TAMPA, FLORIDA — Recording artist Frankie Raye’s newest single, “Foot In Mouth,” is now out and encouraging everyone who hears it to, in her words, “Do what you do, do it well, stay honest and humble, and keep your expectations realistic.”
Available on Apple Music, Spotify, other major streaming platforms and through digital music retailers, the song was recorded in Clearwater, Florida, and was engineered and produced by Rob Shaffer, who had also done Raye’s single, “Theodora,” back in 2020.
The west central Florida-based singer, songwriter, guitar player has performed as far away as Anaheim, California, where she was invited to be part of the massive annual music industry event, the NAMM Show, at the convention center there. While out west she also did a show at the House of Blues. Last fall she performed at the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival up in the Florida panhandle, after having been invited to play at the prestigious Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival the year before in Alabama. While (noted below) she also just did a show up in the northeast, closer to home she has done shows at a wide variety of venues around the greater Tampa Bay area, including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa.
On the latter she relates “Foot In Mouth,” saying the new song is, “about being content with wherever you are in your journey, specifically in the music business. As an indie musician who gigs regularly at local establishments, I am bombarded with questions from patrons demanding to know, ‘So where are you going with this [music career]? Why are you playing here? Why don’t you go on one of those singing competition shows?’
“Those questions have simple answers. I need to earn money, so I play at places that can do exactly that. I enjoy writing music, so I write music and release it. Music is the only way I know how to express myself, so I created a career where all I do is play and create music. Pretty cool, I think.
“But people are never satisfied with those answers. They interrupt my answers with, ‘Well, wait, no I mean like, are you trying to get discovered or something? Like, why are you releasing music? You should just go on The Voice because it will get you to where you want to be!’ Completely missing the point, and completely missing my answer.
“People who don’t play music for a living don’t understand how fickle the business actually is. They think it’s like other careers where you can just move up the ladder and get promotions, and with enough promotions you’ll be at the top. For example, they don’t understand that simply going on a competition show doesn’t guarantee anything at all. (In fact, it could end up hurting you in the long run).
“I think that people get lost in this idea that every endeavor has to result in ‘THE GREATEST SUCCESS EVER!’ We see on social media all the time: ‘Go go go! If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough! Be better! Be the best! Win win win!’ And I just don’t always agree with that. You don’t have to take over the world with every single thing that you do. It’s okay to just be a songwriter/musician and enjoy it. Your path doesn’t have to go all the way to the top.”
In 2021 alone Frankie Raye was booked for a whopping 388 gigs. Last year she released the single, “Over Now,” and last month she performed in New York City at fabled music venue, The Bitter End.
Find more on her official website at www.FrankieRaye.com, including links to her various social media platforms.