Punk veteran and Los Angeles native Frank Meyer has pretty much done it all.
He’s been part of many bands that include the respected L.A. punk group The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, James Williamson & the Pink Hearts, Long Beach’s Blind House, the Anti Virals with Brian Coakley of Cadillac Tramps, and he’s also a documentary filmmaker and author.
But surprisingly, he has never released a solo album, until now. And the new sound could surprise some of his hard punk fans.
“What really got the solo album focused was this song I wrote called ‘Blue Radio.’ It was just such a different type of song I’ve ever done. It was almost kind of an experiment as a songwriter when I decided to try to write the most poppiest, most catchy earworm song,” said the musician, who is departing on a U.S. tour in support of his debut solo album “Living Between the Lines.”
The tour brings him to local spots in Pasadena at the Old Towne Pub on Dec.3, Mojave Gold in Joshua Tree on Dec. 4, Redwood Bar in Los Angeles on Dec. 6, Alex’s Bar in Long Beach on Dec. 7 and the Wayfarer in Costa Mesa on Dec. 8.
“The shows will always have the high energy that I bring to performances and there’s this reckless spirit there that is never going to go away,” Meyer said.
The 11-track record came after Meyer realized that he really liked his new pop-heavy song “Blue Radio,” but he knew the new sound wouldn’t fit in with any of his other bands.
“That was a really good excuse to do a solo record because then I could do a whole bunch of songs that don’t fit my usual chainsaw rock and roll approach and use this as an excuse to really stretch out as a songwriter,” Meyer said.
“But of course it’s me so I still manage to throw out some pretty hard rock and roll there as well just to remind people that’s what I do,” he added, describing the entire album as having more of a pop-rock kind of feel with some blues and soul.
He also threw in some of his famous friends on the record with collaborations that include Runaways icon Cherie Currie on the haunting tune “Piece of Me.”
“This song is kind of like a Prince-style soul ballad and we each contributed some lyrics to that. When I was writing it I was thinking about Instagram and social media and the fact that people put out so much of themselves to the public,” he said.
Meyer also called on Lisa Kekaula of the Bellrays for the title track “Living Between the Lines,” and his longtime friend and frequent collaborator Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers for the song “Partners in Crime,” which takes Meyer back to his wilder punk roots.
“This is basically like a Thin Lizzy meets AC/DC hard rock tune and in the song Eddie and I go rob a bank and get in a gunfight with the police,” Meyer said.
“Even though it’s a solo record I kind of used it as an excuse to play a bunch of musical styles and pull in some of my friends and do some collaborations and just have some fun as a songwriter and getting to kind of explore,” Meyer said.
For tickets go to kittenrobot.com/tour