Philosopher, poet, political activist, one man band Darcy Franz celebrates working-class heroes through music

Darcy Franz is an artist who defies categorisation, as he seamlessly navigates between being a vocalist, guitarist, one-man band, philosopher, poet, and political activist.

With such a diverse range of interests and talents, Franz feels equally at ease in a variety of circles.

He has just started studying Conservation at TAFE with aspirations of having a career in ethology and scientific research one day.

Additionally, he teaches guitar, music, and composition of lyrics to a few students, and assists with photography, video, and live streaming for Cooee Media.

When asked about his musical style and influences, Franz acknowledges the role of older genres, such as blues, country, and folk, in shaping his unique folksy rock style.

He explains that the lyrics and the meaning of a song are what matter most to him, whether he was covering someone else’s song or writing his own.

“My musical style is old. Even the hip-hop I dabble in is drawn from the 90s, and that’s the most recent — and marginal — influence,” he says.

“What I play most as a singer-songwriter is blues, country and folk. It’s simple stuff, three chords for most songs — the lyrics and the meaning of the song is by far what interests me most in why I choose to cover someone’s song, or how I write my own songs.”

Franz is a well-known political activist, and his left-leaning philosophy influences his musical choices and style. He believes that music is a tool for communication and a means of expressing what’s in his heart.

He sees his work as a lyricist and songwriter as having a responsibility to produce positive change in the world.

His musical heroes, including Johnny Cash and Paul Kelly, share his ethos, and Franz writes songs and poems that tell working-class stories of triumph and tribulation, love, faith, friendship, kindness, and the natural world.

“All of my favourite songs have at least a political theme,” he explains. “You can look me up on Soundcloud, and find the majority are political as such. I’ve written hundreds of songs and poems — the ones I’m most proud of are the political ones.”

He takes his responsibility as a composer and songwriter very seriously and sees his presence on stage as a vehicle to educate and inform, just as much as it is to entertain.

He tries to make every word of his songs as meaningful as possible and looks for outstanding lyrics when he covers songs.

He believes that he has a firm responsibility to teach the next generation what he knows and gets great satisfaction out of seeing his students improve and enjoy making music.

Franz has been involved in the music scene since a young age, having had childhood ambitions of performance and songwriting.

He started playing guitar at around 11 or 12 and was teaching at Opus Music, for his very first job (besides delivering catalogues), when he was 14 or so.

“It was after doing work experience in Year 9. I chose Opus, and by the end of the week, had a job teaching everyone from 7 years old to a fella who was about 80.”

He is a regular performer in Geraldton and the Mid West, and his music has been well-received by audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

He takes his role as a composer and performer seriously and sees his work as a means of educating and inspiring positive change. If you have the chance to see Franz perform, you won’t be disappointed.