Artist Bio William Francis “Will Francis” was born on April 10, 1969 in Pompton Plains, NJ. He went to school and resided in the town of West Milford until he was twenty years old. As a teenager, he got caught up the hard rock/heavy metal scene of the mid and late eighties. Concert shirts, long hair, posters, cassettes and vinyl were the standard for most metal heads during that era or decade of popular hard edged music. This is where it all began for Will. The music, vocals and presence of bands like Def Leppard particularly, album “Pyromania,” Judas Priest-“Stained Class”(Beyond The Realms Of Death), album “Defenders Of The Faith” are what set the train in motion for Will to want and become a hard rock/heavy metal singer and a lyric writer during his last two years of high school. In terms of style and theme, he would try emulating these influences in his writing, putting the words to melody and attempting to overlay the song with a high pitched vocal style that was popular at that time. (Will was not yet listening to the sound of his own voice LOL!) When he heard “Beyond The Realms Of Death,” it was the first song he had ever experienced that described exactly how he felt inside at that time during his teenage years. After Will heard that song, he became connected to music like he had never been before. This single event was one of a few important catalysts that would begin to shape or mold him into eventually, becoming a singer/songwriter. At first, when he was about seventeen years old, Will started auditioning for vocals with a few local area bands that were playing covers and doing the popular songs of the time. Even though the drive, ambition and passion for singing were present, stage fright and anxiety hindered these early auditions and performances for him. Furthermore, he would rarely listen to himself or play back his own performances or auditions. After a couple of years of rehearsals, guitar instruction, recording and a few scattered auditions, Will realized that he didn’t have the kind of voice that was needed for a hard rock/heavy metal band playing that kind of music. However, he continued to write lyrics, rehearse and sing cover tunes. After Will graduated from high school, he enrolled at the Sussex County Community College in Newton, NJ. He majored in English with a writing concentration. This experience was a turning point and a shift in his writing style with regard to literary and musical influences. Captivated and intrigued by 19th century Russian, and 20th century 50’s Beatnik authors, Will \continued to write lyrics and melody but started focusing more on poems, prose, narrative, literary criticism and fiction. It wasn’t just new or different styles of writing that were introduced to him, but different ways of thought or philosophy that were incorporated into the creative process. The Doors and the writings of Jim Morrison became a major musical and literary influence for Will because of how they fit into and somewhat created what he was studying during his time in school. Will graduated with an AA degree in English and went on to The William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ to continue on with his studies. After Will was done with school, he had difficulty finding work as a writer. He entered a skilled vocation as a pharmacy technician and was gainfully employed for many years. However, in 2002, he effectively went from being a writer of fiction to a writer of songs. While maintaining a day job and making a living, Will was writing more crafted, complete and complex musical compositions. He started performing at open mics and showcases in NYC; doing mostly covers and submitting original material to record labels and publishers. This was a valuable experience for him because he was able to gain live performance experience to get over stage fright and anxiety. Furthermore, he was able to exercise finding his true or singing voice, range and proper song choices. Today, Will writes, records and submits his original material to music licensing, record labels, publishers and radio publicity/promo opportunities. His music has come full circle and now is an interesting contrast of upbeat instrumental and mid-baritone melody with heartfelt, authentic and genuine lyrical content. Will Francis, the singer/songwriter finally found his true voice, style and original songwriting expression.