Headed up by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Franco, Calgary-based The Muster Point Project is a musical act we’ve come to truly love at Mesmerized. Having followed the outfit since last year, each single released has revealed a new facet of their creative vision, reinforcing why we’re so invested in their musical evolution.
Intrigued to find out more about the man behind the music, I was thrilled when Kevin agreed to an interview! Taking us through the early days of being in an 80s metal cover band, the outfit’s most recent single ‘This Town Has Changed,’ and which 3 albums he’d take with him to a deserted island, please give a warm welcome to our friend Kevin Franco of The Muster Point Project!
Hello and welcome Kevin! I’m stoked to be able to re-introduce you to our ever-growing audience! For those who have yet to discover your musical prowess, who is Kevin Franco and when did your love affair with music begin?
I grew up in a musical household. On weekends, the record player was always spinning something. We would go to the local library to borrow LPs every week. We had a very old upright piano in our house. I was fascinated with how it worked and its beautiful sounds when my mom played it.
When I was 15 I started taking guitar lessons, but it didn’t last long because I wasn’t much interested in theory or reading music, I just wanted to play – it was my biggest passion. Back then there was no Shazam or YouTube, if you wanted to learn a song you had to wait for it to play on the radio and record it or know who the artist was and get their record.
Learning to play by ear was a necessity and I became fairly proficient – I could hear a song on the radio someplace and then go home and play it from memory. After high school, some friends and I formed an 80s metal cover band, it was a lot of fun but after many months of rehearsals with no singer, we lost interest. I can still play all of those songs at a moment’s notice. For many years, I just played for fun and jammed with the occasional friend or band.
About 4 years ago, I decided to lean into my passion for music and start writing songs. I challenged myself to write 100 instrumental songs in 100 days which fast-tracked my understanding of the recording and song arrangement process. I became proficient at the tools and then started working on writing lyrics and singing. I am finally getting used to the sound of my own voice, unlike my guitar, I can’t do much for the sounds it makes, but I’m learning how to use it. I am more confident in my singing which I hope comes through in my new album. I love creating music and I love telling stories through song. Some songs still give me goosebumps, they just connect with me in a certain way. I’d love to create songs that do that for people.
Now, we at Mesmerized have been following the musical journey of The Muster Point Project ever since we first heard 2023’s ‘I Did What I Did’ – and we’ve been firm fans ever since! What milestones have marked the journey from that point to where you are today?
‘I Did What I Did’ is a bit of a rocker, eh? It was the 4th of a 5 song EP collaboration with Canadian novelist, Geoff Moore. He wrote the lyrics and I did the rest. I thought the project was awesome – not just what we created, but working with Geoff as we created the songs. I’m really happy with all of the songs we made.
When ‘I Got This’ was played on the radio my phone rang off the hook with many notifications and people calling me to say, “Hey, your song’s on the radio!” – that was quite the thrill. Getting to work with The Rolling Stones horn section (Kick Horns) was an absolute treat and a big reason radio stations liked the first single from that EP. Since then, I’ve been working on my new album called ‘It Was Here He Received His Only Formal Education’, which is made up of a collection of 12 songs centring around loss and remembrance. Incidentally, Geoff Moore has contributed lyrics to two of the songs on the upcoming album. It’s slated to hit the streets (streaming platforms) on November 30 with a limited edition vinyl pressing.
Your most recent single ‘This Town Has Changed’ is yet another absolute stunner that I’ve fallen deeply in love with! I know that, lyrically, it explores visiting a small town that doesn’t quite look and feel how it used to, but what else would you like our readers to know about your latest release?
I really like the idea of having a constant vocal call with a response – almost like a conversation you have with yourself in your head. As far as lyrical themes go, it’s a pretty common trope – going back to a place you once fit only to learn you no longer do. The last line in the verses, “Now I wonder if it just isn’t me, seems like everybody else is as good as can be” is the realization that changes seen are perhaps just the author’s own skewed reality. Did he change or did the town?
This was a hard track to determine the genre. I don’t really think of my music as any particular genre. I just make music I like and sometimes it’s rock, sometimes it’s pop, sometimes it’s a bit country. This particular song saddles so many different types of music. I pitched it as an Americana track, but I found that many playlist curators didn’t know where to put it and said it was too rock for folk and too folk for rock. Luckily, it is generating a lot of new listeners, and they’re engaging with my online accounts and sharing and posting which is great.
