Francisco Road August 12th, 2011

Francisco Road is on the verge of releasing its first original album! Sign up for our mailing list to be eligible for exclusive gifts and prizes as well as being one a member of the first group to know the actual release date!

And don’t worry – we’re not going to share your email or something slimy like that.

While you are signing up for the mailing list, consider checking the box to become a member of the Francisco Road Street Team. This is a group of our fans who is willing to help out by posting flyers or advertising the band or upcoming shows in other ways. The Street Team will also be eligible to win contest prizes based on how much they help, but signing up doesn’t commit you to do anything if you don’t want to.

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Francisco Road May 24th, 2011

Francisco Road is currently spending some time in the studio working on recording several of their original songs. Here is a clip (with several instrument and vocal tracks yet to be added) of some work last week on “Copies and Shadows.” The album is called “Up To Something” and will be released this summer and available on ITunes.

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Francisco Road March 21st, 2011

This past Friday night, Francisco Road had the blessing and privilege to be asked to perform at a prom night for Guilford County special needs students held at Life Community Church in Greensboro. This was a free event that was done very well by Life Community and was certainly enjoyed by all who attended. For the students, it will no doubt be a night that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

The church went all out for these kids, enlisting local businesses to offer grooming/dressing services and then having the students arrive for the prom in limos. When each student arrived, they were formally introduced to very loud applause and walked a red carpet (complete with paparazzi snapping pictures) into the main hall. There was much dancing and great food – just a first class event all the way around.

We were humbled and honored to be a very small part of it. Below is some video footage from the event. The sound quality is poor since it was taken directly from the camcorder, but notice how much fun these kids are having…

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Francisco Road February 25th, 2011

This is the sixth installment in a series of interviews done with the members of Francisco Road. Stay tuned for a chance to get to know the other members of the band!

Today we meet with Jeana Beasley, wife of lead singer Brian and mother of vocalist Christina of Francisco Road. Jeana is a music and piano teacher and is also very active in local children’s theater organizations, helping to direct and choreograph some productions.

Q1: Thanks for being here, Jeana. What’s your favorite thing about being a part of Francisco Road?

My favorite part of being in Francisco Road is getting to glorify God with wonderful songs and praise. Being able to do that with people I love is a big bonus as well.

Q2: When did you start playing piano and keyboards?

I started playing piano when I was around 10 years old. I would play with my Dad in those books that have all the note names written in. I started taking lessons in the 8th grade and went on to major in Music Education at the University of North Carolina. I now teach piano out of my home in Greensboro.

Q3: You handle a wide variety of different instrument voices on the keyboard. How do you keep track of them all? How do you choose which sound you want to use?

Well, this may not be the most technical way of keeping up with my many voices on the keyboard, but I color code the different octaves and then pencil the color into my music. That helps me remember where to play on the keyboard. Choosing my sound is tricky and I often go back and forth between different settings before I settle on the one I like. An older keyboard I used to play in the band would ask me “Are you sure?” each time I wanted to change a setting. The rest of the band thought that was hilarious, especially because it had a distinct British accent.

Q4: What has been your favorite performance spot so far?

I loved performing at the Winston Salem Dash baseball game last summer. It was a thrill to be playing for such a big arena.

Q6: Why do you like Contemporary Christian music?

It has such a positive message and can help you keep your struggles in the right perspective. I really connect with God through the message of these songs. They inspire me and I am able to worship God in a very personal way.

Q7: Can you share a bit about your journey and your relationship with Christ?

From a young age, I always felt a closeness to God. I grew up going to Catholic school and learned about Jesus from an educational point of view. It was not until high school that I started really nailing down my faith. In college, I met my wonderful husband and he and I started to go to church every week. I became very involved in church and developing my relationship with Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, I know I would not have the peace, patience, determination, love and gratitude I have today. He gave his life for mine, so I can spend eternity with Him. He challenges us to be a better person everyday with grace, forgiveness, peace and understanding. My marriage is stronger because of Christ and I don’t know how I would survive my doubts and fear without Him.

Thank you, Jeana. We hope you have enjoyed this series of interviews. Be sure and watch this page for details about where you can see Francisco Road in concert.

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Francisco Road February 15th, 2011

Here’s another video put together by Francisco Road’s drummer, Kevin Smith, featuring some clips of our Powerline performance. Enjoy!

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Francisco Road February 14th, 2011

Thanks to all of you who came out to see us at Powerline this past Saturday night. We hope you had as good of a time as we did performing and we really hope you enjoyed our new original music! Here’s one of our original songs titled “I Know.”

