George Fraska (Hosni)
Encyclopedia
George Fraska (born August 3, 1975) is a songwriter
and producer
, who was born in Monrovia
, Liberia
, Africa
. He is known for his role as lead vocalist, guitarist, and drummer for several underground bands such as Startled Calf
, The Smiley Kids, Four!, the Scooterz and many other projects.
who plays drums, keyboards, bass, and guitar. In 1991, when he was 16, Fraska founded his first official band, Startled Calf
, as drummer along with his friends Ralph Jasso, Omar Rodríguez-López
, and Jimmy Hernandez. The band was only around for a couple years but accomplished much in the local scene. Band members later went on to start other successful projects. The first Startled Calf
releases were released on cassette.
In the mid 90's Fraska played in several different underground projects such as FOUR! Food Plaza, Jerk, Disgruntled Fish, The Messy Hairs, and Three Frisky Kids...FOUR! became his priority as they got busy and started touring more and more, playing shows with many bands such as Reel Big Fish
, AFI (band)
, Propagandhi
, The Aquabats
, Less Than Jake
, Swinging Utters, The Queers
, Against All Authority
, TSOL
/Joykiller, Rancid (band)
, Suicide Machines
, The Rudiments
, F.Y.P
, Link 80
, Skankin' Pickle
, Youth Brigade
, No Use for a Name
, Citizen Fish
/Subhumans (UK band), and many other bands.
FOUR! ended in 1997 and Fraska started The Smiley Kids. After some touring the band recorded their first album, Still smilin' after all these years. The band was gaining momentum and was offered a record deal by several record labels. The band eventually decided on one of the labels and hit the studio to record their 2nd album, "Don't Get Bored". The band toured with many bands including Switchfoot
, Five Iron Frenzy
, Ghoti Hook
, The Blamed
..and many others (see 5 Minute Walk
).
In 2002, a couple years after the Smiley Kids ended, Fraska along with his wife Misty on bass guitar, decided to start yet another project, The Scooterz, with some experimental songs he had previously recorded under the names Echo System and the Mad Haberdasher. The Scooterz was a new direction musically experimenting with and mixing punk, new wave, ska, surf, industrial, and many other different genres. Fraska is currently working on some new projects as well as re-releasing older out-of-print Red Ear Records releases, including some rare and unreleased recordings.
Food Plaza/M.F.P.B.
FOUR!
The Smiley Kids
Echo System
The Scooterz
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, who was born in Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. He is known for his role as lead vocalist, guitarist, and drummer for several underground bands such as Startled Calf
Startled Calf
Startled Calf is a hardcore punk band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1991. Featuring Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez on vocals, Ralph Jasso on guitar, Jimmy Hernandez on bass, and George Fraska on drums. The band was founded by George Fraska , Ralph Jasso, and Jimmy Hernandez. The band broke up in 1992...
, The Smiley Kids, Four!, the Scooterz and many other projects.
Biography
Fraska is a multi-instrumentalistMulti-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
who plays drums, keyboards, bass, and guitar. In 1991, when he was 16, Fraska founded his first official band, Startled Calf
Startled Calf
Startled Calf is a hardcore punk band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1991. Featuring Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez on vocals, Ralph Jasso on guitar, Jimmy Hernandez on bass, and George Fraska on drums. The band was founded by George Fraska , Ralph Jasso, and Jimmy Hernandez. The band broke up in 1992...
, as drummer along with his friends Ralph Jasso, Omar Rodríguez-López
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
, and Jimmy Hernandez. The band was only around for a couple years but accomplished much in the local scene. Band members later went on to start other successful projects. The first Startled Calf
Startled Calf
Startled Calf is a hardcore punk band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1991. Featuring Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez on vocals, Ralph Jasso on guitar, Jimmy Hernandez on bass, and George Fraska on drums. The band was founded by George Fraska , Ralph Jasso, and Jimmy Hernandez. The band broke up in 1992...
releases were released on cassette.
In the mid 90's Fraska played in several different underground projects such as FOUR! Food Plaza, Jerk, Disgruntled Fish, The Messy Hairs, and Three Frisky Kids...FOUR! became his priority as they got busy and started touring more and more, playing shows with many bands such as Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
, AFI (band)
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
, Propagandhi
Propagandhi
Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba....
, The Aquabats
The Aquabats
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They have released five full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. They are best known for their mythology, in which they claim to be superheroes on a quest to save the world from evil through music...
, Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
, Swinging Utters, The Queers
The Queers
The Queers are a punk band formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joe King . The band originally broke up in 1984, but reformed with Joe Queer and a new line-up in 1986. In 1990, the band signed with Shakin' Street Records and released their first album Grow Up...
, Against All Authority
Against All Authority
Against All Authority is an American punk band, formed in Florida in 1992. Playing in the ska punk style, their business practice follows a stringent DIY ethic.-History:...
, TSOL
TSOL
TSOL is an American punk rock band which formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....
/Joykiller, Rancid (band)
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
, Suicide Machines
Suicide machines
Suicide machines may mean:* machines for auto-euthanasia, see euthanasia device* fictional machines for suicide, see suicide booth* The Suicide Machines, an American punk rock band** The Suicide Machines , an album by the aforementioned group...
, The Rudiments
The Rudiments
The Rudiments are a ska and punk band from the East Bay, California.-Biography:The group was together in the 1990s, and were signed to Asian Man Records with other ska/punk artists of the era, such as Link 80 and MU330. They started out playing local shows and produced their first record with Dill...
