High-school band on verge of grown-up success

Some factions will tell you that the glory days of discovering new bands via a scouter at a music fest are not only over, but that they are so far gone that bands hoping for their "big break" better not hold their breath.

For the most part, they're right.

As the music industry morphs daily (i.e. all-digital releases courtesy of Radiohead, not to mention Nine Inch Nails' recent label drop), it's no wonder why new scenes can't wait around for labels to come to them when MySpace bestows band status on any kid with a mic and a computer.

But as with any story, there's a contradiction for every generalization.

Say hello to The Frantic, an honest-to-goodness high-school rock band with crafty punk leanings so close to Rise Against's early days it's scary. Four years ago, the quartet of friends that frame The Frantic created the garage group as eighth-graders. It happened on kind of a whim, and like newfound rock prodigies, they believed in it more than anything. Then, two summers ago, they scored the best luck a bunch of teenagers could hope for. After their set at Chicago's Beat Kitchen one night, the guy who produced Alice Cooper, Godsmack and early Linkin Park approached the band.

Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock (you've seen his name attached to Avenged Sevenfold and Powerman 5000 as well) not only produced The Frantic's full-length debut, he shipped them off to L.A. to do it. The next thing they knew, singer and guitarist Kyle Dee, 17; bassist Chris Farnesi, 18; guitarist Ian Farnesi, 17; and drummer Brett Hartwell, 18, were signed to Sinister Muse Records, an independent label out of Orland Park. They recorded their album, "Audio and Murder" in three weeks. It's set to be released locally Oct. 27 at Stage 83 in Lemont and in chains nationwide on Nov. 6. They're now on tour through the end of the year.

"Nothing like that had ever happened to me before," Dee says from the band's van on the road. They're on their way to Boston. It's Dee's first time in Beantown, and he seems obviously excited to be anywhere he's booked to go. "It really didn't hit us yet."

Not until they got onto the plane anyway. That's when it hit them over the head: They'd just changed the course of their lives. Like the good suburban Chicago teens that they are, they headed to L.A.'s beaches straightaway. And then straight into the studio, a "big, huge" gleaming mass of a recording space that has essentially steered their young musical careers thus far.

So far, The Frantic are beyond impressed with the results. They've played with Chiodos, Bad Religion and New Found Glory, scored a cameo on Warped Tour and most recently were added to Chicago's talent-packed Riot Fest on Nov. 17 and 18, where they'll share the stage with Youth Brigade and every punk's dream band Bad Brains. All of them except Farnesi, who graduated from Lockport High, traded in high school for home schooling to get it all done.

"We knew from the start we were doing good things," Dee says.

What's so special about The Frantic to get them on a drive-thru contract in a Web-saturated music industry? Two things. Well three, actually. First, a spot-on bass line at the beginning of their disc's title track, "Audio and Murder." If this faced-paced, chant-worthy punk ditty survived production unscathed from its original form, the talent sunk into this song alone proves their worth. Second, they're teenagers; they're vim and vigor is still untapped. They've toured more than 30 states according to their publicity reps, and they aren't even close to slowing down. And more importantly, they're not complaining.

Which brings us to number three. On the phone at least, Dee -- the guy wearing the hoodie -- is the kind of kid you want to be friends with. He's the cool kid you wanted to know in high school, and the attentive go-getter you wanted to have on the basketball team or theater crew. Plus he's loyal to his band, which makes him, and his equally easygoing, dedicated mates, perfect rock-label poster children for an industry that demands constant touring action.

"We've all been good friends for a long time," he says of the band's bond to get them through the trials that many times divide young bands. "It's a friendship and a business."

Dee speaks with constant tones of appreciation for his success. Words like "grateful" "supportive friends" and "sky is the limit" spew out of this kid so easily, it doesn't take long to figure he's the real deal. He talks about the band's national tour like it's a Price Is Right vacation, where he's been given the chance to see places he's only seen in the movies. He credits his family, pals and producers more than himself and believes in his Frantic friends, it seems, more than anything.

When asked if he ever thought his eighth-grade band might see L.A. recording time and a label, his answer is quick and sincere, the sign of a musician quite keen to the bigger picture.

"Absolutely. We were set on it. We just didn't know how it would happen."

The Frantic

When: 9 p.m. to midnight Oct. 27

Where: Stage 83, 10900 Archer Ave., Lemont (CD release party)

Tickets: $5

Phone: (630) 257-9800

Web: www.Thefrantic.com