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UID:68b48932-04fa-4f5e-b4dc-90ce1ceca3af@findlocal.community
DTSTAMP:20261015T153057Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261031T210000
SUMMARY:Neal Francis with Sam Fribush Organ Trio
DESCRIPTION:The latest album from Neal Francis\, Return To Zero\, emerged
  from the kind of visionary fever dream that only the most masterful and
  inventive artists are capable of bringing to life. Amid a grueling tour
  schedule that found him playing nearly 400 shows from 2021 to 2024\, th
 e Chicago-based singer/songwriter/pianist immersed himself in creating a
  beautifully strange entangling of timeless rock & roll and ’70s-era dan
 ce music\, merging supremely heavy guitar riffs with lush and pulsating 
 grooves—all constructed sans digital programming\, in keeping with his d
 evotion to all things analog. Worlds away from the glitzy fantasia of ar
 chetypal disco\, Return To Zero inhabits a far moodier atmosphere and ul
 timately makes for the most thrilling manifestation of Francis’ peerless
  musicality yet. Equal parts heady and hedonistic\, pensive and euphoric
 \, Francis’ third studio LP echoes both his deep-rooted psych-rock sensi
 bilities and a lifelong affinity for classic funk. “I’ve always been int
 rigued by music that toes the line between funk and rock\,” notes Franci
 s. “In the past I’ve asked myself things like\, ‘What would it sound lik
 e if Thin Lizzy cut a disco record?’ It’s something I’ve been fascinated
  with for a very long time\, so I finally decided to really go for it.” 
 The follow-up to his 2023 double live album and concert film Francis Com
 es Alive\, Return To Zero marks Francis’ first full-length studio effort
  since In Plain Sight—a 2021 release acclaimed by the likes of leading r
 ock critic Steven Hyden\, who praised its “throwback big-band sound that
  recalls the highs of 1970s funk and swamp rock.” With his past work als
 o including his 2019 debut album Changes (hailed as “the reincarnation o
 f Allen Toussaint” by BBC Radio 6)\, Francis began playing piano at the 
 young age of four and became an in-demand sideman while still a teenager
 \, touring with revered blues artists and beloved instrumental band The 
 Heard before embarking on his solo career. Over the years\, he’s sold ou
 t headline shows all across the globe\, supported the likes of Wilco\, B
 lack Pumas\, and My Morning Jacket\, appeared at major festivals such as
  Bonnaroo\, Fuji Rock\, and Lollapalooza\, and even performed at histori
 c venues like Carnegie Hall. Like all of his studio work so far (includi
 ng his 2022 EP Sentimental Garbage)\, Return To Zero finds Francis co-pr
 oducing alongside his frequent collaborator Sergio Rios and recording li
 ve with members of his touring band (drummer Collin O’Brien\, bassist Mi
 ke Starr\, guitarist Kellen Boersma)\, elegantly showcasing his prodigio
 us talent and dazzling originality as a keyboard player. Mainly created 
 at Rios’ L.A. studio\, the album’s grandiose yet warmly inviting sound a
 lso took shape from his close collaboration with composer/conductor Dom 
 Frigo (who aided Francis by transcribing the LP’s symphonic string secti
 ons)\, Say She She (a Brooklyn-based psychedelic-soul trio who adorn a n
 umber of songs with their beguiling backing vocals)\, and a stacked line
 up of co-writers that includes Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael S
 human and Wild Belle co-founder Elliot Bergman. In the making of his mos
 t ambitious work to date\, Francis faced countless moments of creative f
 rustration—a factor that eventually gave the album its title. “I was cut
 ting a lot of the vocals at home\, using a hybrid process where I’d boun
 ce the tracks from my computer to a tape machine and then record the voc
 als to tape\,” he explains. “I’d be in my vocal booth in the closet with
  all our winter coats\, and every time I needed to start over I’d press 
 this button that says ‘RTZ\,’ which stands for ‘Return To Zero.’ I was d
 oing take after take and pressing that button over and over—it was a hug
 e pain\, but it also linked up with what I’ve learned in my meditation p
 ractice: no matter how frustrated you get\, just remain calm and take in
 ventory\, and then begin again.” Although executing Return To Zero’s hig
 hly elaborate arrangements often involved a very time-intensive trial-an
 d-error approach\, the album-opening “Need You Again” surfaced from an i
 mmediate burst of inspiration after Francis attended a DJ set by Derrick
  Carter (a Chicago house legend who created a 12-inch remix of “BNYLV” f
 rom In Plain Sight). “My girlfriend and I went out to a queer dance part
 y called Queen! and stayed till about four in the morning\, and Derrick 
 played a track that was a big rock riff over a funk beat\,” he recalls. 
