Feature
She Rocks
Forget Swift or Sheeran, Francesca Tarantino is on a mission to bring rock ‘n’ roll
to a whole new generation.
- Heather Anne Lee
- Fred Lopez
It’s 2:50 pm on the first Friday of Spring Break and Francesca Tarantino is dressed in an olive green t-shirt, her long, dark hair freshly styled, and a light wash of makeup expertly applied to her already pristine skin. She strolls confidently into The EMbassy, with her entourage in tow—that being her mother, Danielle, father, Frank, and brother, Dominic.
She looks more like a kid sister (which she is—Dominic is one year older) than a rock-star rebel. And yet, the 14-year-old is, quote, “On a mission to bring rock ‘n’ roll back to my generation.” End quote.
An audacious goal, to be sure, but she’s off to a great start. While her peers may be tuning in to Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and other Top 40 artists, Francesca is jamming to the likes of Aerosmith, KISS, and Deep Purple. She wears ‘70s and ‘80s-era rock shirts with abandon, and has an impressive collection of guitars. And yet, she sings sweetly heartbroken lyrics that sometimes come from poems she writes in her journal.
“Music has always been a big part of my life,” Francesca explains. “My dad got me my first guitar, at age 5. And as long as I can remember, my parents would always play classic rock around the house, and I’d be screaming along to the lyrics.”
That’s not to suggest her playlist doesn’t foray into other genres—The Weeknd and Lil Nas X are on steady rotation next to her rock idols. But her heart belongs to the classics. So much so that on her first-ever performance, she closed out a school talent show in second grade with “Rock and Roll All Nite” by KISS. And recently, when Gary Rossington passed away, she and her dad recorded an Instagram Live version of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
“I’m pretty sure no one in my generation, or very few anyway, even know who Lynyrd Skynyrd is, let alone Gary Rossington. And it’s sad because it’s the best music ever,” she says wryly.
So how does a Winter Garden ninth grader go about changing the musical tastes of her generation? Very slowly, with one gig, one riff, one song at a time.
Two days ago, that gig was at The Strawberry Festival. “Oh, my God, they were amazing. They were clapping, they were singing. It makes me so happy when people sing along. It’s so much fun!” she says.
Today’s performance is much more intimate. She’s sharing her debut single, “My Runaway,” at a concert at The Local’s headquarters. This is followed by her yet-to-be-released second single, “Tragedy,” and then an impromptu version of “Zombie” by the Cranberries. “This is fun, too, but it’s actually harder to perform for a small audience than a big one,” she says.
She’ll follow up this performance with another one at The Blake in Hamlin. And later this week, there will be appearances at The Verandah in Thornton Park and Bloodhound Brew Pub.
Francesca Tarantino performs live at the Embassy
The Local/Em Agency team enjoys a mini office concert.
So how does a ninth-grader go about finding gigs?
“Well, at first, it was just open mic nights, which is, like, play three to five songs, and then you’re done. But then I started emailing places asking if I could play, or DM-ing them on Instagram with a link to my videos. People have been really receptive and now they’re starting to reach out to me. And that’s really awesome!”
When she’s not giggling, or going to school, Francesca is hyper-focused on practicing her craft. Nearly every evening, she has jam sessions with her dad in the family’s upstairs music loft. Lined with guitars that Frank has collected over decades, there’s also a drum set, KISS memorabilia, music stands, mics, and a host of sound equipment.
“Yeah, we just come up here and play random stuff. But we actually have this thing on Instagram and Facebook, where every Sunday we’ll have a song that we do together and then post it, and it’s always so much fun. One day we did “Stairway to Heaven.” A few weeks ago we did “Bridge of Sighs.” We did “Crazy On You” at some point, which is one of my all-time favorites. It’s always so much fun to play with him. He’s really the reason I got into music. I mean, my mom loves music, too, and she definitely helps make everything happen. But my dad, he gave me my first guitar and started teaching me riffs like “Crazy on You” by Heart, and then, I think, “Smoke on the Water.” We did that for years before I actually started taking lessons. That was just two years ago. So, yeah … jamming with my dad is always special,” she says with a smile.
Who’s the better guitar player now? “Definitely me,” she says with a laugh. “I mean, don’t tell him that. He’s still good, but he could use some training. Maybe some time with Mike,” she says.
She’s referring to Mike Walker, one of the principles behind the artist development program at DME Orlando, where she’s learning the ins and outs of the music industry.
