Rough Francis
| Rough Francis | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Burlington, Vermont |
| Genres | Punk rock, garage rock, rock n roll |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Riot House Records |
| Associated acts | Death |
| Members | Bobby Hackney (Jr.) Julian Hackney Urian Hackney Paul Comegno Steve Williams |
| Past members | Dylan Giambatista |
Rough Francis is a punk rock band from Burlington, Vermont formed by three brothers—Bobby (Jr.), Julian and Urian Hackney—along with their friends Paul Comegno and Steve Williams. The Hackney brothers originally formed the group in 2008 to pay tribute to the music of their father (and uncles') early 1970s proto-punk band Death.
After a few tribute shows, the group began to write and record their own music. The loud screams and maximum volume of Rough Francis still echoes Death—but they also manage to crystallize a unique sound of their own, channeling live energy from 60's garage rock, Motown and 80's Hardcore.
In 1973, three brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney, formed the rock and roll band Death. The trio recorded several demos in a spare bedroom and in a studio in their home city of Detroit, Michigan. Inspired by the Beatles, The Who, and Alice Cooper, their music did not find a warm response in Detroit's black community, and the band's foreboding name prevented them from garnering much airplay or landing a record deal. In 1976, they pressed 500 copies of a single on their own Tryangle record label to give to friends and radio DJs. Many copies of the record remained undistributed.
The Hackney brothers moved to Burlington, Vermont in the late 70s and changed their band's name to The 4th Movement, turning to Christian Rock. They released two albums under that name in the early 1980s, which were not successful. Disheartened by his band's lack of success, guitarist and band leader David Hackney returned to Detroit while Bobby and Dannis stayed in Vermont to continue playing music together, eventually finding success in the reggae band Lambsbread. David continued to make music on his own under the pseudonym Rough Francis, and with the help of his brothers, released one single before passing away in 2000.
Bassist and vocalist Bobby Hackney's three sons all became interested in punk rock without knowing anything about the rock group that their father had formed with their two uncles in the early 1970s. In 2006 the three younger Hackneys briefly formed a band to cover songs by seminal afropunks the Bad Brains. Meanwhile, Death's 1976 single began to resurface, falling into the hands of ex-Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra and many other record collectors who played it at parties and posted it on the Internet. These tracks eventually reached the younger Hackneys, who instantly recognized their father's voice. Excited to discover this music, the younger Hackneys learned the songs and formed a band to cover their father's and uncles' music. They named themselves Rough Francis in tribute to their late uncle David, who was largely responsible for Death's direction.
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