FRANK LUNA

Musician with a Promising Future

We caught up with young musician, Frank Luna in Brighton, Colorado.

When did you first get into music?

My family has always been pretty musical. Ever since I was very little my dad would always have music playing throughout the day or would be playing some tunes on his guitar. When I finally got old enough, he eventually began to teach me a little bit of guitar. Over time I started noticing and playing the bass lines more, and got good at playing with my fingers. My dad noticed this and got me my first bass. From that point on I learned every bass line I could and that only made my love for music explode.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music?

Well, the short answer is that I love to play! I love the whole concept of getting together with other musicians, who each know their unique part, and making some incredible music. After a while, playing an hour a day in the school band wasn’t enough, so I did my best to put together a few bands, but most of them didn’t last more than a week. Eventually, I found my way into a band with Bailey Elora, Candy for Breakfast, which was the first band I ever performed with. After that first performance, I got addicted to performing, and that addiction pushed me to where I am today!

to simply explain my music taste other than “diverse.” In my band, Sunrise Daydream, I play stuff that ranges from heavy rock to some lighter alternative. On the other side of the spectrum, I just finished a tour with the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, where I got to play some of the most powerful orchestral pieces I’ve ever heard. I’ve spent days composing music for symphonic orchestras, the kinds of places where you study music. Then, the next day I’d head over to rehearsal with the band to record music with distortion and drums; the kind of music you have to get sweaty to play. And those are just the two extremes that I operate at, I’ve also been known to play anything in between like jazz and once even disco.

How has your music evolved since you first began playing music?

Since birth, I have been soaked in the classic rock that my dad listened to. Naturally, that was the music I was most familiar with, so it was the music I was most comfortable with. Later, as I grew up, I also learned things about music I didn’t even know about: theory, lyrics, Jazz. After I learned how to read music, I got really into orchestration and eventually wrote my own songs. Of course, during all of this, I never lost sight of the rock that got all of this started. In fact, I think the rock side of my life have strengthened my performances in other genres. There are times where directors are yelling at everyone to just get angry and really put in the emotion that the song needs, and while everyone else struggles to be aggressive with their instrument, I just let out my inner Cliff Burton on that passage of Beethoven.

If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other drives you to star in this tough business? Is it joy, anger, desire, passion or pride and why?

Passion has definitely been the driving force of my music. There have been so many times where I see others give up a supreme opportunity to perform while I jump at every opportunity. Even the tougher gigs where I had to play under the mean sun for tips at a party of about twenty people, the thing that kept me playing through the sweat and frustration was undoubtedly passion. Without passion, there’s no reason to get better or to perform by best. Whenever I play a kick-ass show, always know that it’s because I was having a great time doing it.

Which ingredient do you think makes you special and unique as a performing artist in a genre overflowing with new faces and ideas?

I think the diversity of my background is what makes what I do so unique. Our band, Sunrise Daydream had a tough time finding a guitar player, and after a while, after a few gigs without one, we decided to embrace that circumstance and use it to our advantage. Besides the obvious things like playing guitar riffs through my bass with plenty of layers of effects, I’ve also done my best to create music that doesn’t need the guitar parts covered by the bassist or pianist. Sometimes that means pulling out and micing up my double bass that I use in the orchestra, and other times it means approaching songwriting from a completely different point of view (most recently, that of a composer).

What has been your biggest challenge as a musician and songwriter? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

One of the biggest roadblocks for me has been learning in a formal setting. Pretty much everything I do musically now is what I have taught myself. I have never taken lessons, and the only instrument I was taught in school was the saxophone, which I rarely, if ever, play. Even for songwriting, I have never taken a theory class, much less any composition class, and without lessons on my primary instrument, there are sometimes, especially with higher-level orchestras and the like that I feel like I’m far behind in terms of basic conventions like terminology and little things (like what the “right” thing to do with your pinky on your right hand is). However frustrating that handicap might be, I never let it hold me back. I took every little piece of advice I could get and put it toward making myself the best musician I could become.

A common phrase in the industry is, “you must suffer for your art”. Do you agree with this statement? If so, how have you suffered for your art?

I don’t think that is necessarily true. There are always times that can be frustrating or tough, and although that is part of being a musician, more broadly, it’s part of being a growing person. Whether it’s the fun and enjoyable things that make people want to be a musician or the tough parts that get you to that point, I’ve always found joy in it. Whenever you do something, especially something that you call your art or your passion, you might as well put some passion into it. That’s what makes it different than just a job. It’s something I want to do, and that’s why it has never really made me suffer.

