We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Laby a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I am a musician not because I want to be a musician, but because I have to be. If I’m not writing new music, recording new albums or performing with my quartet, I feel like something is missing. Music is alive in the poor plumbing of a San Francisco Victorian: the clinking and clanking of the rusted pipes. Music is in the rhythmic crushing of padding through the snow. I collect sounds from mundane experiences and transfer them into my music. Sometimes we take for granted the melodies inherent in the basic functions of machinery and nature. My mission is to get our music out there so that others can enjoy the organic and non-organic sounds we produce from strings, vocals, sand paper, pots and pans, and so that we enjoy the process of creating them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Frances8 is a band I put together 26 years ago in San Francisco. There have been several iterations of this band over the years. Today, our compilation of violin, viola, upright bass, guitars and ethereal vocals comprise my favorite version of us.

I draw on life and work experiences to create my songs. I am a psychotherapist in private practice by trade. Writing my music has enabled me to work through difficult trauma from my past. It encourages me to draw on the beauty my life affords me at present.

What sets us apart from other bands in our genre is the raw vulnerability we produce through chord structure, performance, and the intricacies of string instruments. We’re not afraid to linger in dark suspended moments where in which the audience has the opportunity to feel the music viscerally versus cerebrally.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Nearly thirty years ago I was driven to make music my livelihood and my passion. My San Francisco alternative rock band played nearly every weekend, toured, participated in radio a magazine interviews, and produced albums. I pivoted when I recognized that music had become an obligation versus an art.

I decided to continue down the path of clinical psychology and returned to school to purse a graduate degree and eventually work in private practice. I knew that in this way, I wouldn’t be dependent on my creativity to pay the bills. Plus, I loved helping others in my field of practice.

Simultaneously, I disbanded the rock band and started Frances8 in an effort to create more intimate and vulnerable music. I continued for years until I switched into writing electronic music (similar to the likes of Portishead). Eventually, I moved into the creative world of modern dance. I composed music with my band (some former Frances8 members) for modern dance choreographers in the Bay Area. After ten years in this genre my craving for Frances8 returned and I brought the band back together. Once again, I wrote indie-folk with a dark edge as I had many years ago.

The resilience I was forced to embody lies in the various challenges I encountered as I switched from genre to genre. I had to accept that the dismantling of the fan base and works of music I produced in one genre, and the creation of new music I created in an entirely different genre, would run the risk of rejection and criticism. I had to dig deep and trust that the music would or would not be embraced by my new audiences, and what would that mean? Would I fail? Would I thrive? And more importantly, would I be true to myself and create music from an authentic place?

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

In my experience, it is imperative that people on the team value each other and the music. Just as I do in my psychotherapy practice, I try my hardest to keep communication consistent. I strive to be as transparent as possible. For example, if tensions start to build for myself or between others, I encourage group talks to diffuse the gradual build of resentment. This enables band members to air difficulties and build trust.      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Frances8.com
• Instagram: Frances8Music
• Facebook: Frances8Music
• Twitter: @Frances8Music
• Youtube: Frances8Music
• Spotify: Frances8Music

Image Credits
Frances8 is
 Nicole Laby: Singer-Songwriter and Guitar
 Revi Airborne-Williams: Violin, Viola and Vocals
 Mark Fassett : Lead Guitar and Vocals
Jason Roberts: Upright Bass