David Frangioni is the publisher at Modern Drummer. David has had a long career as a musician, producer, entrepreneur and author. In this episode he shares insight into his work at Modern Drummer, his career and his interesting life story.
Way back in 2003, MTV decided to give its viewers a Christmas present with “The Osbourne Family Christmas Special,” a holiday show that promised to take ““holiday specials to a bizarre new level.”
With a guest list that included then newlyweds Dave Navarro and Carmen Elektra with a group reading of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” featuring an all-star cast of matriarch Sharon Osbourne, Outkast’s Big Boi, ‘N Sync’s JC Chasez, Eddie Griffin, Tracy Morgan, Anthony Anderson, Eva Mendes and Electra, the special promised to be different that standard yuletide fare.
The centerpiece was a much anticipated duet with Ozzy Osbourne and Jessica Simpson as they teamed up for a duet of “Winter Wonderland.” The moment was supposed to be magical, as Simpson was also enjoying a reality show wave with her own MTV show, “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica,” which premiered that summer with her then-husband Nick Lachay.
It didn’t turn out quite that enchanting, but according to David Frangioni, sound engineer and Publisher of Modern Drummer Magazine, it was all in good fun.
“It was always supposed to be a cornball, fun kind of thing,” he tells 1071 The Boss midday jock Michele Amabile.
Today’s guest has dedicated his life to the idea that escapism is one of the single most important elements of what makes us human.
As an award-winning veteran of the music industry, his expertise ranges from being a drummer and producer to an artist development and label founder. In his ground-breaking music tech consulting business, he worked with Aerosmith, the Stones, Ringo Starr, Elton John, and Sting.
He is the author of three books, the Founder of Audio One, and the CEO of Frangioni Media and All Access IDA. He recently became the Publisher of Modern Drummer Magazine, the world’s number one drumming publication.
Renowned audio engineer and audio expert, David Frangioni explains how he found refuge from his childhood trauma through escapism, audio work for the big names, and more on truth, trust, and the voice.
David Frangioni, a music technologist and drummer who has worked with many of the world’s biggest rock artists including Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne, talks to Jason Barnard. Additionally, read on to see how to win a copy of Dave’s book CRASH: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits From Appice to Peart to Van Halen.
An Editor's Overview
Welcome to the July 2019 issue. If you’re into gawking at wild and famous drumkits, then you’re going to enjoy our photo-essay on Crash, the new coffee-table book by drummer, collector, and studio sound technician David Frangioni. In addition to talking to the author about it, we couldn’t resist reprinting a whole host of its photos, as well as a couple that didn’t make the final product.
Back in 2014, I was interviewed by South Florida Luxury Guide, an online digital magazine for luxury cars, jewelry stores, homes, hotels, and other luxury products, about how I got my start in the music business and began building home studios and theaters for celebrity clients such as Bryan Adams, The Stones, and Rascal Flatts.
Earlier this year, I joined Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell at Pwop Studios on the .Net Rocks! podcast to talk about music technology and exchange stories about our work in the industry. The interview began talking about my childhood—when I lost my eye to a rare form of cancer at the age of two and how that experience influenced me to start playing the drums.
David Frangioni started his music career as a drummer, but soon became a pioneer in MIDI technology. This lead him into the studio as an engineer and producer for dozens of top artists including The Stones, Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, Elton John, Sting, Carl Palmer, Journey, Styx, KISS, Phil Collins, Shakira, Ozzy Osbourne, and more.
In a recent episode of Growin’ Up Rock, I sit down with co-hosts Steven Michael and Sonny "Hollywood" Pooni to explore the early days of MIDI technology. Listen below.
If I listed one of David’s careers, it would be impressive. But David isn’t a one-career type of guy. He’s a Renaissance man who’s reinvented himself over the years. David started as a drummer then evolved into a pioneer of MIDI technology, the founder of an award-winning A/V firm Audio One.
