Sutton resident gets tuned in

May 12, 2006

By DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman

SUTTON - Sutton resident Randy Frank stopped and loaded up on espressos and snacks at the Mom & Pop Grocery, and then he headed his rust-colored Suburban through the drizzly mid-April weather - and toward Cantwell, where he spent his Saturday night performing for a wedding reception at the Longhorn Saloon.

The following Saturday, during Sutton's 20th annual Coal Miners Ball, along with three band members who call themselves Yukon, Frank hummed on a harmonica while people danced to an eclectic collection of songs, including a rendition of &#8220Sweet Home Alabama” in which a harmonica solo was featured.

At 42, Frank has been pursuing something he has thought about since he was a teenager: being in a band, performing on stage, channeling his energy into music, with the most unlikely of instruments - the harmonica.

About two years ago, Frank spied a bargain at a garage sale. For $2, he bought two harmonicas with an instruction cassette tape.

As soon as he got back in his vehicle, he popped in the cassette and tested out the harmonica.

&#8220I started making the most God-awful noise. But it became an obsession to get better,” Frank said.

He hooked up with friend and harmonica player Brian Fischer, who said Frank's music sounded like a chirping squirrel.

He later became Frank's mentor. The two still argue that Frank puts more notes than necessary into some songs.

With newborn twins - a daughter and son - in his life, Frank took to practicing four hours a day. Those sessions are something the energetic infants enjoy, regardless of whether he's in tune.

Meanwhile, Frank - whose ancestry traces back to a Valley colonist grandfather - ignored well-meaning friends and family who claimed he was too old to play in a band and that doing so was an irresponsible goal, a shiftless dream.

&#8220If there's something you wanna do, when are you gonna do it?” said Frank, who has tried his hand at drums and let a guitar collect dust in the past.

&#8220If I didn't believe what I knew in my own mind, and listened to what people were saying, I would have stopped.”

With the support of his girlfriend, Jennifer, and her knowledge of the music world - her dad played the french horn in a symphony, Frank kept practicing until he got up the nerve to jump up on a stage in Homer and test his talent before a more objective audience.

&#8220I got hooked on playing and playing live. Open mikes were the perfect opportunity,” Frank said. &#8220It was really nice when I played and didn't suck.”

Through open-mike events, music festivals and unpaid appearances at fund-raisers, Frank met other musicians who later became members of the band Yukon.

The eclectic, ever-evolving band includes drummer Richie Dougherty, 32, and Matt Grice, 28, and Matt Dean, 37, who share acoustic guitar and vocal duties.

The four have been recording a CD at Loon Lake Studio, writing music and setting up gigs. Their music ranges from Sublime to Johnny Cash, from Tom Petty to Lynyrd Skynyrd, and includes originals. Even old hits sound original when the harmonica is featured, Frank said.

&#8220People ask us if we're just a jam band. All of us like to jam. We're not afraid to try something for the first time live,” he said.

&#8220When we play music, and hit it right, there's a certain chemistry, a certain magic that happens. Then, we're in the zone.”

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@ frontiersman.com.