a while back and I never had the opportunity to replace them. That’s the first thing on the list. Beyond that, it’s mostly plugin software that I’m looking into.

 

Currently, I use a pretty humble setup to record everything. Effectively nothing more than Focusrite Safire 6 USB into Logic Pro X and using plugins for nearly everything. I live in an apartment, so mic’ing an electric guitar isn’t possible. I do record my acoustic tracks with mics, but that’s the only thing that uses them.

Positive Grid’s Bias is the source for the bulk of my guitar tones, but I’m using a cabinet impulse I found years and years ago on the net somewhere. I believe it’s a Mesa 4X12 with V30s mic’d with an SM57 and an MD421. Bass guitar is recorded with a DI and split into three tracks and edited from there. Drums are all Toontrack products, and sometimes I’ll throw in samples from other libraries I own using X-Drum. All of my other sounds (orchestral, etc.) are EastWest’s plugins and Omnisphere.

 

I recorded all of Meteor using my Ibanez guitars (an RG1527Z, RG560), my parts strat, and my Ibanez SD535 bass. I use Dimarzio pickups in all of my guitars. The RG1527Z has a Liquifire 7 in the bridge and PAF 7 in the neck. The 560 has the Andy Timmons AT-1 in the bridge and Virtual 2s in the middle and neck.

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Frank Hamilton: I’m not great at self-promotion, to be completely honest. I usually will post a tidbit here and there on Facebook and a few different forums, but the bulk of my promotion is word of mouth through people who are into what I do. The people who know of me and like what I do are also very vocal about it, and it’s just the best. Y’all are great!

 

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

 

Frank Hamilton: If it could be any singular musician, it’d be Steven Wilson. I’m a huge fan of everything he does – his songwriting, his production, his overall creative flow, it’s just incredibly appealing to me.

 

If it was specifically an established band, I think I’d want to pay guitar for Gojira. I love the way those guys think musically, and I think it’d be the most satisfying gig I could possibly get, especially on a musical level.

 

 

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Frank Hamilton: I’ve already been planning the next project since halfway through the process with Meteor. I have some ideas, but nothing I’m able to commit 100% to just yet. When something’s set in stone, I’ll be sure to let people know!

 

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Frank Hamilton: Teaching music.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

 

Frank Hamilton: I do! The first record I ever bought was the A-Teens album when I was still in elementary school. They were on heavy rotation on Nickelodeon at the time, and I thought Dancing Queen was the catchiest and coolest song ever written, so it was a no-brainer. I haven’t seen that album in ages, though, I have no idea where it went.

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Frank Hamilton: I don’t! Responsibility is overrated, being an adult is hard, and cartoons are great.

 

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Frank Hamilton: Simply put, more.