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Music

Mr. Frank Is a Gay Cop Who Is Going to Steal Your Drugs "Tonite"

Hide your fireworks too.

Photo by Erez Avissar

The queer scene in New York City is, was, and hopefully always will be, legendary. Queers move from across the world to experience that unique coalescence of struggle and liberation that exists only here thus contributing to a ferocious community that is at once desperate, loving and cunty. One of the most legendary spaces in queer NYC exists in Brooklyn. The Spectrum, an experiment in queer culture propagation and an incubator for alternative expressions in nightlife and contemporary art, has been home to extraordinary performances and a vehement disassembling of gender and societal norms for four years (which, when converted to the dog years of DIY spaces and nightlife venues in NYC, equates to nearly four decades).

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One of the most indelible performances I've ever witnessed at The Spectrum was that of Mr. Frank. Mustached and coated in glitter, he delivered a set of perfect pop songs with the charisma of a young Madonna and the infectious sass of a no-bullshit Southern gay. I was hooked: where could I see him again? Nowhere, he explained. He was taking a hiatus to work on new material. That was two years ago and finally Mr. Frank is ready to bust out and slather the glitter all over us with the video for his latest track, 'Tonite.' I had a chance to chat with Frank and get the deets on life, his latest effort, and what the future holds.

Noisey: How and where did you grow up and what was it like?
Mr. Frank: I was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and had a traditionally dysfunctional Southern Christian conservative upbringing. Lots of tradition. Lots of racism. Lots of nice people. Iced tea. church. Camouflage clothes, Jesus themed everything, divorced parents, trailer parks, smoking cigarettes WAY too young, dad's AA meetings, porches, lightning bugs, gay bashing, racism, locusts, faggot this - nigger that. The completely dysfunctional patriarchal stereotypical culture that the GOP loves full of broad spectrum hate. Obviously this isn't how everyone is but I didn't become fully aware of how fucked up iy was until I actually left Shreveport and moved away for college to New Orleans.

How did you discover your love of music and when did you decide to start making it?
My first two cassettes ever were The Supremes and Temptations greatest hits from my mom. I don't know if i liked the music or making up dances more but that was my shit for sure until mainstream pop, rap, rock and eventually THE INTERNET and Napster. It wasn't until I started working at this bar in Shreveport, LA called the Jackrabbit Lounge that i really got inspired to get on stage. Shreveport is almost equidistant from Memphis, New Orleans, Birmingham and Atlanta, so we would get lots of bands touring through on their way to a bigger city. One night in 2007 an artist called Bunny Rabbit, now Bunny Michael, toured through Shreveport with Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum (then Derriere), Black Cracker, Da Pumpsta, and Bruno. It was amazing to see all these beautiful gay artists perform to banging backtracks with nothing but a mic and shit tons of talent and swagger. Was so inspired I basically began making music immediately after. And since the only tool I had access to was Garage Band, I went to Barnes & Noble, memorized a bunch of things from "An Idiots Guide to Mac Computers," went home, made beats, and then started performing with my homie for life Ms. Karen Wallace as 'Jean-Eric.'

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When did you make the move to NOLA and what changed musically for you there?
I went to school in NOLA but officially moved in 2008 with Karen and then added Sheila Santamaria to our group as resident performance artist/muse. She basically looked like the most beautiful human Mardi Gras mermaid, constantly covered in glitter. That in itself is attractive to the people in New Orleans. Our performances were total shit shows as we were very mardi gras, covered head to toe in home made costumes and glitter paint. Frequently people would get naked. Our house itself, where the band lived, was covered in glitter. Only after a couple months being there Rusty Lazer asked us to play Big Freedia's 30th birthday party. After that we played with Vockah Redu, Katey Red and Nicky Da B (RIP). Insanely Quintron and Miss Pussycat came to a show and asked if we would play at their venue, The Spellcasters Lodge. Soon we played with Hunx and His Punx, Golden Triangle, X-Ray Eyeballs and Shannon and the Clams. We somehow got "signed" to Jac Curries label Defend New Orleans Records and they, with the help of our then manager, Minor Strachan, and Jay Yeunger of White Zombie produced our first album "Get It." We literally couldnt believe the success we were having! Then we opened for the Black Lips to a sold out show on New Years Eve. We played at the New Orleans Museum of Art on their grand staircase. They gave us the keys to the museum at night and we would just go run arond barefoot with wine and play our music really loud so we could "get a feel for the space." Seriously fucking ruled.

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Why did you make the decision to move to New York?
I've always wanted more, more, more.

What's this video about?
It's like when you meet that one crazy kid at a party and you both know for some reason it was fate that you'd meet and get into lots of trouble that one night and maybe fuck or maybe never see each other again or maybe both. Kinda like that but we're both sexy dumb cops and partners in party crime using the law against the kids on the beach, stealing their drugs and doing them, as most cops do. We're stoppin', friskin' and partying'. It's also about having fun, not giving a fuck and abusing your right as a human to actualize yourself into any form you want and being free.

What's the intention behind the upcoming album?
I intend to write great pop music and remind people that pop doesn't have to be garbage based on an algorithm of what's good for 18-25 year olds. I like using kind of cliche themes and making them fun: a sad song you can dance to, or showing sensitivity through strength.

Words of wisdom from Mr. Frank to the universe?
Fuck what you heard. Do it yourself. Always face the crowd. Tell people NO. Always say hello, never say goodbye. Also wanna shout out special thanks to Jim Larson for shooting, Kelsea Dakota for planning everything, Angelina Dreem, Sophie Sofar, Megan Trosclair, my other band THE MOON DUDES, Benny Jenkins, Oliver Vonderahe and Jamie Ingalis.