We had the good fortune of connecting with Franck Carducci and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Franck, why did you pursue a creative career?
I guess the accurate question to ask me would rather be “Why did art, and more specifically music, pursue me?” Ha Ha Ha … Well, I grew up in a family where music is a way of life. At the age of 5 I made my first experiences with a Hammond organ, proceeded to learn the guitar later on and joined my first rock and roll band when I was 14 years old. I was also playing drums, bass, harmonica by that time, so I guess I didn’t really have a choice. Music was my destiny!

Then between the ages of 20 and 30, I played with about 20 different bands and was involved in the recording of 15 different albums. I started touring as a backing musician throughout France and Europe with different artists.

In 2008, I moved to Amsterdam where I got into the local music scene and performed regularly in the famous clubs of the city. It was 2010 when I opened a gig for one of my heroes, Steve Hackett from Genesis, who encouraged me to focus on producing my own solo album. That was the real kick off to my career

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My music is a mix of several different things. It’s Classic-Rock in the sound and the (sometimes complex) structures, with influences that go from Blues to Psychedelic to Hard-Rock. Add to that mix a lot of visuals, theatrics, costumes, make-up, sexyness – is that even a word? 🙂 – and a lot of fun! You’ll get what I like to call “Theatrical Rock” If I had to describe it to a complete neophyte, I’d probably say something like “Pink-Floyd meets Led-Zeppelin meets Alice Cooper”

I started this project in 2010, following the advice of one of my heroes, Steve Hackett, and up until now it’s been a 100% independent project. Which means that I have to wear a lot of different caps from singer songwriter to studio and live musician but also manager, producer, communication and marketing consultant, tour manager, concerts booker and even shrink sometimes 🙂

I’d say that the main quality that helped me being where I am today is a tremendous determination. It was certainly not easy but somehow I’ve got no other choice. My music is a complete part of who I am, it defines me somehow and it helps me spread love and happiness. Music is a wonderful communication channel. I sometimes play gigs in countries where I don’t speak the language and I can hardly communicate with the people. But with music everything becomes clear. The message is spot on! I wrote a song called “Love is the answer” (and it really is) and music is the perfect channel to spread this answer!

One of the many lessons I’ve learned on this path is that failing is not necessarily a failure. Failing is part of the learning process and is right there on the path to success. If you never fail, you don’t learn and you don’t improve. So sometimes you’ve got to embrace some sort of failures and then decide what you wanna do with it.

Failing helped me accomplish big things!

What I want the world to know is that sometimes it’s good to show a bit of curiosity in art and check out what’s going on outside of the main road defined by the main big medias in this world. My music in certainly not conventional and not commercial in the sense that you would never hear it on TV or radio. But if you give it a try, you might get a chance to be moved by something mainstream medias would never dare to offer you, and who knows … you might even enjoy it!
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I was born in Lyon, France and after moving to Amsterdam, NL for a few years, I’m now back in my hometown. Even though Lyon is famously known as France’s “Capital of Gastronomy” with its own delicacy, I like to roam all kinds of Mediterranean-food restaurants that greet our city, like Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Algerian, Moroccan restaurants. I’m half Italian and I’m lucky to have the best Italian restaurant in town just a block away from my home. It’s called Parmigianino Ristorante” and their food is amazing, certainly the best you can find out of Italy 🙂

There’s also delicious Chinese and Indian restaurants all around town!

As for visit, Lyon is an old Roman city and used to be the capital of Gaul, so it has a big big big history to discover. I’d obviously recommend the old town “Vieux Lyon” and the whole area that’s in between our 2 rivers called “La Presqu’ile”

Now speaking about drinks and cool hangouts, I’d obviously recommend bars that hold live music events like “Eden-Rock Cafe”, “Boston Cafe”, “Chamax”, or just a little out of town the famous “La Vache Rouge”

They’re all wonderful places with great atmospheres and everything you need to spend a lovely night out!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Steve Hackett (Guitarist in the band “Genesis”)

Website: http://www.franckcarducci.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franckcarducci

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/franckcarducci

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/franckcarducci

Image Credits
Jaak Geebelen , Simon Dunkerley, Marc Auger, Rich J. Forster, Pascal Sauriat, Guiz Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.