Frankly Lost

Frankly Lost is the culmination of over a decade's worth of friendship, frailty, love, and loss. Currently based in Philadelphia, this six-piece musical extravaganza is a vibrant, high-energy act, pulling influences from the likes of acoustic punk stalwarts Frank Turner and Mischief Brew, to the musical theatre of Tom Waits and David Bowie.  

From humbled beginnings as a solo artist with nothing more than a guitar and a van, the troubled troubadour has effortlessly risen into the collective body that is Frankly Lost today.  

After the unexpected loss of his father, Frankly inherited his acoustic guitar and began learning how to play it, practicing for hours a day to the likes of Johnny Cash and The Mountain Goats, as he processed his grief. 

"A friend of mine, who is a composer, told me that if I wanted to learn the instrument best, I should write my own songs. That it would cause me to think about chords and intervals … instinctively and authentically." 

After purchasing the van and moving into it, he set off for London, England, where he participated in The Mongol Rally, a charity roadtrip adventure from the UK to Russia by way of Mongolia, where he would cut his teeth performing for a live audience.  

"The first time I played a Johnny Cash tune for anyone, they were border guards in Turkmenistan who wanted to know my case wasn’t full of drugs … that I could actually play the guitar I was lugging around, like an idiot, across the whole planet." 

And thus, Frankly Lost was born—at once, a living travelogue, and a musician trying not to lose his grip on reality. 

As the captain of this ship, Frankly's journey is accompanied by three-fourths of Phoenixville emo/indie band Some Birds: with Mark Rotondo on bass, Corey Desch on drums, and long-time collaborator Jonny Bear on trumpet and melodica. Also embarking on the voyage is Frankly's twin brother Cap Marsters on tenor saxophone and harmonica, and latest addition Zak Kneeland, an alleged banjo renegade from Philly's outcast-jazz scene, and possible wizard. 

Since debuting his first solo album, "In Translation," in 2017, Frankly Lost (both the man and the band) has shared the stage with the likes of World Inferno/Friendship Society, Amigo the Devil, Joe Jack Talcum (of Dead Milkmen), Apes of the State, Out of System Transfer, and Erin Incoherent. 

Melancholic, frenetic, and nothing short of theatrical, Frankly Lost's music can be described as DIY anti-folk/post-dad rock that is soulful, rebellious, and earnest to the core. With an Atlas-strong rhythm section laying down the root, and a wind section that provides catchy flourishes and harmonies, Frankly Lost engages the audience with emotional depth and clarity of voice. You will never be left guessing what is on Frankly's mind, or in his soul. 

After releasing the four song EP "The Creation of Van" in 2021, Frankly Lost is currently in the process of conjuring their forthcoming self-titled album, set to be released whenever the moon and tides are in the correct configuration.

Ever slowly growing with no real plans of slowing, Frankly Lost aims to be a glowing beacon of truth and vulnerability, and to use his illuminating powers to shed light on all our inherent weirdness; to be our authentic selves in the face of darkness, no matter what.