Francis Kneebone

Story

I have always loved to sing. She sang like an angel who happened to be my mother. I didn’t pick up guitar until I was sixteen ~ I had to let the feelings out, pin down the clouds and scream into the void. There are some contradictions that need addressing, some sugar coated mantra to tell em’ all what they don’t know. It has always been about the making of song. Making music, not just playing music. My parents wrote poetry which maybe had something to do with all this, maybe my visual art which came first gave me confidence or the assumption that there is no point unless you make your own...but I caught the song making bug way back in 1995, my final year of High School. “Art is never finished, only abandoned” attrib(s) L. da Vinci I usually write a song like this ~ music first, then a mood/story/idea is identified, words follow. Song writing is also starting then stopping, feeling everything then nothing at all, design and destruction, finally it is just mucking about when suddenly...you have a new song. Knowing when to stop making in the making process is the tricky part. The best leaps forward I’ve made have been through music in community and music as collaborative creativity. I learnt to sing better by singing with my little sister Clancy, who musically speaking is actually my big sister and some of my first connections with songs and audiences was with her, she is my soul sister forever. I learnt to play off beat and create with almost any beat jamming with Nick Johnson, his creativity is fused with craft, a lesson I’m still realising. Each musician I have played with has changed my own music and deeper than that it is kind of ‘osmosis’ and to experience that is actually one of the best things about music. These days song writing for me has become more than just getting the feelings out, it is about friendships, making meaning of meaningless things, exploration and restoration.

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What is music to you? What does it give you?

It is another world that best describes our own.

What is your music dream?

To keep writing songs all my life, to be heard by more people, to learn from sharing and collaborating with others.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

Amplify the empathy by creating closer knit supportive communities.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

Annies Song - by John Denver filled me with so much emotion as a child.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

Bob Dyan, Jeff Buckley, Miles Davis, PJ Harvey, Joni Mitchell, Pearl Jam (and eary 90s bands in general), Paul Kelly, Clare Bowditch, David Bazan, David Bowie, U2, I also enjoy almost any style of music if the song grabs my attention.

What inspires you to make music?

I don't know! There is always emotions, stories, things happening in my life and others to draw from but it is more a state of being that I write, can't explain what it is.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

There is no single message, most my songs are love letters to my self, a therapy of sorts, a self-saucing pudding if you must.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

It really is a unique and special experience. Nothing compares. I feel free, open, my true self.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

I think we expect too much. It took me a long time to let go of the ambition of it but when I did I started writing better songs, and I've noticed many people on Drooble are at a similar phase/learnt same lesson. Then...I am selfish in that I really want my songs to be heard by more people, but I've chosen to do music as a side project now not a day job, so I can't expect much.

What do you think of Drooble?

To be honest it has suprised me with its authentic community. Drooble just brought song writers together, you made that happen and well done for that.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

Recording is either costly, time consuminig or both. The rest, writing and performing I find easy and just a delight now. I'm getting better at recording but very slowly. Also the amount of formats/channels for publishing now is overwhelming.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

I try to promote local acts I think are really good, there are many. I attend performances by others when I camn which isn't much. I like to perform with others again not as much as I should/or would like to.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

This question assumes many things. It is the qualities of the musician + chance + connections + money + timing + location + luck + strategy. Some of my favourite musicians and song writers are people I know, that will never have 'larger audiences'.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Peter B (Peter Brandjerdporn), he plays solo and with the homeless souls. Hunz - from Brisbane, Google him. Caleb James, the same and his songs are a kind of magic. Planet Clare, amazing talent.