How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?

I’m pretty young, so I didn’t get to experience the music business before the Internet came along. However, there are some things that I look back on and either think “wow! I’m glad things aren’t like that anymore,” or “wow! I sure wish things still worked like that!” The biggest challenge that I think the internet has posed for many young and new musicians is that it gives a platform to everyone that wants one. And there are lots of those people. When you first get started (and for a while after, too) you’re put on the same level as all the mediocre and half-baked ideas out there. The upside to the internet, though, is that it gives a platform to everyone that wants one! Communication is by far much easier than it was before the internet came around, so finding the right people and places for the job is a lot easier too. With enough patience and perseverance, you can reach pretty much anyone on (and off) the globe! There isn’t really one big down or upside to the internet in the musical world, it’s more about the kind of work you want to put into your art

If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

One of the biggest roadblocks I’ve found among basically every crowd is people’s resistance to trying something new. There have been tons of times, whether I’m inviting people to gigs or getting feedback on music, where the biggest problem was that the listener decided what they didn’t like before hearing anything. It’s interesting to see how much a person’s tone might change after you mention a female singer, pianist or the absence of a guitarist in the same sentence that you mention that it’s a rock show. I wonder how different a crowd would be if they all showed up knowing nothing about your music before you began.

What are the 5 albums that have helped make you the person you are today and why?

“Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes” by Social Distortion holds a lot of nostalgia for me. My first ever concert was Social Distortion and their heavy grit has found its way into my music. “Superunknown” by Sound Garden, has also been very influential. It was one of the first albums that had music that seemed to describe an emotion rather than a story, and that was a very important realization for me to make early on in life before I started my career. Next is “They Can’t All Be Zingers” by Primus. Les Claypool is an absolute madman, and his creativity with the instrument alone made me realize how many possibilities there are for music. That album was the one that got me to understand that there really are no rules to what sounds good. This next one isn’t an album, but the music that this artist makes has taught me some important things. John Mackey is a composer, primarily for Wind Ensembles. I know “classical” or at least the instrumentation used for classical music is pretty boring to the good majority of the people that will be reading this, and there are some very good examples of boring classical music. But it’s the 21st century, so why do flutes and horns and clarinets have to be boring? John Mackey’s music absolutely shattered the idea of what I thought Wind Ensembles were capable of. I’ll just leave it at this: if you ever find yourself thinking that classical music is boring and for old people, listen to John Mackey’s Asphalt Cocktail. That’s definitely one of the songs that got me to think outside of the box. This last one has had the most impact on me as a songwriter. “Moving Pictures” by Rush, was the pinnacle of creativity in rock in my eyes. The ways that Geddy could juggle the intense basslines, vocals and synth lines always amazed me. The whole aesthetic that the band had was so unordinary and their music reflected that. They were rock, and sometimes it would be hard rock, and other times it would be gentle, almost orchestral rock. But no matter what category any given song fell under, each one of

Tell us about your current project? Are you in a Band? Solo artist?

I always have a few projects going at once. Right now, my biggest focus is songwriting for the band I’m in, Sunrise Daydream. Right now we’re working on our first release of originals, and this creative process is super different from what I’m used to, but I still absolutely love it. I also spend a lot of time writing my own original orchestral music. Whenever I’m not doing that, I also spend a lot of time working with MuseScore’s OpenScore project. MuseScore is the notation software that I have been using primarily for many years now, and a couple of years back they began OpenScore, which aims to be a huge digital library of works in the public domain transcribed into MuseScore to help make music creativity even more accessible to anyone who wants it. If you check out their website, you can see my name as the transcriber for Holst’s Mars the Bringer of War.

What’s Next for you?

This fall, I’ll be going off to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. It is a ways away from the band, but I’m confident that our distance won’t change our passion for music. We all plan on keeping our band alive and well while we continue our paths. For me, no matter what happens, I don’t see myself ever falling out of the musical side of the world, ever. A new community means new venues, new groups, new events, and so much more new music. I’m super excited to see how this all works out.

How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

Take a look at what my band is up to on Facebook or Instagram page (@sunrisedaydream_). That’s where we post all our updates about our latest releases and events! You can find everything about me on Facebook and Instagram (@Frank_Luna_music) where I post everything that is going on in my musical life. If you want to take a look at some of the pieces that I’ve written, arranged or transcribed, you can access it all at Musescore.com if you search my name!

Sunrise Daydream