“Mike and Caroline Walker are amazing,” she effuses. “On Wednesdays, I work with Mike on guitar, vocals, stage presence, and such. Some days we’ll be in the booth and we’ll record some stuff. Or he’ll have me on stage, practicing performance techniques. And then every other Tuesday, I work with Caroline on songwriting and lyrics and stuff.”
DME has also been instrumental in getting Francesca more visible online, helping her distribute music to all the streaming platforms and connecting her with resources for potential gigs.
Indeed, it’s only been two years that Francesca has been formally training, if you will. And a year since she started posting songs and videos online, but with a steady stream of gigs—including singing the national anthem at a Florida Marlins baseball game! — it’s clear that this singer-songwriter is well on her way to becoming the next Anne Wilson, or Joan Jett, or Steven Tyler. “Oh, my god … his voice is amazing. If I could sing like anyone, it might be him.”
She may not have Steven Tyler’s raspy tenor just yet, but there’s still time. Meanwhile, she’s focused on writing her own songs.
“My Runaway” is her first songwriting endeavor, and she had some help along the way. “When I first told Mike I wanted to write a song, we just kind of went into it without a plan. He just started playing some chords, and then I started singing a melody. We made a voice memo, and then he sent me home to write some lyrics. At first, I was a little stumped, but I had the idea of ‘I’ve got to run away’ already in my head, and so I wanted the song to evolve around that. I came home and asked my brother for help, and together we came up with the idea of being somewhere you know you shouldn’t be and you’re trying to escape, but you’re worried about what other people are going to think of you. So he and Mike are actually co-writers on that one.”
“The second one, “Tragedy,” came to me a little faster. It’s about losing someone you really love. And the one I’m writing now is called “The Truth Cannot Hide.” It’s about two best friends, and one friend is actually cheating on her boyfriend. And so the other best friend is like, I do not support this. Why would you tell me this? And that’s basically what it’s about. That’s pretty much everything I write about, just real-life things that happen to people or stories I’ve heard. I try not to overthink it,” she says. “I’m 14. It’s not like I have a whole lot of life experience,” she says with a laugh. “But I’m learning that my purest ideas, or emotions, come from my first thoughts, so I’m learning to trust that. I know there’s still so much more to learn, but I’m so excited. “Even though I grew up listening to rock ’n’ roll, every day I feel like I learn or hear something new. And that’s so much fun!”
It’s 2:50 pm on the first Friday of Spring Break and Francesca Tarantino is dressed in an olive green t-shirt, her long, dark hair freshly styled, and a light wash of makeup expertly applied to her already pristine skin. She strolls confidently into The EMbassy, with her entourage in tow—that being her mother, Danielle, father, Frank, and brother, Dominic.
She looks more like a kid sister (which she is—Dominic is one year older) than a rock-star rebel. And yet, the 14-year-old is, quote, “On a mission to bring rock ‘n’ roll back to my generation.” End quote.
An audacious goal, to be sure, but she’s off to a great start. While her peers may be tuning in to Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and other Top 40 artists, Francesca is jamming to the likes of Aerosmith, KISS, and Deep Purple. She wears ‘70s and ‘80s-era rock shirts with abandon, and has an impressive collection of guitars. And yet, she sings sweetly heartbroken lyrics that sometimes come from poems she writes in her journal.
“Music has always been a big part of my life,” Francesca explains. “My dad got me my first guitar, at age 5. And as long as I can remember, my parents would always play classic rock around the house, and I’d be screaming along to the lyrics.”
That’s not to suggest her playlist doesn’t foray into other genres—The Weeknd and Lil Nas X are on steady rotation next to her rock idols. But her heart belongs to the classics. So much so that on her first-ever performance, she closed out a school talent show in second grade with “Rock and Roll All Nite” by KISS. And recently, when Gary Rossington passed away, she and her dad recorded an Instagram Live version of “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
“I’m pretty sure no one in my generation, or very few anyway, even know who Lynyrd Skynyrd is, let alone Gary Rossington. And it’s sad because it’s the best music ever,” she says wryly.
So how does a Winter Garden ninth grader go about changing the musical tastes of her generation? Very slowly, with one gig, one riff, one song at a time.
Two days ago, that gig was at The Strawberry Festival. “Oh, my God, they were amazing. They were clapping, they were singing. It makes me so happy when people sing along. It’s so much fun!” she says.
