Conversations with Franco Zizza

Today we’d like to introduce you to Franco Zizza.

Hi Franco, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This path has been a long one and for the past 15 years it has been quite the journey. I started writing poetry and songs at the age of 18 due to depression through a suggestion of a friend. Writing really opened my mind and heart to find the truth of where I was and who I was in that period. I believe that when you are a musician, filmmaker, poet, occultist, philosopher, etc. it is a life style not a hobby. Day in and day out, the work must be done!
From 2007 to now I have not stopped the output. I put my first poetry book “An Erotic Rebellion” out in 2011. I started my previous band Handsome Karnivore with my best mates in 2012. We put out 4 albums and an EP from (2013-2024) with the final album “Two Steps from the Moon” which was released last year on Halloween.
Now I am working on my first solo album “Light of Liberation” and it’s companion, my 2nd poetry book of the same name. I am working on the album and book as we speak and hope to have both out by this year!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has been paved in certain areas and completely demolished in other areas. Navigating today’s landscape is very tricky! The path is always there but you have to be willing to make sacrifices, take routes less traveled (even if it makes you less popular) and put in the persistent hard work it takes to achieve anything that is related to your goals and passions.
Sometimes everything goes smoothly and then there is a thunderstorm up ahead and now you must navigate through the storm. How we navigate through these strange moments is very telling, especially cause the negative usually outweighs the positive in those trying times. Whether the storm is self doubt, lack of confidence, lack of interest from your community or family or actual situations completely out of your control like COVID or social media.
These are moments to use and grow from and also reveals how badly do you want to do what you are doing? This is one of main points of art, to freeze time and reflect what is needed in that moment, a form of therapy that gives you back what you put in! Especially in the days of social media and being “seen and heard or it doesn’t exist.”
There is a lot of art nowadays being made for the wrong reasons be it money, fame, followers,self aggrandizement.
Let’s get it straight, the arts are for the artist first and foremost! Then, if there is a reception to that art in a meaningful way, the art can be of great service. It can shine as a beacon of help for those that need it is energy and inspiration. That’s what all my favorite artists did for me
On the contrary to that, some of the greatest artist are still around putting out amazing new music which is very inspiring! The local scenes, be it Hollywood,Laurel Canyon,DTLA have so much potent beauty in talent, songwriting, jamming and vibe! Just like anything there is contrast depending on the night. It’s great to be surrounded by passionate individuals and it’s illuminating to see the pitfalls of those that have fallen along the way. Equilibrium is key!! “As above, so below.”

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a musician, songwriter, and poet. I am mainly known for being a lead guitarist/vocalist/songwriter. At the present time, people are seeing the vocal/poetic side of my work but the guitar is always going to be the main instrument.
I can play a various amount of instruments, for example I just released a single called “Emerald Isle” with my good friend Your Favorite Leach! That got played all over Europe and made it into Rolling Stone India! Another example is a project i joined as a bassist called The Colour 13. We just recorded a record which should be out later this year. I played bass, synth, moog, mellotron!
I love the process of creation and their are many ways to get to the end result. I am very collaborative in working with fellow artists/musicians. I have one of my best mates, producer and musician extrodinaire Shane Taylor with me on the solo album! He always takes the production and songs into a new stratosphere! The culmination of him and I working on the past HK albums and now this has been a dream of beautiful music and sound! Not only does he engineer, produce but can pretty much play most instruments efficiently and still has an ear for experimenting and artist integrity! You shall hear it on the upcoming record.
One of things I am proud of, I had a band curated to create music to my poetry on the spot, live for a recording session at Village Recorders on Jim Morrisons birthday! I had my great friends Francis, Falcon , and Gosha from Clone Wolves make up half the band along with Shane, another best mate of mine Ray Velez (who was in HK) and Lucian Smith, a cosmic keyboard player! A 7 piece live band that spawned 10 poems, 5 jams and a backing vocal session for the title track Light Of Liberation! All in a matter of 5 hours!
Oh yeah, and none of us had played all together in that formation before, just random permutations of it at randon jams across the years.What was captured was pure Magick and will appear on the upcoming record!

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Given the state of the world and how I am particularly not the biggest fan of the direction it is going in, please hear this warning. Technology can be great and useful. It has a wonderful purpose to help us along with ease of life but the abuse it is starting to create with A.I. and creating art needs to be put in in its proper place. It can be a tool to use yes, but it is not the art form itself. Let that computer/robot do monotonous jobs that can free up people to live their lives more instead of being at work all the time, draining their soul.
Music and the arts have been around as long, if not longer than religion! It is a field of consciousness that we are luckily enough to have. If you tap into this field of consciousness as a conscious being upon earth, you will create worlds you could of never imagined that will reveal the truth in you. Don’t let the robots take the human aspect out of what still needs to be human – art. It’s basic mathematics, humans have a soul, robots don’t.
We will need more artist to step up, more people behind those artist to make a bigger impact in order to cancel out the incoming trash made by a robot made by a corporation who has no business making “art” in the first place.
Since there is always war and madness, no matter the year, just remember, we are stronger together than apart!

“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing”.. Charles Bukowski

Pricing:

• $22 An Erotic Rebellion (on Amazon or Barnes and Noble)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/Erotic-Rebellion-Theoretical-Proposition-Life/dp/1462853188
• Instagram: @franc0zizza
• LinkedIn: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-franco-zizza/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/KJ5oSOpyrt8?si=xWDYkqibQzxZMfBA
• Yelp: https://open.spotify.com/album/58Je30sl9NH1UyFset0AnY?si=r6qJX7wCQ-SglggLJ3J6gg
• Soundcloud: https://yourfavoriteleech.bandcamp.com/track/emerald-isle-feat-franco-zizza
• Other: https://boldjourney.com/meet-franco-zizza/

Image Credits
Cover photo- Lori Hutchinson @lorileaphoto

Photo 1 – Don Marcelo (Don Jovi) @marcdphotos

Photo 2 – Madison Truscan @madisonfromdallas

Photo 3- Don Marcelo (Don Jovi) @marcdphotos

Photo’s 4,5,6 – Lori Hutchinson @lorileaphoto

Photo 7 – Don Marcelo (Don Jovi) @marcdphotos /edit by @franc0zizza

Photo 8 – Jonathan Bouknight @exit_to_the_comatorium in collaboration with @franc0zizza

Photo 9 – Lori Hutchinson @lorileaphoto