We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Frank Simmons III. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Frank below.

Frank , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I’ve always been a creative that was not afraid to take risk. I can vividly remember my father telling me that the richest place on earth was the graveyard. Due to all of the ideas, songs, inventions, books etc. that could’ve been life changing but people never pursued their dreams and kept those treasures buried within themselves.

I made a vow to myself that I would not let that be me. My plans did not always produce the fruit that I had hoped for. I would get so frustrated when things did not work out the way I wanted them to, especially after giving the endeavor all that I could give.

I made so many sacrifices with my money and most importantly my time. I would even go as far as compromising my health to see my vision come to life. Literally team “No sleep”. What I didn’t understand or realize was that even in failure I was building different attributes I would need to continue on this journey to achieve my goals. Let me explain.

The year was 2018. I was coming off of a huge high due to the fact the my music festival “Vibe Oasis” was growing and was a huge success. I wanted to ascend even higher and execute this vision that me and my bothers came up with entitled “Ponchfest”.

Ponchfest was a three day festival that was a melting pot for all of the arts. I wanted to give people an integrated experience of music, visual art, culinary arts, fashion, and wine of course. Three different venues, one weekend, back to back events. I had no financial backing. Everything came out of my own pocket. I know, I know. A little too ambitious right? But I was determined to see it through.

I came up with a solid marketing scheme and I wrote and directed three different commercials for each event. I gathered some friends and worked with an awesome videographer. We had fun and the videos came out perfect. I also had the opportunity to go and promote the festival on the Fox 2 news! I was so excited because I promoted my friends and colleagues in their respective fields. Everything was coming together well until it didn’t.

Night one was cool. I didn’t get the participation I was looking for but we still had a good time.

Night two is were things went off the rails. Lol. I used to be employed at a business that provided a company vehicle that I would have to turn in every day at the end of my shift. Long story short I got off late the day of the second event and I had nothing set up. So I took the vehicle to the venue to get everything together. It took so long to decorate etc. it was time for the event to start before I could even return the vehicle and change my clothes. So I was going to take the vehicle back AFTER the event. We needed ice and I didn’t want to leave in the company vehicle so I took my parents car. After the event was over at 2am, I still had to clean up break down and then get my company vehicle back to the facility before I could return home. I remember being completely exhausted and overwhelmed. I started looking for my car keys just to receive a phone call from my mother letting me know they made it home back to Ohio. Then she called back and said that I left my keys in their car!

They lived about 1hr and 25 mins away from where I was. I had to find someone to drive me to Ohio and back to get my keys and return the company vehicle. I just knew I was fired. Needless to say I didn’t get any rest that night because when I finally laid down it was time to get back up.

Night three was the grand finale. I personally worked with my design team to creatively turn this warehouse into a beautiful facility for the evening. There were ice sculptures, flowers, grass walls, staging, custom lighting, band, dj etc. There was supposed to be a VIP reception and everything. What I didn’t know until I arrived to the venue was that the roof of the venue was flat. It snowed really bad a few days before the event. Then Michigan weather changed and melted the snow and the roof started leaking. When I entered the building there was water Everywhere! Puddles, leaking water from the ceiling, on the tables and everything. I was sick to my stomach. I had to cancel the VIP reception 38 mins before people were to arrive. It was a literal nightmare. I was defeated. The embarrassment I felt was like crazy. I just didn’t understand. I didn’t make any money due to refunding everyone and the venue only offered me a $200 reimbursement.

I learned some hard lessons that weekend but it also taught me patience. It made me realize how strong mentally I had become. I did not crack or fold under the pressure. If I could endure that then I would be ready for anything. Taking risk made me FEARLESS. I’ll revisit this idea one day. The risk is worth the reward.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Frank Simmons III. My business is F3music group. Outside of me being an artist my company provides musical services and consultation services around the country. We are based in Detroit Michigan but we also have many affiliates around the country as well.

I take pride and I am proud that I get to promote and support many of my friends with their businesses and sometimes have the pleasure of collaborating together It gives me chills at times. I genuinely love and appreciate them.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is knowing that people enjoy the work you’ve put into your craft. It’s hard to be an artist or creative because you are literally at the mercy of opinion. Everyone won’t care for what you create. There are also millions of other people doing the same thing. So when you have individuals love and appreciate your work it’s a definitely a humbling and grateful experience.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Appreciate the work they are putting into their craft. Go to shows, repost and share their content. The little things go a long way.   

Contact Info:

• Instagram: F3music
• Facebook: Frank Simmons III
• Twitter: Cirocnroll

Image Credits
Irving Parker. BBI photo & video