Rosetta Pebble is a stage name for the song writing team of Eric Frakes and Steven Gulian. Both gifted singer/songwriters have composed a substantial body of high quality songs that are simultaneously of the day-to-day and the infinite. They don't make music seeking fame or fortune, they make music because they have a joyous need to communicate the stories of their lives, and they simply love doing it. Years from now, when historians want to get a true sense of an American life for certain residents of, say, a city like Detroit in the early part of the 21st century, Rosetta Pebble's songs will provide substantial clues.
Eric Frakes is an accomplished guitarist with a unique finger-picking style culled from various folk guitar methods (and an obvious youthful appreciation of James Taylor). It is now matched by a proficiency on both harmonica (standard “blues harp” and the more-challenging chromatic), and mandolin, all of which are featured prominently on the current album-in-progress. While becoming a multi-instrumentalist, he has also become quite an instrumental arranger, notating specific additional parts not only for himself, but for their viola player, James Gross and other musicians.
Steve Gulian brings more flamboyant rock influenced sensibilities to the table, but also, has a fierce dedication to the process of enhancing his songwriting, guitar and vocal skills, with an impressive zeal for connecting with an audience. Beside his skill with a pop song "hook", he is also a born melodicist and is also branching out into purely instrumental composition, as evidenced by the hauntingly beautiful instrumental track, "Adieu."
Timothy Brickley, Emmy Award-winning composer/performer/producer who lives and works in Indianapolis, produced and played on all three of Rosetta Pebble's full-length album projects: "Stories That The World Once Told" (2002), "Clear Across Summer" (2005), and "Rosetta Pebble-Three." According to Brickley, both of Rosetta Pebble's song writers have innate song-crafting abilities, but have dedicated themselves to reaching even further; finding a way to honestly inhabit those songs in the studio, where one doesn't have the added impetus of an audience to "get you there".
Together as Rosetta Pebble, they have forged a creative partnership that brings the best out of each. They share a now decade-long dedication to "serving the song", making choices that enhance the totality of the music they mutually create, but of equal achievement is the way they use their work to connect to the world around them. They have enlarged their ability to create and grown their abilities while both being extremely committed and "present" in their careers as full-time teachers. (All the while, of course, balancing family/relationships/etc.like the rest of us.)
Rosetta Pebble does not make standard “pop music” but what they do create is a timeless, very accessible style of music that has an uncanny ability to communicate to a wide variety of people - regardless of age, race or gender. And the strength and optimism embodied in their songs (at times, very sunny - at times reflective and world-weary) has a basic ability to connect with others.
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