Today’s performance is much more intimate. She’s sharing her debut single, “My Runaway,” at a concert at The Local’s headquarters. This is followed by her yet-to-be-released second single, “Tragedy,” and then an impromptu version of “Zombie” by the Cranberries. “This is fun, too, but it’s actually harder to perform for a small audience than a big one,” she says.
She’ll follow up this performance with another one at The Blake in Hamlin. And later this week, there will be appearances at The Verandah in Thornton Park and Bloodhound Brew Pub.
Francesca Tarantino performs live at the Embassy
The Local/Em Agency team enjoys a mini office concert.
So how does a ninth-grader go about finding gigs?
“Well, at first, it was just open mic nights, which is, like, play three to five songs, and then you’re done. But then I started emailing places asking if I could play, or DM-ing them on Instagram with a link to my videos. People have been really receptive and now they’re starting to reach out to me. And that’s really awesome!”
When she’s not giggling, or going to school, Francesca is hyper-focused on practicing her craft. Nearly every evening, she has jam sessions with her dad in the family’s upstairs music loft. Lined with guitars that Frank has collected over decades, there’s also a drum set, KISS memorabilia, music stands, mics, and a host of sound equipment.
“Yeah, we just come up here and play random stuff. But we actually have this thing on Instagram and Facebook, where every Sunday we’ll have a song that we do together and then post it, and it’s always so much fun. One day we did “Stairway to Heaven.” A few weeks ago we did “Bridge of Sighs.” We did “Crazy On You” at some point, which is one of my all-time favorites. It’s always so much fun to play with him. He’s really the reason I got into music. I mean, my mom loves music, too, and she definitely helps make everything happen. But my dad, he gave me my first guitar and started teaching me riffs like “Crazy on You” by Heart, and then, I think, “Smoke on the Water.” We did that for years before I actually started taking lessons. That was just two years ago. So, yeah … jamming with my dad is always special,” she says with a smile.
Who’s the better guitar player now? “Definitely me,” she says with a laugh. “I mean, don’t tell him that. He’s still good, but he could use some training. Maybe some time with Mike,” she says.
She’s referring to Mike Walker, one of the principles behind the artist development program at DME Orlando, where she’s learning the ins and outs of the music industry.
“Mike and Caroline Walker are amazing,” she effuses. “On Wednesdays, I work with Mike on guitar, vocals, stage presence, and such. Some days we’ll be in the booth and we’ll record some stuff. Or he’ll have me on stage, practicing performance techniques. And then every other Tuesday, I work with Caroline on songwriting and lyrics and stuff.”
DME has also been instrumental in getting Francesca more visible online, helping her distribute music to all the streaming platforms and connecting her with resources for potential gigs.
Indeed, it’s only been two years that Francesca has been formally training, if you will. And a year since she started posting songs and videos online, but with a steady stream of gigs—including singing the national anthem at a Florida Marlins baseball game! — it’s clear that this singer-songwriter is well on her way to becoming the next Anne Wilson, or Joan Jett, or Steven Tyler. “Oh, my god … his voice is amazing. If I could sing like anyone, it might be him.”
She may not have Steven Tyler’s raspy tenor just yet, but there’s still time. Meanwhile, she’s focused on writing her own songs.
“My Runaway” is her first songwriting endeavor, and she had some help along the way. “When I first told Mike I wanted to write a song, we just kind of went into it without a plan. He just started playing some chords, and then I started singing a melody. We made a voice memo, and then he sent me home to write some lyrics. At first, I was a little stumped, but I had the idea of ‘I’ve got to run away’ already in my head, and so I wanted the song to evolve around that. I came home and asked my brother for help, and together we came up with the idea of being somewhere you know you shouldn’t be and you’re trying to escape, but you’re worried about what other people are going to think of you. So he and Mike are actually co-writers on that one.”
“The second one, “Tragedy,” came to me a little faster. It’s about losing someone you really love. And the one I’m writing now is called “The Truth Cannot Hide.” It’s about two best friends, and one friend is actually cheating on her boyfriend. And so the other best friend is like, I do not support this. Why would you tell me this? And that’s basically what it’s about. That’s pretty much everything I write about, just real-life things that happen to people or stories I’ve heard. I try not to overthink it,” she says. “I’m 14. It’s not like I have a whole lot of life experience,” she says with a laugh. “But I’m learning that my purest ideas, or emotions, come from my first thoughts, so I’m learning to trust that. I know there’s still so much more to learn, but I’m so excited. “Even though I grew up listening to rock ’n’ roll, every day I feel like I learn or hear something new. And that’s so much fun!”
