"The two Marzano releases I’ve heard – 2012’s The Boy Who Always Got Picked Last and 2015’s American Proust – are stocked with pleasant songs ... there’s some good stuff here." 

- John Borack, Goldmine magazine

 

 

Contact: fmarzano2003@yahoo.com

 

Originally from Chicago, IL, Frank began playing guitar and writing songs in high school. During the 1980's, Frank co-founded the band Childhood's End, which gigged regularly throughout the Chicago area until breaking up in 1991.

Frank continued to hone his guitar and songwriting skills with the acquisition of a 4-track tape recorder. In 1995, he relocated to Edinboro, PA, and in 1999 he recorded his first CD, FOUL WEATHER FRIEND.

About this time Frank began playing acoustic gigs at bars and coffeehouses throughout the tri-state region (northwest Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio, and western New York), as well as larger cities like Cleveland and Rochester. During the summer of 2001, Frank returned to the studio.

Frank recorded on and off for the next five years, playing 6- and 12-string guitar, bass, dobro, mandolin, keyboards, and percussion. By the end of 2006 he had assembled enough material for another CD, BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME.

The music on BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME is a cheerful hodge-podge of Beatlesque pop-rock, ballads, doo-wop, and folk. The Japanese music blog, Future United of Blue, declared it the #4 album of 2007, alongside major-label releases by The Smithereens and Queens of the Stone Age. One of Frank's songs, “Drink Her Goodbye”, was covered in 2009 by Canadian artist Jaimie Vernon.

Frank continued recording and completed his third CD, THE BOY WHO ALWAYS GOT PICKED LAST, in November 2012. Frank's third CD is more sharply focused than its predecessors, clocking in at a lean 50 minutes. Nevertheless, THE BOY WHO ALWAYS GOT PICKED LAST draws from a wide palette, incorporating diverse elements like folk, grunge, and hip hop, while still firmly rooted in classic rock and roll. The Roots Music Report (which gathers airplay statistics from independent radio stations) listed THE BOY WHO ALWAYS GOT PICKED LAST at #6 nationally (and #3 in Pennsylvania).

As influences, Frank cites artists from the 60's and 70's like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Klaatu, "bands with a strong emphasis on songwriting."

In the fall of 2015, Frank released his fourth CD, AMERICAN PROUST, featuring John Caruso (drums), Joshua Mayes (bass), and Adam McKillip (mandolin). AMERICAN PROUST has been critically acclaimed by music blogs in the US and Canada, as well as Goldmine magazine. One track, "Tough Cookies" was selected for inclusion on Bullseye Records' Unsigned, Sealed, and Delivered, Vol. 9, a compilation of indie artists.

Once the pandemic began in 2020, Frank used the time off from gigging to hone his fingerstyle guitar skills. By December he had assembled enough material for  AWAY WITH WORDS, an album of solo guitar instrumentals. 

"There's all kinds of music on it," Frank explains. "Classic rock, Broadway show tunes, Delta blues, Dixieland jazz, even a classical piece by Vivaldi. I wanted an album that would show all of my musical influences."

In the summer of 2022, Frank followed AWAY WITH WORDS with SOLO JAZZ GUITAR, another collection of guitar instrumentals. In December 2022, Frank released NO "L" IN CHRISTMAS, an EP of holiday-themed guitar instrumentals. 

Frank realized one of his greatest ambitions in 2002, when he got the chance to play at the Baggot Inn in New York City. Otherwise, Frank's aspirations are simple: to take his music as far as it will go. "If I'm capable of playing Carnegie Hall, then I want to do that. If the best I can do is a street corner in Edinboro, PA, then I'll do that, too."