He lives in Las Vegas, where he has shaped a solo career and played and produced for several local bands. His personal and band work touches upon several genres, including orchestral, rock music, hip hop music, soul music, and funk. He has dubbed the style of music he writes as "Rocktronic". His work has appeared in various media, including the Spike TV program The Ultimate Fighter.
Klepacki is currently the audio director of Petroglyph Games, where he scored Star Wars: Empire at War. Klepacki was contacted to score Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, but was too busy with Petroglyph to take the project, and declined to mention the offer. Klepacki composed three songs, including "Hell March 3", for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 by EA Los Angeles. His solo CD entitled Viratia is packaged with a comic he helped produce.
Already a professional drummer since age 11, Klepacki expanded his musical abilities to compose his own music during high school. He combined this musical drive with his early knowledge of computers and video games, which led him to his first composing job for the game developer Westwood Studios straight out of high school. By 1992, Klepacki composed the music for the first Real-Time Strategy game in history, “DUNE II”. In 1995, he pushed the limits of music in the game industry in what would become one of the biggest game franchises, “COMMAND & CONQUER” (aka C&C). The original score for C&C transcended norms of video game music. The music style of the C&C score had strong cross-over commercial appeal, resulting in the score meriting its own stand-alone soundtrack. Moreover, he won the PC Gamer Magazine award for Best Game Soundtrack for “C&C: RED ALERT”. In 2012, its main theme "Hell March" was ranked #7 of top 100 video game themes of all time by Computerandvideogames.com. While working for Westood, Klepacki composed for other notable titles including “The Lion King”, “Blade Runner”, “Monopoly”, “Lands of Lore” and “Dune 2000”.
During the year 2000, Klepacki expanded into the television and film industries. He began licensing music for various TV networks after releasing several of his independent albums via his website and digital distribution. Since 2003 to present, his music has been regularly featured on the “ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP” programs on Pay-Per-View, Spike TV, and FOX Sports. In 2007, he scored entire shows for HDNET FIGHTS and INSIDE MMA. During 2011 to present, his music has had recurring placements in several dozen shows including America’s Got Talent, Top Gear, and Pawn Stars.
In 2004, after the consolidation of Westwood Studios, Klepacki became promoted as the Audio Director for the game developer “PETROGLYPH” to provide original scores and audio direction for “STAR WARS: EMPIRE AT WAR”, which to date is the best-selling Star Wars video game in history. Since then, he has maintained his role as composer audio director for all of Petroglyph’s games.
In addition to his career in video game, film, and television, Klepacki has been an active live performer. He has toured and performed on drums with such established acts as: The Family Stone (feat. Rock & Roll hall-of-fame inductee Jerry Martini, and Phunne Stone), Tina Guo (world-renowned Grammy nominated cellist), Vince Dicola (Rocky IV, The Transformers: The Movie), Asia (feat. John Payne), Lou Gramm (Foreigner), The Rock Pack: featuring vocalists John Payne (Asia), Steve Augeri (Journey), Fee Waybill (The Tubes), Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger), and Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult).
Klepacki also guest performs as a guitarist / composer with symphonies around the world for the shows Video Games Live and Games in Concert, and has been a panel speaker for conferences such as GDC, AES, PAX, and MAGFest among others, as well as guest blogging for Audio-Technica. In 2019 he launched a successful full production show of “FRANK KLEPACKI & THE TIBERIAN SONS” performing the best of his Command & Conquer catalog on select dates.
Currently, Klepacki is the full-time Audio Director for “PETROGLYPH”, owner at “KLEPACKI PRODUCTIONS” and the touring drummer for “THE FAMILY STONE”.
In Trouble
Frank Klepacki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mother control, I can′t, I can't control it
Eh, it's not good, it doesn′t look good
Mother control, I can′t, I can't control it
Attent′, Attent'! We′re gathering fire
I can't control it, we′re going down!
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
(Not, not) (not, not) (not, not)
Not good this is not good!
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
Mo-mo-mother control, I can't, I can't control it
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
Eh. it′s not good, it doesn′t look good
Attent' Attent′! We're gathering fire
I can′t control it, we're going down!
Perhaps you need another shot
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
Mo mother control, I can′t, I can't control it
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
Eh. it's not good, it doesn′t look good
Let me clear my throat!
Not good this is not good!
Attent′ Attent'! We′re gathering fire
I can't control it, we′re going down!
The lyrics to Frank Klepacki's song "In Trouble" convey a sense of urgency and chaos. The repetition of phrases like "Eh, it's not good, it doesn't look good" and "Mother control, I can't control it" suggests a feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to handle the situation at hand. The singer is expressing their inability to control the events unfolding, and there is a sense of impending danger.
The use of the phrase "Mayday-Mayday" further emphasizes the emergency situation being described. Mayday is an international distress signal used primarily by aviators and mariners to indicate a life-threatening emergency. This adds to the theme of being in trouble and needing urgent assistance.
The chorus, with its repetition of "Attent'! Attent'! We're gathering fire, I can't control it, we're going down!" reinforces the feeling of imminent disaster and the apprehension of losing control. The urgency in the vocals and the intense instrumentation contribute to the overall chaotic atmosphere of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Eh, it′s not good, it doesn't look good
Oh, this situation is unfavorable and appears to be worsening
Mother control, I can′t, I can't control it
The controlling forces are overpowering, and I am unable to regain control
Attent′, Attent'! We′re gathering fire
Attention, attention! We are facing increasing danger
I can't control it, we′re going down!
I am unable to handle the situation, and we are heading towards failure or disaster
May-May-Ma-Mayday-Mayday
An urgent distress signal indicating a critical situation
(Not, not) (not, not) (not, not)
Absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not
Not good this is not good!
This is extremely bad, it is highly unfavorable
Mo-mo-mother control, I can't, I can't control it
The controlling forces are overpowering, and I am completely incapable of regaining control
Eh. it′s not good, it doesn′t look good
Oh, this situation is unfavorable and appears to be worsening
Perhaps you need another shot
Maybe you require another attempt or opportunity
Let me clear my throat!
Allow me to express myself clearly and assertively
Writer(s): Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber
Contributed by Mackenzie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.