Music: Franco Nogarin
Webmaster: Franco Nogarin An Extreme nerd.....
My Music Mon Mar 22 2021
it keeps me hanging on....
Prologue:
My Dad gave me my musical Genes
Dad would play or try to play anything that was not nailed down. He was fond of harmonica and Accordian. His motto was, If I learned to play it, he would buy it for me.
In the beginning, there was my first guitar, and I was not really allowed to play with it much and did not know how to play. but the seed was planted.....
I never learned to play that old acoustic, but it was indeed a seed that would later bear fruit.
in 1981 John Cole moved to Pine Point and became the new Music Teacher. He was kind of Harsh, a bit mean and grumpy, and liked to yell a lot, like my dad.
On Day 1 of music class he let us all pick an instrument, and feeling I had no talent for music and struggled with most things in school, I chose what I thought would be the easiest instrument to learn, (Hey it only had three buttons, must be easy right?) and I chose a Trumpet.
That day, no less than 8 guys chose the drums as an instrument, I immediately felt, that Drums were a better choice for me but said nothing. Me Cole said, SOrry you cannot all be drummers, I will keep only 3. By the end of the week there were only 5.
I was a trumpet player for less than a month, when the lineup of drummers was whittled away to nothing. with a couple of guys left standing at the bass drum and the stand up snare, but nobody sitting at the trap set.
I asked Mr. Cole, if I could give drums a try. He rolled his eyes after the disastrous attempts by everyone up till that point, and I was disheartened, but he motioned impatiently for me to put away my trumpet and go have a seat on the kit. It only took John Cole 10 minutes madly barking instructions for me to do, hit this, hit that, hit this every beat while hitting that... to size me up and determine, that he had finally found a kid to sit at the drum kit. He picked me.
a month later, I was THE drummer for the Junior High Concert Band. And Mr Cole, began letting me play my own fills and embellishments against the strict music parts we were all expected to stick to.
This was the beginning of something amazing. By the end of my grade 6 school year, Mr Cole had me (A junior)regularly attending Senior Band Practice where I stood for the entire practice watching my new Hero, Thomas Lal (Grade 12 senior) who was an amazing drummer, he could play fills like machine guns, and could play anything I asked him to including the drum fills in Rush's Tom Sawyer, which I was trying so hard to play at the time. When he graduated that year, The senior band lost an amazing drummer, and I lost a hands on Mentor. It was then that Mr. Cole Gave me the Senior Band Drummer Position, and it was then I became a real drummer.
1 year later I was playing every song without sheet music and Mr. Cole never made me stick to a sheet ever again. In fact, he even put me on the spot and asked me to play the kit for a guest string orchestra (The singing strings Orchestra from Edmonton in a performance for the community) He handed me a tuba part, and asked me to just get up there and do the best I could, to play 6 songs I had never heard, with a band I had never played with, and when it was all over I felt like I had climbed Everest.
It was then that Mr. Cole gave me my own keys to the music room at school and was given permission to take the drums home any time I wanted for any reason.
This is the School kit, in my basement, as I showed my Dad and told him, you need to buy me a drum kit Dad.
So what did I DO with my Keys to the music room? Did I go practice drums? No, Instead we started a band, and I quickly decided I wanted to sing and play guitar, girls were not into Drummers LOL.
At the time, I was a cobbler/Leather Artisan in training and my mentor Terry Lyttle, taught me guitar basics and I would end each work shift playing guitar & Singing with Terry, we would also play in the church each sunday.
After my dad saw me play in church, and I brought home an old burned les paul copy from a house fire at my lead singers place, my dad bought me my own guitar. I know he colaborated with Mr. Cole to do this, and not fo the last time. He bought the most Beautiful (to Him, he was a wood worker by hobby) guitar he found.
He bought me a now rare guitar, a Canadian Matsomuko Mann Kneck Through electric. This is me and my brother playing my New Mann and Dario playing my old burned les paul, on christmas morning. With a custom strap made by Terry in secret. This came with a ROland Cube 40 AMplifier.