David Frangioni is an award-winning veteran of the music industry, with expertise ranging from being a drummer and producer himself, to an audio consultant, technologist, integrator and recording engineer. He started in the industry early, playing live at 12 years old, where he was focused on drumming with bands in Boston. He found the future of drumming in technology, starting his career first with a consulting business at age 16, which helped to make his connection with Aerosmith, where he was their in-house engineer/technologist for 13 years and continued working on their singles, albums, tours and even the theme song for the Spider-Man animated television series with Joe Perry along with much more starting in 1989.
David Frangioni of Audio One out of South Florida is an industry legend and award-winning audiophile consultant, recording engineer, studio installer, producer, technologist, and drummer. David has worked, consulted, and in many cases played drums alongside hundreds of music industry icons such as Aerosmith, Stones, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting, Bryan Adams, Journey, Styx, Phil Collins, Shakira, Rascal Flatts, Ozzy Osbourne, Chick Corea, and ELP.
Less than a decade ago, pro AV technology was thought to be the premier equipment market—the industry was untouchable and at the forefront of innovation. Many home technologies were born out of the AV market, and at-home-AV research and development was often started with professional R&D.
Today the opposite is occurring, it seems. Harman’s engineering team, for example, is leveraging technology drawn from the company’s connected car business. “Nobody in the pro industry can afford the thousands of engineers needed to develop secure Linux products,” said Mohit Parasher, president, Harman Professional Solutions. “We have access to that because that development was done for our connected car business. We can borrow 80 percent of the work and bring it into the pro industry. The same thing with the consumer side, and the services side, and from Samsung, etc.”
In this episode, Growin’ Up Rock talks with producer, engineer, and technologist David Frangioni. David’s early experience with MIDI technology would establish his reputation as the go-to guy for setting up home studio recording. David became so much of an authority on MIDI setups, Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer gave David the title of “Midiot” along with the hat to go with it. David’s worked with countless rock artists including Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Styx, and KISS.
Bands you will hear on this episode include Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin.
This week the Rock n Roll Archaeologist sits down with music technologist to the stars, David Frangioni. Known to Steven Tyler of Aerosmith as Gyro Gear-Loose for his magical abilities in all things audio technology, David has worked with too many rockers to count. Along with the bad boys from Boston, he is also widely known for working on “The Osbournes” reality TV show. He is the owner of Audio One and a collector of famous drum kits that he keeps at the Drum Experience Museum in South Florida.
David Frangioni, owner of Audio One, tells how he does it all, from professional recording studios to high-end home theaters and whole-house automation systems.
David Frangioni knows sound. A drummer from the age of two, he became an in-demand studio designer and sound engineer, working with Aerosmith, KISS, and Bryan Adams to name a few. When his famed studio clients wanted equally impressive home systems, they called Frangioni, who then added high-end home theater and whole-home automation systems to his offered services. Today, his company, Audio One, based in Miami and Beverly Hills, takes care of all AV needs, from studios, commercial installations, houses of worship, to top-of-the-line residential systems.
When producer, engineer and music technologist David Frangioni sat down to compile his newest book, Crash: The World's Greatest Drum Kits From Appice to Peart to Van Halen, he knew he needed to include two people: iconic drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and KISS drummer Eric Singer. Luckily, he managed to get them to write the book's introduction and conclusion, respectively.
Crash, the 207-page illustrative book, features an up close look at the most famed drum kits in the history of rock’n’roll. The detailed images and text highlight the design behind the drums of bands such as The Beatles, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Rush, Metallica, Journey, Black Sabbath and more. It's like a high school textbook filled with a timeline of rock percussion.
For fans of KISS, the book comes fully loaded. Aside from a section dedicated to the band’s founding drummer Peter Criss’ 1976 Destroyer set-up, Crash features a ten-page spread featuring three of Eric Singer’s most legendary drum kits. Singer — who started playing alongside KISS in 1991 — is about to embark on the band’s End Of The Road tour.
Singer and Frangioni grew a friendship through both music and charity. In fact, many of Singer’s drum kits reside in Miami at the Drum Experience Center, a museum-like facility where kids in need learn to play. The center is a division of the Frangioni Foundation, which is directly receiving a portion of the sales from Crash.
Back in February, the fascinating David Frangioni made a trek up to Pwop Studios to geek out with Carl and Richard about music technology. Oh, the stories! What a gas.
