We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Franz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.
Hi David, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?
Have you been to a restaurant or some other store where their first dollar bill earned is hanging on the wall near the register? Like them, I kept the first bill I received as a music producer. I was a poor second-year student at Berklee College of Music, working multiple jobs and playing in several bands to pay for school and live in Boston. It was expensive! By then, I had learned a few things about music production and began running a little studio.
Somehow, I connected with the parents of a 15-year-old singer who wanted to write and record a song in the style of Britney Spears. He had a unique voice and had never written a song before. I created the base track (including drums, bass, keys, and other elements while he wrote the lyrics. I recorded his vocals and mixed and mastered the final track. Admittedly, it was not great. As payment, he gave me a $100 bill!
Immediately, I bought a $0.50 plastic frame and put that bill in it. Despite how poor I was then and for the next few years, I never spent it. It was a symbol to me of where I wanted to go and an emblem of the success I desired. This experience provided me with the confidence that I could actually make money from creating original music. To this day, that $100 bill, in its original cheap frame, is on display at my house!
David, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
For me, discovering artistic bliss unfolds in two magical moments: playing a song live for someone who profoundly resonates with it and co-writing a piece that ascends to new heights through the collaborative synergy of passionate artists. Creating music on my own is healing; however, sharing in a musical experience is when the power of musical magic expands and becomes otherworldly.
I’m a musician and producer who does his best to make unique music that feels familiar and creates a soul connection with the human condition. I write, perform, produce, score films, record, mix, master, create video content, and play multiple instruments.
Music and recording have been core to my being since I was quite young. Early piano lessons and cheap tape recorders progressed to serious drum lessons, recording band jams, and leading my 300-piece high school marching band. This childhood experience pointed me in the music direction, but I had no idea (nor did my parents) that anyone could have a music career. So, I went to Virginia Tech to become an engineer.
As a dispassionate Bachelor’s and Master’s student in Industrial and Systems engineering, I surprisingly received lucrative but downright depressing job offers. After seeing my life flash before my eyes (in a bad way) at a job interview for FedEx, I decided to follow my heart and take a leap of faith… I wrote my master’s thesis about mathematically modeling jazz improvisation and then packed up and went to Berklee College of Music.
As a slightly older student attending Berklee on my own dime, I was a complete sponge. I majored in Music Production and Engineering and spent as much time as possible in the studio, even working in the studio office to get more studio time. During my last year there, I worked for the newly rejuvenated Berklee Press and floated an idea for a book about using Pro Tools. With the blessing of Digidesign (now Avid), makers of Pro Tools, I wrote the first book about the industry standard digital audio workstation (still today). This led to authoring and teaching the first online course through Berklee’s online school. (Fun fact: I never graduated from Berklee because I refused to take and pay for the required Pro Tools course.) I continued to author more books and courses while at the same time founding my record label Underground Sun (in 2002), and producing artists and bands from around the world.
On the heels of this success, Lynda.com (the first online video training library) hired me to make Pro Tools training videos, leading to a full time position as content manager of Audio+Music at the company. 300+ Audio+Music courses later, Lynda.com was bought by Linkedin (and subsequently by Microsoft). Throughout all of this, I maintained a serious side hustle of singing, producing, co-writing, and touring with artists on Underground Sun. Through the magic of internet virality, Iyeoka (an artist on Underground Sun) and I had a hit song, “Simply Falling,” enabling us to tour around the world.
After leading a triple life (albeit all in music) as a music producer, president of a record label, and content manager at a large tech company, I finally freed myself of the golden handcuffs of corporate America and am now fully focused on writing, performing and producing music for myself.
Right before the pandemic, I committed to producing, recording, and releasing 10 albums in 10 years of my own music. After decades of producing music for other singers, I finally stepped up to the microphone and became a lead singer. In 2021, I released my first album called “Into the Unknown” and followed it up in 2022 with “Through The Illusion.” In 2023, I started playing in the band TD Lind and The Aviators, and we released a live album.
Looking ahead, 2024 promises to be the best creative year of my career. My new band Dang Tiger will release an album of my original music paired with a book based on the life lessons encapsulated in the song lyrics. TD Lind and The Aviators will also release a new album, which I’ve co-written and produced with TD Lind.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The most influential book I’ve read in the past several years is The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. While this book is not necessarily a management, entrepreneurial, or philosophical book, it’s a book about how to live better. And this, of course, affects ALL aspects of a person’s life. I found it in a particularly dark time during the pandemic when I was beating myself up way too much. It helped me beyond belief.
It helped me understand that the voice inside my head, the one constantly berating me about small and large things, was not actually me. Instead, the book showed me that I am the observer of that voice. And I have power over that voice. I can decide whether to listen to that voice or not. I can even turn off that voice or change its message.
It seems simple, but digesting this message was utterly life-changing. By first understanding that the negative messages from the internal voice were not me and then adjusting the messages, I could change my inner dialogue and thus change my mood, energy, motivation, confidence, and will to thrive. This has opened so many doors and inspired me further to follow my dreams, from performing my first solo concerts to having much more clarity in my direction.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Currently, there are several goals with associated missions driving my creative journey. First, several years ago, I decided several years ago to record and release 10 albums of original music in 10 years. This is a highly aggressive goal. Not many artists have recorded 10 albums in total, much less one per year. So, I’m shooting for an extraordinary achievement.
Secondly, I will pursue another audacious goal by accompanying my next album with a book that explores the life lessons that have influenced the lyrics on the album.
Thirdly, and most importantly, I’ve decided that this upcoming album and the band I’m fronting ‘Dang Tiger’ will be dedicated to making music with positive messages to inspire people to be better to themselves and others. Instead of creating self-serving music, I want to create music with a deeper purpose: community building, empowerment, love for self and others, and celebrating uniquely beautiful souls.
Contact Info:
- Website: undergroundsun.com AND davidfranz.com
- Instagram: undergroundsun AND davidfranzmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UndergroundSunMusic/ AND https://www.facebook.com/davidfranzmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmfranz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Undergroundsun
Image Credits
Bill Kennedy, Jeff Uzzel