DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Three Fourths Francis
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Three Fourths Francis sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and how did they cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Michael Wilkes: Rush - Presto. I chose it because if I could wave my magic wand. I’d make everything all right. It may not be their best Album, but it’s the album that got them back to their Rock roots.
Mike Watson: I imagine it would be far more impressive if I were to tell you Fragile by Yes. An album that I do love, especially the song 'Heart of the Sunrise' and an album that features the best Yes lineup. But honestly, if I found myself stranded on an island, my sentimental side would probably take over and I would most likely want a monster ballad compilation.
Danny Nichols: Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood. It is not my favourite album of all time, but the one I probably have the most sentimental attachment to. Until the Three Fourths Francis debut album that is. So I think I am going to go with "Electric Telegraph"
Joe Chapman: Appetite for Destruction. This single album inspired me to play guitar. Slash and Izzy are to blame if you don't like the album (haha)
Mark McInnis: The Beatles - The White Album. OK, let’s try and find a loophole out of the gate…. if you are only allowed one album – make it a double album. My musical interests are quite diverse and like many fans of this album, a big appeal is that in one album you find diverse genres and musical styles. It’s two albums that feel like a modern mixtape of hard rock, folk, pop, blues & experimental, taking you on a sonic journey.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Michael Wilkes: I would take the Pink Floyd - Music Poster (The Back Catalog/Album Covers) Google it.
Mike Watson: The Cars - Candy O, because if I'm stranded on an island, nothing would suit me more than an album featuring a hot babe on the cover with a see through one piece.
Danny Nichols: Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time. It is the greatest album cover of all time, to me, and I would finally have time to decipher all the hidden secrets in it.
Joe Chapman: I would say Love/Hate - Blackout in the Red Room album poster, but Danny Nichols the other guitarist would take it and put it in his shack. Inside joke. I got got that poster freshmen year in high school and some how it is now hanging proudly in Danny's 3/4 Francis rehearsal space. It's a funny joke between the band.
Mark McInnis: Nelly - Country Grammar If I am stuck on this island it would be nice to have a poster of an image that is a reminder of home. As a native to St. Louis, MO, the Gateway Arch is prominently featured on the debut album by St. Louis artist Nelly. I was also fortunate to have had a chance to do some commercial work with the iconic music photographer, Jonathan Manion, who shot this album cover.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Michael Wilkes: Smoke Scottish Ale from Trail Heads Brewery.
Mike Watson: An amaretto sour served by Sammy Hagar.
Danny Nichols: Vanilla Coke Zero. This is the easiest question I have ever answered. Even given the many options on the mainland, I am willing to drink nothing else.
Joe Chapman: Ice Cold Water. Two drinks in one (see the who would you rather be shipwrecked answer). Wine anyone?
Mark McInnis: Brass Monkey (That Funky Monkey) Staying with the musical theme – let’s go ahead with a Beastie Boys favorite - Brass Monkey (That Funky Monkey). The orange juice mix will help fight off scurvy with your vodka and rum.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Michael Wilkes: Headphones. So I could imagine that I was listening to music.
Mike Watson: Any band offering up matchbooks, I guess. There probably isn't a huge selection on that.
Danny Nichols: The Guns-n-Roses hoodie I bought in Indianapolis to keep me warm on those cool deserted island nights. My wife gave me an earful about how much it cost, but I will get the last laugh as the rest of the band shivers in their cheaper t-shirts.
Joe Chapman: A whip from the merch booth of Torchlight Parade. I can use it to swing from tree to tree to escape the biting alligators.
Mark McInnis: Guns n’ Roses/Metallica 1992 Stadium Tour T-Shirt . This tour did not come through our hometown of St. Louis, since Guns N’ Roses started a riot at the brand-new amphitheater the previous year in 1991. However, I was fortunate to have very cool older brothers and understanding parents that greenlit an overnight road trip to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium to witness an epic day of music while barely old enough to drive. The early afternoon opener was Ice-T’s metal band Body Count, followed by an injured James Hetfield from Metallica, who had suffered severe burns from a pyro accident on the tour. Guns N’ Roses would close the night.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Mike Wilkes: Dan. (I guess he is happy to have shipwrecked with his band buddy.)
Mike Watson: My wife. I guess I'll have to hide that Cars album cover.
Danny Nichols: For sure my wife, as I would miss her tremendously otherwise. But then I'd have to keep Watson's secret stash of saucy album covers a secret.
Joe Chapman: Jesus, so I could get on his shoulders while he walks back to the mainland.
Mark McInnis: My wife and daughter – my family – they are my rock – pun intended!
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Mike Wilkes: Rush
Mike Watson: That is easy. Rush: Exit Stage Left
Danny Nichols: Kiss: Alive! The definitive live album of all time. Either that or RabbitPunch: Live from Danno's Pub June 6, 2015. It was never actually recorded, but should have been.
Joe Chapman: Any 1970's live bootleg of Led Zeppelin
Mark McInnis: I would love a tape from the Jimmy Page/Robert Plant show from the mid ‘90s that I was fortunate enough to attend with one of the guitarists from Three Fourth Francis, Joe Chapman. This was our opportunity to have a Led Zeppelin experience – we had amazing floor seats and were able to hear Plant still hit those amazing high notes.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Mike Wilkes: Dan (The bottle floats down the island cost to Dan, who is also hopelessly stuck on the island, and we all die a few days later)
Mike Watson: The Motor City Madman Ted Nugent. Even if escape was impossible, I know this guy would help me secure my next meal.
Danny Nichols: Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, because he has an airplane and knows how to fly it.
Joe Chapman: Sting. It appears he has some experience with messages in a bottle.
Mark McInnis: I’m going to get a note to the rock icon Keith Richards – if there is anyone that has escaped death and survived – it has to be this Keith Richards. Plus it’s my understanding he might have some maritime knowledge with his connections to the Pirates of the Caribbean.
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
Mike Wilkes: Mike Watson
Mike Watson: Mark, so there would be no one to veto my offensive lyrics.
Danny Nichols: Joe, because he looks like he would be delicious with some Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce.
Joe Chapman: Sorry Watson!! You have drum sticks we could use them as kindling.
Mark McInnis: PASS – I’ll have another Brass Monkey!
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Mike Wilkes: Al Di Meola
Mike Watson: There is not one musician I would look to for life advice.
Danny Nichols: Tony Iommi, because he invented heavy metal.
Joe Chapman: Influence my music career is Slash. Mark McInnis I would say shaped more my way of thinking and out look on life. I am so proud of every member that was in this band. Scholze, Nichols, Wilkes, Watson, Mcinnis all shaped me in different ways. I would not have wanted to make this album with any other group of guy.
Mark McInnis: Paul McCartney – one of the most talented songwriters of all time and generally appears to be a humble, good human being. Peace!