, F.Y.P
F.Y.P
F.Y.P was Todd Congelliere's punk rock predecessor to his current bands Toys That Kill and Underground Railroad to Candyland...
, Link 80
Link 80
-Band history:Link 80 started in late 1993 in the East Bay of California. In the beginning, original members played around town as Drano, The Rag-Tags, and Mr...
, Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1996.-Biography:Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. The band played their first show on April 28, 1989,...
, Youth Brigade
Youth Brigade
Youth Brigade can refer to two different punk music groups:*Youth Brigade , from Los Angeles, California*Youth Brigade , from Washington, DCYouth Brigade can refer to members of the*National Youth Service ....
, No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name is a punk rock band from San Jose, California, United States formed in 1987 by Chris Dodge , Steve Papoutsis , Rory Koff and John Meyers...
, Citizen Fish
Citizen Fish
Citizen Fish is a ska punk band that has been together since 1990. The band often makes strong social and political statements, dealing with themes such as anti-consumerism, vegetarianism, questioning the status quo, and encouraging people to get along with one another...
/Subhumans (UK band), and many other bands.
FOUR! ended in 1997 and Fraska started The Smiley Kids. After some touring the band recorded their first album, Still smilin' after all these years. The band was gaining momentum and was offered a record deal by several record labels. The band eventually decided on one of the labels and hit the studio to record their 2nd album, "Don't Get Bored". The band toured with many bands including Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
, Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....
, Ghoti Hook
Ghoti Hook
Ghoti Hook was a pop punk band from Fairfax, Virginia. The band formed in 1991, signed to Tooth & Nail Records in 1996, and disbanded in 2002.-History:...
, The Blamed
The Blamed
The Blamed is a christian punk band that is from California and Illinois that features Bryan Gray . The bands music is a mixture of hardcore punk, punk and metal.-Albums:-Members:*Jeremy Moffit*Mark Aceves...
..and many others (see 5 Minute Walk
5 Minute Walk
5 Minute Walk is an independent record label founded by Frank Tate in April, 1995. Their operations were based in Concord, California in the back offices of "The Screem", a live alternate music club operated by Tate. They only carried Christian bandsDryve: Yeah, that was like the first thing...
).
In 2002, a couple years after the Smiley Kids ended, Fraska along with his wife Misty on bass guitar, decided to start yet another project, The Scooterz, with some experimental songs he had previously recorded under the names Echo System and the Mad Haberdasher. The Scooterz was a new direction musically experimenting with and mixing punk, new wave, ska, surf, industrial, and many other different genres. Fraska is currently working on some new projects as well as re-releasing older out-of-print Red Ear Records releases, including some rare and unreleased recordings.
Discography
Startled CalfStartled Calf
Startled Calf is a hardcore punk band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1991. Featuring Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez on vocals, Ralph Jasso on guitar, Jimmy Hernandez on bass, and George Fraska on drums. The band was founded by George Fraska , Ralph Jasso, and Jimmy Hernandez. The band broke up in 1992...
- "You Can't Change Me" – 1991
- "I Love Being TrendyI Love Being TrendyI Love Being Trendy, is a 4 song EP released on Red Ear Records by the punk band, Startled Calf, before their dissolution in 1992. The band was founded by George Fraska , Ralph Jasso, and Jimmy Hernandez...
" EP −1991
Food Plaza/M.F.P.B.
- "Punk Soccer" −1994
FOUR!
- "The Album" 1994
- "Play With Everything" 1995
- "Are We Friends" 1996
- “Punk , It's All About The Orchis Factor." −1996 (Suburban Home RecordsSuburban Home RecordsSuburban Home Records and Distribution is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The label was founded in 1995 by Virgil Dickerson, and is known for focusing on vinyl releases and bands in the pop-punk and alt-country genres. Its roster has included Two Cow Garage, Drag the River,...
)
- "Misfits Of Ska II" −1997 (Asian Man RecordsAsian Man RecordsAsian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
)
- "Dillinquents (Red) Compilation" 1998 (Dill RecordsDill RecordsDill Records was a small punk rock/ska record label based out of Monte Sereno, California, that put out CDs/records from 1989-1998. The name is an allusion to initially the label's only band, Skankin' Pickle. It was started by Mike Park, a.k.a. Bruce Lee of Skankin' Pickle. The first other band...
)
The Smiley Kids
- "2 Song Demo" −1997
- "Still Smilin' After All These Years" −1998
- "Don't Get Bored" −1999
- "Skate and Smile Collection" −2000
Echo System
- "Blasted Generation" '1999
The Scooterz
- "Square Pegs" (demo) 2000
- "Corner of Depression" 2002
- "Robot Nation" 2007
External links
- http://redearrecords.webs.com/thescooterz.htm
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/George-Fraska-Hosni/132437370154920?sk=info
- http://www.westword.com/1996-08-08/music/be-four
- http://www.westword.com/1996-05-23/music/feedback
- http://www.westword.com/1996-05-30/music/feedback
- http://www.avclub.com/comments/article/22151/
- http://redearrecords.webs.com/four.htm
- http://www.utepprospector.com/2.7380/the-scooterz-punks-ride-the-neon-wave-1.1037884
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Minute_Walk
- http://www.avclub.com/denver/articles/four,22151
- http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/The+Smiley+Kids/+wiki
- http://www.decapolis.com/musicreviews/interviews/smiley.shtml