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Francisco Road February 10th, 2011

This is the fifth installment in a series of interviews done with the members of Francisco Road. Stay tuned for a chance to get to know the other members of the band!

Today, we sit down with Brian Beasley, the lead singer of Francisco Road.  When Brian isn’t playing bass guitar and singing, he is the legal adviser for the High Point Police Department in High Point, N.C.  Brian is married to Jeana (who plays keyboards for Francisco Road) and they have three children.  Excerpts from our conversation are below:

Q1:  Brian, you’ve been with Francisco Road from the band’s creation.  Can you give us a brief history lesson on how the band got here?

I’ll try – but it is, as they say, a long story.  Back in mid to late 2006, me and Kevin (FR’s drummer) and a sister of mine were discussing through email the feasibility of getting a band together as part of the ministry of the church we were attending at the time.  We found a couple of good guitar players and asked Jeana to play keyboards and started playing under the name of Christian Endeavor.  Once the band had played together for a while, the church decided to start a contemporary worship service which would feature the band playing every Sunday night.  We really enjoyed that, but after a while it got to be too much of a commitment to play new songs every week, so we decided to take the show on the road, as they say.  We changed our name to Francisco Road in mid-2009 and started looking for gigs to play.  Over that time, we’ve said goodbye to some folks and said hello to new band members.

Q2:  How long have you been a bass player?

I’m not sure I am a bass player (laughing).  One of the biggest challenges our band faced early on was finding a bass player.  We would have someone lined up or interested and then something spectacularly bad would happen to them.  For example, we had a person who wanted to come and practice with us and then he lost his arm in a tragic chainsaw accident.  Well, okay, maybe that’s exaggerated but two or three different people suffered some injuries to their back or shoulder and decided they couldn’t play with us.  So I got a bass guitar that Christmas and decided to try and learn how to play.  It’s a work-in-progress, at best.

Q3:  What has been your favorite performance spot so far?

It’s hard to pick just one, because we’ve played in some very, shall we say, interesting places and on some interesting “stages.”  But I think my favorite performance was when we played at BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem before a Dash minor league ballgame.  We just found out we were playing about 5 hours before we performed, so we ran around like crazy trying to get everyone there and the equipment set up.  It was really our first performance for a lot of people who didn’t know us, but the way it happened, there was no time to get nervous about it.  I just remember how pumped up and full of adrenaline I was driving home from that gig – it was a special feeling.

Q4:  What is your favorite Bible verse?

I enjoy so many parts of the Bible, and the verse I consider my “favorite” changes quite often depending on what I’m experiencing in my life and Christian walk at that particular time.  Right now, I think my favorite is Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  I have heard a couple of teachers recently teach on this verse and it just speaks to me because I need to do a better job of valuing the same things God values instead of worldly things and issues.  As far as all-time favorites, I guess the first three that come to mind are Romans 8:28, Matt. 6:33, and Jeremiah 29:11 – I’ll let you look those up for yourself.

Q5:  What would you like to see Francisco Road do as a band in the future?

I’d really like to see us move away from covering other people’s songs and writing and playing our own material.  We’re in the very early stages of some of this, but I think that’s where the future lies. We’ve got a handful of original songs now – Kevin has written some and I’ve written some -and its been fun to see how those ideas come together. More is hopefully on the way.

Q6:  What do you do when you aren’t practicing or playing in the band?

I write a lot of legal update materials in connection with my job.  That sounds like boring stuff (and it can be) but I try to bring some humor to it – I have found it helps police officers actually read it if they know it’s not going to just be a bunch of legalese.  I’m sorry to say I watch way too much television.  But it’s something Jeana and I enjoy and do together, so that makes it okay, right?  (laughing)  I love technology, so I’m always looking to do something with the computer – I design and build webpages, love playing with the next great gadget, Google everything, that sort of thing.

Thanks for the interview, Brian. You can see Francisco Road appearing live in concert at Powerline in Elon, N.C. on February 12th and hear some of the original music Brian mentioned. Admission is free. Check FranciscoRoad.com for more details.

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Francisco Road February 4th, 2011

IMPORTANT NEWS: The time for the Powerline performance has changed! The show will start at 7:00 pm and Francisco Road will take the stage around 7:30. Acoustic guitarist Hannah Ramey will be opening for us. We hope to see you there!

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Francisco Road February 3rd, 2011

This is the fourth installment in a series of interviews done with the members of Francisco Road. Stay tuned for a chance to get to know the other members of the band!

