Cancion Franklin is a musician/songwriter who lives and preforms in New York City. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, his musical life began when he first heard the blues as a child. “I heard Howlin’ Wolf as a kid and it blew my small mind wide open. I tried to emulate him along with my other heroes throughout the years, which helped me to create my own unique style and sound. What has developed out of this is something that lives between blues, rock and classic country.”
After gigging some pretty tough-sounding dives in Jersey, Franklin now fronts his own trio: Cancion Franklin and the Family Band. They recently released their second EP Stone for Stone, which has been getting played on radio stations around the world and charted on both the Roots Music Report and with the Americana Music Association and, in the Before Times, played at the 11th Street Bar in the East Village every second Tuesday of the month.
Frankling told us more about his musical influences and how he approaches his craft. “Just Made Rent” is a blues song with a gospel flourish. The song cleverly plays upon the needs of our lost souls, and what’s truly needed to set us all free.
Who are some of your musical influences?
I’m big on country and blues music. I like the outlaw stuff like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, but I’m also a huge blues head. I heard Howlin’ Wolf as a kid and I couldn’t get enough.
What’s a perfect song to you and why?
I love the traditional folk song “Hang Me.” I love the way that whoever wrote it created such an uplifting beautiful melody to such a sad story. It’s a striking technique that I try to employ in my songs as well.
Do you have any songwriter tips?
I think it’s important in songwriting to understand that there’s nothing new under the sun. I draw as much as I can from my influences with full abandon, just like the writers who came before me did. Trying to be completely original usually ends up with the opposite effect.
Do you usually write your music or lyrics first?
No song comes the same way twice. I can sit down and play all day and nothing will come to me, and then go take a shower and have the right answer. When songwriting is going right it takes about 10 minutes to finish. So sometimes a guitar riff will come or a lyric that makes sense and I’ll try and fit the rest in, but when its really going well everything happens at once in an incredible flood.
Explain the title of “Just Made Rent.”
I think it’s pretty clear. Am I gonna wake up every morning and work until I pass away? This song is for those of us who worry about that. It’s a refuge for the working person.