A Conversation with Frankie Spellman

JUPITER, FL – January 5, 2017 –When multi-faceted musician Frankie Spellman needs to draw out a little inspiration, he needn’t look further than out the window of his Jupiter waterfront home. The view of the Atlantic Ocean stretching out for miles on end can subliminally spark momentum to get back into his studio and get to work. Even though Spellman’s passion-fueled career has taken him all over the country, Jupiter is where he decided to hang his hat and where he currently lives, records, and performs. He is a common staple at some of Jupiter’s live music venues.

A self-taught musician, Spellman began his musical connection early on when he first picked up a guitar; a disposition for the piano and bass guitar followed. In no time, he built an enviable resume of numerous mastered instruments, and this served as a springboard into musical composition and performing live. He joined a professional band at the age of eight, and from there on in, he began a journey that took him from countless on-stage performances (both solo and accompanied by musical ensembles) to the studio where he recorded several studio albums, a trend that continues today. “Blues Without a Net,” “Dreams in the Tide,” “Pastels in the Shade,” and “Spellbound” are a few of his albums of note. He is also an acclaimed TV and film soundtrack composer, lending his expertise to renowned pop-culture shows such as Project Runway and Keeping Up with the Kardashians and feature films like Hats Off! Spellman also teaches music and is a children’s book author. Recently, InJupiter Magazine sat down with Spellman and acquired the full details about the ongoing saga of his musical odyssey.

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InJupiter Magazine: Who is Frankie Spellman? How would you characterize yourself?

Frankie Spellman: I’d say I’m a creative mess. Everybody that is creative has ADD! I see something shiny and I’m onto that for a while, then I go into the next room and there’s food in there – forget it. Then I pick up my guitar and I write a song and then I sit at the piano and write another, and all of a sudden, I forget where I’m supposed to be. It’s freedom to realize that I’m a mess and that’s OK. It’s good to be able to create, but I don’t think it comes without chaos. Granted, being eclectic can slow people down, but it would bore me to tears to do the same thing over and over.

InJupiter Magazine: What is the appeal of Jupiter? Why did you decide to develop your musical passion here?

Spellman: Jupiter was always great. My grandparents lived here so I used to visit all the time, and back then it was mostly just beach territory. I remember a place called JOX, which is where Harbourside Place is now – but that’s about it. Anyway, Jupiter is a great place to be with nature, but more importantly, to write. Being here, I realized there wasn’t anywhere else I’d like to be, so I made it my home.

InJupiter Magazine: Speaking of home, I understand you divide your time between here and Cape Cod.

Spellman: Yes, I used to live up there and still go up there during the summer to play a few gigs. I actually just finished playing Jay Harrington’s wedding. They got a chorus to back me up for one of my songs, “Thank God for You,” for his first dance. That chorus included Taye Diggs and Cedric Yarbrough. It was a blast.

InJupiter Magazine: Wow! That must have been a highlight, performance-wise.

Spellman: Well, I’ve had many of those in my life. I’d say opening up for George Benson is up there… and having Bruce Hornsby call me a “Motherf****r, of course.

InJupiter Magazine: What is that all about?

Spellman: Well, technically, he called me a “Songwriting Mofo” which I took as a huge compliment. It gave me such a high. In musical terms, mofo is the single greatest thing you can say to another musician. It just means that you’re the best possible musician you can be. It’s how the vernacular works in music.

InJupiter Magazine: Fair enough. So how often do you perform live here in Jupiter?

Spellman: I play twice a week at different venues; it all depends on the week. You can catch me at the Old Florida Bar & Grill and Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant regularly though. I feel like the quality of live music is constantly growing in Jupiter and it’s great to be a part of that.

InJupiter Magazine: That sounds great. So, how did you get into composing music for the screen?

Spellman: I had just finished wrapping up my fourth album, “Blues Without a Net” in 2000, and the president of Rossignol
(based in Vermont) calls me to let me know that he wants me to do the music for one of their ad campaigns and it all grew from there. It was great to see your music being played in a TV commercial. But it was also strange because I am a singer and all of a sudden I’m writing music for queues, for the background. I took it as a challenge and I believe it made me a stronger songwriter because I had to look at different idioms like techno, heavy metal, jazz, blues, folk – all instrumental. Then I did The Simple Life starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, and music for Project Runway and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The songs were spread out in many shows so I’d hear my songs in many different shows at the same time.

InJupiter Magazine: Sounds like a lot on your plate. Have you done any feature films?

Spellman: Yes, I was musical director for Hats Off, a documentary film that came out in 2008. That was my first movie score and one of the highlights of my life because I got to go to the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado and I got to hang out with a lot of cool celebrities, namely Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.

InJupiter Magazine: Are you working on anything of the like right now?

Spellman: I am. I’m currently producing the score for a horror movie called Devil’s Tree: Rooted Evil, which is currently filming. I’m also working with producer Jeff Weber on a project right now. I’m looking to turn a script I wrote into a musical play. It’s called “The Fairy Godfather,” and it’s about the first overtly gay Don of the Costa Nostra. Think about it like this: He’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse and then he’ll make fun of your shoes. So, this time around, I’m writing the script and the music, which in this case will be a libretto for an opera.

InJupiter Magazine: How do you approach recording music for TV and films vs. recording music for yourself?

Spellman: With films and TV, I would do whatever came to me because you see what’s ahead of you. There’s no music there, unless it’s temporary music, and then you see a sad scene or whatever, and you compose what you think will match the scene. There’s a lot more thinking involved when it comes to writing songs because those are an interpretation of your own life and your own experiences with music attached to it.

InJupiter Magazine: So we know that music is your main shtick, but we also learned you have another passion… you write children’s books.

Spellman: That’s right. I have a published children’s book called “Pinky and Bubs’ Stinky Night Out,” it documents the shenanigans of two baby skunks during a night out in Martha’s Vineyard.
I’d certainly like to write a few more of those.

InJupiter Magazine: What’s next for Frankie Spellman?

Spellman: Write more songs, keep my live performance chops up, write another book, I still have a few surprises left in the bag and I want to see them through. I’m constantly working on new things and there’s no better place for that than right here.