Your previous single ‘Now We’re Successful’ allowed you to work alongside renowned drummer Sterling Laws who’s played with two of my all-time favourite acts; The War on Drugs and Matt Berninger of The National. What was it like collaborating with such an accomplished musician and did you gain any insights?
Sterling is an amazing drummer! We’ve worked together on about 15 songs now. He creates the perfect accents and knows exactly where to place them. He’s got a great feel for the songs and it shows in his playing. The first song we worked on was ‘3 Miles (So Far Away)’, from my ‘What’s The Point?’ album which came out in 2022. He actually drums on all but one track on that album. He’s a highly sought-after musician, so I try to arrange things with him with lots of lead time. He’s a great guy and tries to accommodate me whenever he can. I try to work with him whenever he’s not touring the world with some big act.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences? Who did you grow up listening to? And would you say that your tastes have changed over the years?
I listen to a lot of different types of music. When I was a kid, my parents listened to a lot of the 50s and 60s pop music like Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Turtles, The Shangri-La’s and Tony Orlando and Dawn. As a teen, I was obsessed with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Deep Purple and Bob Dylan. As I grew older, I found myself listening and loving everything from Robert Cray, Flogging Molly, Bad Religion, Steve Earle, John Hiatt, R.E.M., Los Jaivas, John Prine, Pete Seeger, Bill Bourne, Iron Maiden, Graham Parker, NRBQ, Tragically Hip, The Kinks, Silver Jews, Blue Rodeo, World Party, Old Reliable, Novaks, Mooney Suzuki and 54-40.
I could go on – I have a sizeable vinyl collection. I really love all types of music and I think they all lend themselves to my palette and influence my songs to different degrees. I just got a new cassette player for my old car so I’m rediscovering some of my old music tastes as I still have all the cassettes I’ve ever owned – mix tapes and all.
Einstein famously said, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician.” If you were not a musician, what would you be?
I have always worked in the creative arts. I love to create. I NEED to create. To build and to explore the paths undefined (for me). But, I also like dissection, taking things apart to fully understand them. I think both stem from a desire to learn. So that plus I have just enough obsessive compulsiveness that I’d probably be pretty good at forensic accounting. I suppose any job where I was constantly challenging myself and learning would be enjoyable. Music does this and I happen to like the finished product. I’m not sure I’d enjoy creating a spreadsheet as much as a song, but life’s full of surprises.
OK, Kevin – desert island time! You’re allowed to grab 3 albums before being stranded on an island. Which do you go with?
My first desert island pick would be ‘Stolen Moments’ by John Hiatt. It is an absolute masterpiece. Every track is absolutely perfect and timeless.
Next would be ‘The Missing Years’ by John Prine. I came upon this album and artist at a low point in my life and it was just what I needed. Some great guest appearances on the album first caught my eye, but the storytelling, man, John Prine can take you places with just a few words.
The third one would be ‘Tower of Song (The Songs of Leonard Cohen)’ by Various Artists. Mostly for Billy Joel and Jann Arden – they absolutely blow me away with their versions of the Cohen songs they perform and take the songs to a whole new level of excellence.
Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us Kevin! It’s been a treat getting to know you a bit better. I can’t wait to hear the new album in November but, I guess in a broader sense, what do you hope your musical future has in store?
This year has been very busy releasing 6 singles to date with 6 more new tracks to come to finish up our upcoming album. Even though it’s only about 42 minutes of music, the entire album has taken me over 1000 hours to complete (not including my producer or session musician’s time). For the coming year, I’d like to continue creating new songs and release another album. I am going to continue exploring different instruments – one of the songs on the upcoming album, ‘The Singing Mailman’ (a tribute to John Prine) features the Charango, a folk instrument from Northern Chile and Bolivia which I purchased while touring the Atacama desert earlier this summer. I’m also incorporating a lot more percussion in my newer work. Spending a lot of time in South America has really influenced my tastes and hopefully comes out in my new songs.
Thank you for taking an interest in my music and for the great questions!
