Frank McLallen is a familiar face to Memphis music fans. He’s been in Ex-Cult, was a founding member of The Sheiks, backed Jack O, wailed with the Tennessee Screamers, and rocked with Model Zero. Now, he’s going solo.
McLallen’s solo album is called Extra Eyes, and he says getting to a place where he could make and release the music he wants has been a journey. “I got chewed up and spit out of a decade of a rock and roll career and lost myself for a few years,” he says. “There were only two ways this was gonna go, north or south … I got my shit together and tried to do this thing all over again. I fell in love with music again.”
McLallen recorded the songs that would become Extra Eyes at Memphis Magnetic, and the album is being released on the studio’s Red Curtain Records. “I’ve spent so much time collaborating with bands, where writing and direction were shaped by group dynamics,” McLallen says. “Being in a band is a wonderful experience, and I still love it, but I’ve enjoyed this whole trip of getting to know myself again. This project has allowed me to write and record ideas with no goal in mind other than to be completely honest in my expression.”
The music video for the lead single “Manic” was directed by Noah Miller, with art direction by Sarah Moseley. “It’s a Southern gothic daydream,” says McLallen. “We filmed it at my uncle’s property in North Mississippi, built before the Civil War. The place has a surreal element to it, and it’s so lush, so green out there in the springtime.”
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