Eugene Francis Jnr - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Eugene Francis Jnr is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, most famous for fronting the alternative rock bands The Fantastic Super Foofs, Kaptain Black, Dirty Perfect. Today, he is a solo musician, fronting the band Eugene Francis Jnr and The Juniors.

Early life

Eugene Francis Jnr was born in Cardiff, Wales on 8 March 1977, and raised mainly in and around South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

. During his youth, EFJ had gravitated towards such influential '90s grunge outfits as Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

and The Lemonheads

The Lemonheads

The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....

The Fantastic Super Foofs, Kaptain Black and Dirty Perfect

Along with school friends Nav Verghese and Baz Hall, he formed The Fantastic Super Foofs at Brynteg School in Bridgend

Bridgend

Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

circa 1994 playing under the name 'Eso Burst'. At this stage they played punk rock, and were briefly known as "Mister Puss" (after his cat), until Verghese penned a song called 'The Fantastic Super Foofs' in his side-project 'Lesters Lovechild' and hence resulted in a name change in 1996. Their first recording as a group was a Ltd EP release on "Russboy Records" titled "Gliptus."

By this point EFJ had enrolled at University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

studying Planetary Science. It was here he found himself in the same halls of residence as Coldplay

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

and My Vitriol

My Vitriol

My Vitriol are an alternative rock band from London, England. The band name, which is often misinterpreted, is taken from the novel Brighton Rock by Graham Greene...

. Whom he quickly befriended. After graduating and spending time in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, The Fantastic Super Foofs released the singles "Bilo Boss", "Devan Endo" and "Timmy Zuckermann" on the independent labels Floating Toast and Fuzzbox Records. These singles were met with positive reviews in the NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

and were played by Steve Lamacq

Steve Lamacq

Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...

and the late John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

.

However, the larger labels whom had initially shown an interest fell by the wayside. And the band broke down.

EFJ returned to Wales and spontaneously took a trip to Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

to see his friends Mclusky

Mclusky

Mclusky , originally known as Best, were a three-piece post-hardcore group formed in Cardiff, Wales. The group consisted of Englishman Andy "Falco" Falkous from Newcastle Upon Tyne, Jonathan Chapple and Jack Egglestone , who replaced previous drummer Matthew Harding in late...

who were recording their third album with Steve Albini

Steve Albini

Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...

. It was this trip that inspired EFJ to reform the band, with the same line-up. Only this time they were to combine the styles of blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

, punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

and country

Country

A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...

music and honour his hero Frank Black

Frank Black

Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...

by naming the new project Kaptain Black.

The album "In Fertility" was released in 2004 on the Mighty Atom

Mighty Atom Records

Mighty Atom Records is a Welsh based record label. The company was formed in early 2000 by Dave Simpson and Roger Hopkins. It is known for having been one of a few independent record labels at the forefront of the UK emo scene in the early 2000s, due to its early involvement with Funeral for a...

label. They toured with Mclusky

Mclusky

, and released the single "Drone the Queen Bee". But the album received mixed reviews

Much to the disappointment of EFJ. He started working two jobs in a Bank and a bottle-shop. During this time in 2005 he agreed to write and perform music with the Weezer

Weezer

Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...

-like Cardiff band Dirty Perfect under the name "Kip Armstrong." They released one EP entitled "Lines, Opiates and the demented operation" on Fuzzbox Records and one single 'Quarterback Hairdo' on Sound Foundation Records

The name "Eugene Francis" can be seen credited for all artwork on these releases.

It was on the video shoot for "Quarterback Hairdo" that EFJ met David Legion a director

Music video director

A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...

and graphic artist who had directed the video "Recover" for the band The Automatic

The Automatic

The Automatic , are a Welsh rock band. The band is composed of Robin Hawkins on vocals, bass and synthesizers, James Frost on guitar, synthesizers, backing vocals and occasional bass, Iwan Griffiths on drums and Paul Mullen on vocals, guitar and synthesizer - since 2007...

. EFJ and Dave Legion would later form the Record and Motion-Graphics company Legion Presents in 2007.

Solo career

Time spent in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, San Francisco, Chicago

Chicago

and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

staying on friends floors and playing impromptu shows at 'The Hotel Cafe' and 'Barbes Bar'. EFJ started experimenting with Folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

, storytelling

Storytelling

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...

songs coupled with electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

.

The story goes "during a late lock-in at The White Horse Tavern, New York City under the watchful eye of Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas

Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...

a friend told him to continue with what he had been doing, and create an album based on the demo's he had loosely recorded." Up to the challenge he returned home to Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

to start work on the proposed concept-album "The Golden Beatle."

During 2007 he started posting songs on his myspace

Myspace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

, playing solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

shows in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

and Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

and formed the "Harmonious, beatnik supergroup"- The Juniors which was made up from the "cream of the Welsh

Wales

indie scene." These bands and individuals included Vito, Llion Robertson, Broken Leaf, Lindsey Leven, and Lianne Francis.

EFJ was invited to open for the Canadian twins Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...

and released the Limited Edition Vinyl double A-side "Poor Me / Kites" to strong reviews. Coupled with this release was a cinematic adventure

Adventure

An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...

video which he co-produced with Dave Legion. The single and video found their way onto VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

, MTV2

MTV2

MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...

, BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

Radio 2

BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

, XFM

Xfm

Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...

and BBC 6 Music

BBC 6 Music

BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....

it also picked up numerous plays in the US on radio stations KEXP

KEXP

KEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...

. "artist of the week" and KITS

KITS

KITS is a San Francisco, California, USA-based radio station broadcasting at 105.3 MHz. The station is owned by CBS Radio and programs a modern rock format. The station also broadcasts on HD channel L2, locally on Comcast cable channel 986, and is streaming online.-Hot Hits:The station's...

Eugene Francis Jnr and The Juniors also played the mainstage at The Greenman Festival and it became their trait to throw rattles into the audience during the last song "Hobo Occupation" to unify the musicians with the crowd.

The Golden Beatle and 2008

The album "The Golden Beatle" was completed on Christmas Eve with numerous instruments

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

making up its refined sound. It was released in April 2008.

In December of that year, he supported Coldplay, with his band 'The Juniors', at the O2 Arena

The O2 arena (London)

The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...

in London

London

. He gave out badges, albums, T-shirts and many other merchandise onstage at these gigs, and his album was also on sale at the merchandise stall.

Discography

1999 "Gliptus"
2001 "Bilo Boss"
2002 "Devan Endo", "Timmy Zuckermann"
2004 "In fertility", "Drone The Queen Bee"
2005 "Lines, Opiates and the Demented Operation", "Quarterback Hairdo"
2007 "Poor Me / Kites"
2008 "The Golden Beatle"

External links

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