Frank Allison & the Odd Sox

Back in the mid 90s, I was a big fan of a local (Ann Arbor) band called Frank Allison and the Odd Sox.  They were a danceable folk-rock type band for the most part, and the lead singer (Frank) was a great entertainer, in a goofy sort of way.  Frank used to tell stories between songs while his lead guitarist would play some crazy blues riffs in the background.  They would always pack the Blind Pig (a small music club downtown), and everyone would have a great time.

Frank and his guitarist would also do acoustic gigs at coffee shops in Ann Arbor, like Cava Java, which were always much more intimate affairs, usually a crowd of 20 or 30 people.  Frank broke more strings at the acoustic venues than any artist I've ever seen.  I think he used it as an excuse to stop playing music and tell stories.

Sometime around 1996 or 1997, Frank stopped playing music.  Apparently, he'd blown out his voice and was simply unable to sing anymore.  The last show I saw was at Top of the Park (a festival in Ann Arbor on top of a parking garage where they showed movies at night), and he had lots of guest singers assisting, so it wasn't too noticeable.

I've heard that he's now owns and operates the Clinton Theater, a tiny little movie theater in the town of Clinton, about 20 miles or so southwest of Ann Arbor on US-12.

My favorite album of his - and in my opinion the most well produced - is an album called "Russia", which featured some rehashes or songs that appeared on other albums, and some new tracks as well.  It was recorded in a church in Russia, and apparently the masters didn't make it back to the states for quite some time after the original recording, but when they finally did make it back, Frank put it onto CD.

I've seen a number of "discographies" that don't even list this album. 

I had some MP3s posted here originally, but Frank recently emailed me to let me know that he will soon be making these albums available online, and I will post the link to his new web site after things have been worked out.   I think that's great, and so I've removed the songs from my web site.