Today’s interviewee is Dan Baynes, lead guitarist of Francisco Road. When he’s not learning a new riff or adjusting the volume and effects on his favorite guitar, Dan works in the Civil Engineering/Land Surveying field.

Q1: Dan, what is your favorite song that Francisco Road currently does?

Any of our Third Day or Casting Crown covers. I love DISTORTION!

Q2: Um, okay. What is your LEAST favorite song that Francisco Road does?

Oh – I like all of them. I just like some more than others.

Q3: I hear that you had something big happen late last year. Tell us about that.

I married my beautiful bride Lisa. We had known each other as kids in Glenwood. We reacquainted years later, found ourselves in similar positions and decided to spend the rest of our lives together.

Q4: That’s very sweet! Going back to Francisco Road, what’s your favorite thing and least favorite thing about being a part of the band?

Feeling like I am spreading a little love and serving the Lord would be the best. Moving all our equipment around is definitely the worst.

Q5: What’s been your favorite performance so far with Francisco Road?

We played a show at New Beginning Baptist Church in Pilot Mountain last summer and included some time during the show playing games and talking with the kids there. I realized just how versatile we can be – music and ministry all wrapped up together.

Q6: What would you like to see FR do as a band in the future?

Professionally produce a full length album of our own material.

Q7: What has been your favorite place to perform so far?

Powerline in Elon. What a great place for families of all denominations to fellowship on a Saturday night. I’m looking forward to going back there in a couple of weeks.

Q8: Dan, when did you start playing guitar?

In the late 70’s. My uncle Chip showed me the D, C & G chords.

Q9: Why did you start making music in the first place?

Because of Kevin [Francisco Road's drummer]. I used to watch the Glenwood Presbyterian Church [Greensboro] Youth Group musical productions and dream about playing drums. I got a drum kit for my tenth birthday. I wasn’t very good so I traded Chip for a electric guitar.

Q10: What do you do when you are not playing with the band?

Lately, a lot of travelling for work.

Q11: Why do you like Contemporary Christian music?

The positive messages. I spent many years listening to music that was angst-based lyrically. I found that listening to music with a positive message changes my mindset to be a happier more compassionate person.

Q12: What other music do you like to play or listen to?

Oh, both kinds. Country AND Western.

Q13: Do you have a favorite Bible verse?

Psalm 150: “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” Sounds good and loud to me.

Q14: What is your testimony? How did you come to know Christ?

That’s a very long very personal topic. I would be glad to share but it could fill this page. I do know He was there right on time.

Q15: What do you see as your role in the band?

The DISTORTION!

Ok – thanks, Dan. Don’t forget to catch Francisco Road appearing live in concert at Powerline in Elon, N.C. on February 12th. Admission is free. Check FranciscoRoad.com for more details.

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Francisco Road January 27th, 2011

This is the third installment in a series of interviews done with the members of Francisco Road. Stay tuned for a chance to get to know the other members of the band!

Today we speak to the youngest member of Francisco Road, Christina Beasley. Christina turns 14 years old next month but already has lots of experience as a performer. Christina sings lead vocals on several Francisco Road songs and fills in on the others with harmony vocals and even a shaker or tamborine on occasion. Her mom Jeana, and dad Brian, are also in the group.

Q: Christina, let’s start out by asking, what is your favorite song that Francisco Road does and why?

My favorite song that Francisco Road does is “Praise You In This Storm.” [A Casting Crowns cover] I love that song not only because it has amazing harmonies, but also because it’s an amazing song that reminds us that God always has a plan for us and we need to praise Him in the bad times as well as the good times. No matter what happens, God is in control and He will work everything out.

Q: What song would you like to see Francisco Road do in the future?

There are a lot of songs I would like to see Francisco Road do in the future. One in particular is the song “How He Loves” by the David Crowder Band. I want to do that song because it shows people that God loves everyone, no matter what. It reminds us just how great our God is.

Q: In addition to your singing, do you play any instruments?

Yes, but don’t expect me to start playing them in the band anytime soon. (laughs). I started playing piano about 10 years ago. My mom started teaching me when I was 4. I taught myself how to play the guitar about 2 years ago. It’s a work in progress.

Q: What is your favorite Bible verse and why?

My favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” I love this verse because it reminds me that everything that happens in our life is for a reason. God’s hand is on even the bad things in life we go through. He can see the whole picture and we can’t. He knows why things happen and we have to trust in him.

Thanks, Christina. You can see Christina and the rest of Francisco Road appearing live in concert at Powerline in Elon, N.C. on February 12th. Admission is free and the show will be awesome, so mark your calendars! Check FranciscoRoad.com for more details.

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