 “The next day I went into the studio on very little sleep and started wo
 rking on the demo for ‘Need You Again\,’ and after I finished I couldn’t
  stop listening to it.” Featuring a guest spot from Grammy-winning guita
 rist Eric Krasno (Soulive\, Lettuce)\, the result is a glorious entry po
 int into the album’s groove-heavy soundscape\, unfolding in sinewy riffs
  and larger-than-life rhythms as Francis narrates a tale of ruinous infa
 tuation. “It’s a song about a love affair\, and the experience of projec
 ting magical qualities onto another person and feeling almost addicted o
 r beholden to them\,” he reveals. Another charmed moment in the album’s 
 creation\, “Broken Glass” was sparked from a session featuring Francis o
 n bass and Shuman on drums\, with the two soon conjuring the hypnoticall
 y potent riff that propels the track forward. With its viscerally charge
 d depiction of lust and self-denial\, the darkly majestic epic reaches a
  stratospheric crescendo at the bridge\, when pounding drums meet with S
 ay She She’s near-operatic harmonies. “Once we had that riff I started f
 illing in some freeform poetry from my notebook\, which had to do with t
 he idea of taking direction in an intimate liaison\,” says Francis. “It 
 all came together so naturally because of how Michael was playing drums\
 , bringing that Queens of the Stone Age heavy-rock thing I love so much.
 ” One of the most dance-ready tracks on Return To Zero\, “Back It Up” gl
 ides along on glossy synth lines and a playfully swaggering riff\, imbui
 ng a carefree spirit into Francis’ deliberately over-the-top confession 
 of romantic desperation. “That song went through a few different phases 
 before we got to the final iteration\,” he says. “It took me a while to 
 accept that it’s okay to have fun with the lyrics\, instead of making ev
 erything so serious all the time.” Meanwhile\, on “What’s Left Of Me\,” 
 Francis presents a gorgeously sprawling power-pop anthem built on his re
 splendent piano work. Co-written with Nashville-based songwriter Chris G
 elbuda\, the track arose from a piano-and-vocal demo captured at Chicago
 ’s Fine Arts Building\, soon evolving into a piercingly candid reflectio
 n on life on the road. “Chris and I are good friends and we got to talki
 ng about the challenges of being in a committed relationship while you’r
 e on tour\,” says Francis. “A lot of these songs were influenced by Elec
 tric Light Orchestra and the way Jeff Lynne synthesizes classical music 
 and pop songwriting\, and ‘What’s Left Of Me’ was definitely one where I
  was going for an ELO vibe.” Partly inspired by the funk and dance recor
 ds he typically spins during his sets as an all-vinyl DJ\, Return To Zer
 o also encompasses everything from the spaced-out drama of “Dance Throug
 h Life” to the string-laced reverie of “Can’t Get Enough” (a collaborati
 on with Durand Jones & The Indications’ Blake Rhein that is a sublimely 
 mellowed-out homage to acid-jazz pioneer Roy Ayers). In creating such a 
 complex body of work\, Francis found his sense of perseverance repeatedl
 y tested. “Most of these songs were pretty hard-won\,” he says. “There w
 as a feeling of pulling out all the stops to achieve what I was going fo
 r\, and in the middle of that I was dealing with some depression and exh
 austion. I ended up learning a lot about myself\, and now I feel like I’
 m in a completely different place in terms of my priorities with mental 
 health.” Despite its more daunting aspects\, the writing and recording o
 f Return To Zero also brought plenty of moments of pleasure\, including 
 composing with strings for the very first time and tracking songs with h
 is longtime bandmates. “All those guys are like my brothers\, and there 
 was a feeling of us working together with an almost athletic desire to g
 et better every time we did a new take\,” Francis says. “Those were real
 ly long days at the studio\, but they were also so much fun.” Looking ba
 ck on the making of Return To Zero\, Francis points to certain crucial l
 essons absorbed while creating his most extravagantly realized work so f
 ar. “One of the main things I’ve learned is that every album is going to
  be its own journey\; I can’t really take the arsenal of things I’ve lea
 rned in the past and expect them to save me from any kind of frustration
  with whatever I make next\,” he says. “Creating art is always going to 
 be a challenge\, which maybe goes back to why AI-created music is never 
 going to be all that compelling—it’s just too fucking easy. The best I c
 an do is use what’s at my disposal and try not to freak out or despair w
 hen it gets difficult\, and hopefully end up making something that gives
  people joy.”\n\nTickets: https://www.axs.com/events/1476158/neal-franci
 s-with-sam-fribush-organ-trio-tickets\n\nhttps://findlocal.community/eve
 nt/68b48932-04fa-4f5e-b4dc-90ce1ceca3af
LOCATION:Terminal West\, Atlanta\, GA
URL:https://findlocal.community/event/68b48932-04fa-4f5e-b4dc-90ce1ceca3a
 f
STATUS:CONFIRMED
SEQUENCE:0
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