Three boys and one girl create the raw sound that is Franki Lee; Stacy K on lead vocals and guitar, Trent Baarspul on lead guitar, keys, and fiddle, Beau Jeffrey on bass, and Jay sitting in on drums. The band was begat from the vision and drive of singer and bandleader Stacy K and has since evolved into a must see band who delivers a powerful live performance. “It’s taken some time to get to this point. It was only about a year or more ago I was playing solo in cafes,” recalls lead singer St...
Three boys and one girl create the raw sound that is Franki Lee; Stacy K on lead vocals and guitar, Trent Baarspul on lead guitar, keys, and fiddle, Beau Jeffrey on bass, and Jay sitting in on drums. The band was begat from the vision and drive of singer and bandleader Stacy K and has since evolved into a must see band who delivers a powerful live performance. “It’s taken some time to get to this point. It was only about a year or more ago I was playing solo in cafes,” recalls lead singer Stacy K, “The current lineup of Franki Lee is really exciting. I’ve played with numerous talented musicians in the past and there is just something about this lineup that is special and very exciting!”
Franki Lee (previously known as Stacy K & the Groovestains) started in the winter of 2007, rehearsing in an old dirty college house basement and booking shows as often as possible. “I swear we were playing three or four times a week, going to school, working full time jobs,” recalls Trent, “It didn’t matter with who or where, we were really hitting it hard.” By the New Year, Stacy K put out her second EP, Little Glass Houses (acoustic EP/solo with Baarspul’s guitar work) and two short Midwest tours followed in support; one in March 2008, marking the beginning of spring and another at the end of May 2008, closing it out.
After the return of the second spring tour, Franki Lee went into the studio to record their first “full band” EP, In the Country. “Previous to this band, I recorded a couple of EP’s, one which I just listened to by force of my mother, and surprisingly enjoyed (The Attic Sessions),” Stacy states, “In the Country was the first recording with Franki Lee…. although we were still under the Groovestain name. And it was a pretty quick recording, it’s definitely a raw, real sound, which I enjoy more than a “polished shiny, plastic” production. Some of the songs were written just a week before and it was great to have something to sell for that summer tour.” It was soon after the recording of In the Country that FL went out on their third tour, hitting the deeper Midwest to places of Omaha, Kansas, St. Louis, and Nashville.
After returning from their third tour, FL has been climbing the ropes of the Minneapolis scene and constantly reaching new fans. In November 2008, they got the opportunity to open for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals for a portion of their 2008 fall tour. “That was completely random,” laughs Stacy, “I received a phone call and the next day we are driving to Iowa. That following night we were sitting in with GPN in Kansas City!”
In the year 2009, Franki Lee has already successfully toured out to the East Coast with the MPLS band Clawthroat and showcased at NACA Northern regional conference. "Our main focus lately has been honing our direction of the music and writing new tunes", states Trent. FL plays in the Minneapolis and surrounding area with plans of releasing an EP in the fall 2009.
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