David Michael Frank About Becoming A Solo Artist And His Recent Summer Tour

This Tiktok singer is a complete sensation!

Just coming off of his ‘HCU Summer 2022 Tour, David Michael Frank is back and better than ever. A rising star, this performer has gotten well over 100 Million views across his social media platforms today.

We had the amazing honor of talking with David about his dream collaboration, social media fame, and more!

When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue a career in music?

D: “I grew up playing in bands in the Seattle music scene in the Myspace Era – the bands were incredible and the youth music scene was vibrant (& the good kind of competitive). As I developed in my musicianship, I simultaneously learned all of the essentials to running the business of an independent-artist/band: Music Production, Songwriting, Composition, Photo / Video, Modern Marketing Tactics, Accounting. Combining my years of performance and business development with my degrees in Entrepeneural Business & Vocal Performance armed me for the trenches of  being an financially sustainable artist in our current digital music landscape. It was a long process to reach where I am at today, but I’ve never had a plan B for my career. It was always a dream worth fighting for, whether I make it or not.”

Tell us about your amazing tour with Halocene and Lauren Babic.

D: “Halocene invited me as a guest on their Headline HCU Tour and this show is going to be one of the coolest vocal shows you’ve ever seen. The show is very unique – instead of individual sets the 3 singers will be sharing the stage all night & trading vocal parts and who is singing melody/harmony. All 3 of us are pretty accomplished singers in our own right and all have very unique voices (for ex: Lauren Babic is the best screamer I’ve ever heard). We’ve tailored the set to highlight each of our strengths with the other 2 supporting in harmony. It’s an incredibly vocally demanding show and, if we nail it (& I believe we will), you will be blown away by what we’ve prepared for you!”

Is there a city during the tour that you were most excited to visit?

D: “I’m just excited to get back on the road! I spent 2012-2015 on the road extensively and with some of the struggles in my career I found it really difficult to get back on the road. Paired with Covid and the cancellation of live shows and I was settling in to just making content & a living online! I can’t wait to get back out and see all my old friends as well as all the new people who have discovered me more recently.”

What urged you to change your stage name to ‘Future Sunsets’ to David Michael Frank?

D: “It was time. I’m the last remaining member of a band that has gone from 4 members ->3 ->2 -> 1. Some member’s left amicably and some completely screwed us over. It got very ugly at times.

Brendon Urie : Panic At The Disco = David Michael Frank : Future Sunsets

And eventually it felt disingenuous. I knew it was time to change my name but in doing so there would be tremendous challenges. Every band name change I’ve had in the past resulted in a loss in followers, but this time is different. New fans are actually searching ‘David Michael Frank’ over 100x more on Spotify/YouTube than they are for ‘Future Sunsets’. My TikTok virality, as my name, is leading the way. However,  I didn’t want to start from scratch. I’ve been building my music catalog since 2011 and have released over 160 songs. I’ve been in the process of reuploading everything as “DMF Archives” on all distributors so fans can now search my name and listen to my entire back catalog. There’s some songs I’ve written in the past, that I still really believe in, that never got to see the light of day. Now that I have the fanbase, I can breathe life into old music and come out swinging with new music… all under my name and I couldn’t be happier!“

You have over 1 Million followers on social media. Did you expect to gain such a strong and loyal fanbase?

D: “Over 2 million 🙂 but who’s counting… ha. I’ve been consistently growing online since 2011. I’ve followed the trends and been smart with my business. It’s a really tricky industry to make a living in and I’ve had to shift as the industry shifts and try to stay ahead of the curve. However, the big boost I’ve had has been TikTok! All of these people are finding me now saying “wow, I love your voice! Where have you been all my life?” …. And I’m like, “I’ve been here the whole time! I’ve been busting my butt making covers and developing as an artist! Nice to finally meet you!”.

Have you come up with a name for your fanbase yet?

D: “Ha. That’s a funny idea! I could take it lots of ways. I think I like “Beliebers”. It has a nice ring to it! Yeah, I’ll call my fans “Beliebers”.

We get ultimate Marvel/DC vibes from your Tour poster. We have to ask: Who is your favorite character in the MCU and why?

D: “Totally not MCU, but I’m going to go with Baby Yoda for my answer.”

If you collaborate with another music artist of your choice, who would it be and why?

D: “Lights – She’s an artist I listened to a lot when I originally moved out to LA and each album she’s released has been the soundtrack to a chapter in my life. She’s a little bit older than me and I always have seen her career (& life stuff – she’s a parent too) as a goal of where I’d like to be with my path. I respect her hustle. It would be a trip to be respected as a peer with her rather than just a fan. I think I’m getting there :)”

What are some of your biggest goals for your music career?

D: “I have some dream venues on my list (MSG, The Gorge, Red Rocks)! I think I’ll know I made it when I can cause traffic in a city for people coming to my show! (or if I ever get invited on Sesame Street as a performer – have you ever seen those performances? They’ll get A-Listers like Bruno Mars singing about Never Giving Up ha! It’s epic).”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?

D: “You can find me now as David Michael Frank on everything!”

http://tiktok.com/@david.michael.frankhttps://spoti.fi/3byGkSrhttp://linktr.ee/davidmichaelfrank

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.