Frankie O'Rourke

Bio:

For thirty-five years, Frankie O'Rourke has been writing, singing and performing by himself and with others throughout New England and the Mid-west. The music has been with Frankie since the age of 12 when he first heard the music of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie Frankie spent part of his childhood in Chicago and in 1970 he returned to Chicago to become part of the folk/rock scene. He experienced success as a solo acoustic singer/songwriter. His age of 16 earned him the nickname, Kid O'Rourke. Billed as The Kid, Frankie played at many of Chicago's finest folk clubs including The Kingston Mines Cafe, The Earl of Old Town, The Quiet Night, Fifth Peg and at The Old Town School of Music. The Kid hosted an open-mike Hootenanny every Monday at The Kingston Mines Cafe for a year. During that year he met and played with John Prine, Dave Prine and Tyler Wilson, Steve Goodman, Fred Holstein, Art Thieme, Dodi Kallick, Dwayne Story, Mic Scott and others. ************************************************************* During the summer of 1973, Frankie returned to the state of Rhode Island. Two years of writing and making contacts led Frankie into forming The Second Wind Band and within six months, they were calling themselves The Other Half. The Other Half signed on with regional promoters, The Banzini Brothers and personal manger, Jack Reich. Together they worked to promote the band as a college concert opening act for NRBQ, Commander Cody,Tom Rush, Aztec Two-Step, Karla Bonoff, Jonathan Edwards, Country Joe and the Fish, Paul Winter Consort, Tom Chapin and Robin Lane and the Chartbusters. The Other Half had many originals receive airplay such as Valentine, America, and Lady of the Night. Their shows got strong reviews and their list of fans grew. However, after eight years on the road, Frankie chose to take a respite from performance which eventually determined the disbandment of The Other Half in 1981. *************************************************************** Frankie moved to Cape Cod where he studied piano. His teacher encouraged him to pursue an education at the local college. While attending school, he performed in the school choir and a small chamber choir. He also wrote and performed music for several school plays. Frankie finished school in London at Ealing College and performed in both Scotland and England. He then slipped into seclusion and spent ten years writing over one hundred songs **************************************************************** In 1992 he contacted the original members of The Other Half to ask for help recording a CD project of his original music and to see if they would be interested in performing several dates in Rhode Island. From 1993 through 1995, Frankie and his band recorded and performed throughout New England as a featured act and as an opening act for such groups as NRBQ, G.E. Smith, Commander Cody, Pousette-Dart Band, Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule, Jesse Colin Young, Jonathan Edwards, The Schemers, Northern Lights, Generic Blondes, Dave Howard and the High Rollers and others. **************************************************************** The CD's release did have some setbacks however... the first one being in 1996. Frankie had to move to the mid-west to take care of his ailing father. Despite the move, Frankie continued his music. While there he took a position as bassist for the band Lickity Split based out of Hurley, Wisconsin. Frankie returned home to Cape Cod in 1998 and planned on releasing the long awaited CD "The Winds of Change". In the spring of 1999, the CD's release suffered another setback when Frankie was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder. Frankie spent a couple of years doing the final mastering for the CD and released "The Winds of Change" in the Spring of 2004. ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Member Since:

December 26, 2008

Members:

Tim Shaw, Fred Wilkes, Bucky Dunn, Ken Johnson, Chris Lussier, Eric Bergstrom, Judy Choice, Michelle Wilson, Harry Lawton, Klem Klemick, David Tanury, Bernie Larsen, Jamie Bridges, Kevin Fallon, Dawn Brown, Jeff Horton, Mike Nanni, Thom Enright, Glen Sherba, Ken Reynolds, Paul Mellyn, ..   ..   I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace.........

Influences:

Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, CSNY, Phil Ochs, Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons, John Prine, Steve Goodman, Woody Guthrie, Neil Young, Duke Ellington, Bach, Louie Armstrong The Velvet Underground, Spirit, Joy of Cooking, It's A Beautiful Day, The Beach Boys, Joan Baez, The Band, John Cafferty, Rizz, Steve Smith, Pipestone, Little Feat, Mozart, Frank Sinatra, Bare Naked Ladies, Taj Mahal, The Greatful Dead, Dan Hicks, Jesse Colin Young, NRBQ, Jonathan Edwards, Catfish Walker, Leon Russell, Jackson Browne, Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, Commander Cody, Nicolette Larson, Leonard Cohen, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Peter Rowan, Doc Watson, Aztec Two-Step, Robin Lane, Raindogs, Warren Zevon, Dire Sraits, Count Basie, Tim Buckley, Al Green, The Dramatics, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Martin, Bogen and Armstrong, Paul Simon, Warren Haynes, Allman Bros Band,John Hiatt **********************************************************************************************************************************************

Sounds Like:

Unique

Record Label:

RIMA