It was not long and Our Band was performing, and WHile I now recognize that Mann for the thing of beauty it truley was, when i was young it was not cool. SO instead I tended to play the Schools Yamaha SG200 which looked alot cooler, like Angus Young's .
BIO
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Originally a drummer, Franco learned to play guitar then started his first band, "Avatar" at the age of 13, did his first paying gig at 14 and was playing in bars by 15. In the early 90's After writing many songs he returned north from Vancouver Island and he joined up with Dana Cross, Duane Mackie, Phil Mackenzie in Hay River and formed the "Lost Boys". Several Songs were written and recording began on an album. Due to financial constraints and disagreements with both the Label and the Studio the project was never finished. The lost boys played the Aurora College Grad Dance and the South Slave friendship festival in Fort Smith and later Franco moved there to start another band, "Over Proof Jello" (OPJ). OPJ Began with the initial lineup being Wyk Parish on Leads, Franco on rhythm Franco and Andrea Cutler on vocals, Tina Bartsch on Bass, Dave Porter on Sax and Dinesh Deonerain on Drums. This band saw many people come and go, with the final lineup being Franco, Andrea Cutler (now Andrea Steed) on Lead Vocals, Dinesh , Paul Hajner on Rhythm and Gord Seymour on Bass. Years later he joined forces with what was left of the "Electric Chair Skeletons" after Noel Mackenzie (The w00kie) moved back home to Edmonton. Together they formed a reggae band called "Wubba-Ska". This band disbanded when Franco moved south to go to university and finish his degree . The reggae band reformed as "Ire Cho" without him. Franco continued to play reggae with Irie Cho until it disbanded when Heidi could no longer play. Franco and his fellow musicians began a regular Friday Night Jam at Jack's Zone. The Group became affectionately known as "Critical Mass" :) Critical mass ended as a band in 2019. But a craving for harder and heavier music drove him to persue his dream and, finally after 40 years of wishing, Franco got to live out his dream fronting a hard rock/ heavy metal band when he and his pals formed, "The Puppy Monkey Babies". After a gig or two with that handle it was shortened to "The Puppies" and finally today still known as the "Rush Puppies".
Franco contiues to perform from time to time, practice and jam all the time and sometimes writes whatever is in his heart at the moment. His music reflects his feelings but many people identify with the subjects he writes about. His debut album Critical Self Reflection is still ongoing and perhaps will never be finished. His second album REV is also in the works. Franco has been a contributor to many other musical projects as both a musician, writer, arranger and engineer. He blessed with the friendship of many musicians who both inspire him and teach him. Those musicians, young and old know who they are and mean the world to him. He has lost quite a few of these amazing people along the way, All of which are missed dearly. Those that have passed should not be forgotten and so are mentioned here as they are a major source of inspiration for him:
BandmatesOver the years I have had the pleasure of working with numerous musicians who have contributed to or inspired my music, these are but a few in no particular order:
InfluencesYeesh. This is impossible.
This list would positively go on forever. But perhaps the most influential musicians in my life were my music teachers: Mister John Cole and Gordon Miller. I reserve a special place in my heart for "The Tragically Hip" for being the most incredible Canadian Music ambassadors and their unbelievable sense of generosity. Last but not least, My all-time favorite group of homies: The Radium Kings. If you have to ask why, them go listen to them :) |
Franco Nogarin - Recording Radium Kings - The Zone - 2003
Franco's First Band - Avatar - 1983-1986
Franco Reunites with "The Lost Boys" @ The Zoo - 2001
Franco & Overproof Jello live at the Super Shaker - 1995
Wubba-Ska live at the Port Lounge - 2003
Ire-Cho & The Johnnys Live at The Landing - May 2005
Franco & Critical Mass Live at Spring Stock 2017
The Puppies - Live at Private Stock 2017