Biography
Originating in Wichita Falls, Texas, guitarist Frank and drummer Chris Sprague operate as a compact roots-music force that fuses classic rock & roll, rockabilly, and hillbilly bop in an old-school style animated by immediate vigor. Their father, a longtime trumpet player, raised them in a musical household where both boys took up their instruments at age five. Shaped by fellow Texan Buddy Holly’s guitar technique and songcraft together with the distinctive harmonies of the Everly Brothers, the siblings began performing as a unit and, in 1990, entered Nesman Recording Studio—the same local room where Holly cut some of his earliest sides—to record and self-issue the EP Real Gone Rock ‘n' Roll. Their first full-length release, Live at Frank's Place, appeared in 1992; afterward they issued a steady stream of self-distributed LPs and singles while repeatedly touring the Southwest. Following a move to California, Frank joined Deke Dickerson’s band, which led the Sprague Brothers to Hightone Records, the roots label that had already released several Dickerson albums. Their debut Hightone project, Let the Chicks Fall Where They May, came out in 1999. Continued road work carried them across the United States and into Europe and Japan, and they also appeared on CBS’ The Early Show. After issuing the second Hightone album, Forever and a Day, in 2000, the brothers parted ways with the label and returned to their own EssBee imprint for Three. They maintained a rapid recording schedule on EssBee (later renamed Wichita Falls Records), enlisting Randy Fuller of the Bobby Fuller Four and Edan Everly, son of Don Everly, for the 2006 album Changing the World, 1 Chick at a Time. Apart from his rock & roll activities, Frank Sprague plays violin and has composed and recorded several contemporary classical pieces.
Albums