In the middle of the decade he became more interested in classic rock including Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Their lush arrangements and production quality were very inspirational. He became more and more interested in how different instruments blended together and how a producer could play a pivotal role in the overall sound of an album. It was also at this time that Frank began writing poetry. Most were either about romantic love or teenage angst. By the end of the 80s, Frank was listening to a wide variety of music, but Metallica and Def Leppard topped the list at this time. For his high school graduation, his parents gave him a more formidable Casio and continued to encourage his interest in music.
As Frank was entering his first year of college in 1989 he was reintroduced to Depeche Mode. Listening through a friend’s collection of Depeche Mode CDs he found a wealth of music, lyrics, production and vocals that completely agreed with his tastes. While everyone else was listening to Pearl Jam and Nirvana Frank was seeking out Depeche Mode’s entire catalog of albums and singles. He began listening to 92.7 WDRE/WLIR and fell in love with the best that New Wave had to offer. Morrissey and The Smiths, U2, The Cure and industrial acts Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, and NIN became Frank’s new passion. He began his first attempts at songwriting and one of his early compositions, “Silent Whispers”, would play an important part in Frank’s musical and vocal development for years to come.
Throughout the early 90s Frank attended as many concerts as he could (see Concerts I’ve Attended) and became more and more interested in not only playing the songs he knew and loved, but also writing and singing his own compositions. Frustrated by the limitations of his Casio, Frank started lingering around Sam Ash and dreaming of owning a workstation that would allow him to record all of the tracks he heard in his head. Upon his college graduation in 1993 his parents again encouraged him by giving him a Korg 01/W. Frank now had a tool that would allow him to flesh out his ideas.
Frank collaborated with several people during this time. The most important of which was a friend he met at Sam Ash. Frank originally joined up with Brett L. to play synths after Brett had heard Frank playing in the Sam Ash keyboard department. After their first jam session Brett felt that Frank had the talent to front their duo and they started working on a series of cover songs and a handful of originals. Frank dubbed the band “Stripped” after one of his favorite Depeche Mode songs. The band was short lived, but it gave Frank important lessons in sequencing and his very first performance in front of a large audience of family, friends and strangers.
From the mid to late 90s Frank began writing more and more songs in a variety of styles. He placed several electronic songs on mp3.com under the band name “Deep Freeze”. One of those songs was an electronic rendition of his ballad “Silent Whispers”. A friend and coworker asked Frank for a tape of his music to share with Kris Heireth.
In October of 1999, brothers Kris and Tim Heireth were going to produce Frank’s synthpop ballad “Silent Whispers”. While working on the song the threesome hit it off and Frank was asked to join their band. Frank joined Brand New Idol and became their lead vocalist and also contributed to the band as a synth player and songwriting partner. Brand New Idol’s debut CD “Still Beautiful Falling Apart” was released in November of 2001 and received high praise.
All of the songs on the album charted in the top 5 on the New Wave and Darkwave charts on mp3.com.
New Wave Chart Highlights
#1 The Lonelier You Get
#1 Your Favorite Disguise
#2 Never Again
#2 The Notorious Gentleman
#3 Someone Else’s Eyes
#5 Silent Whispers
#5 Hold Me
Darkwave Chart Highlights
#1 Still Beautiful Falling Apart
The Electrogarden Network Community voted Brand New Idol “Unsigned Artist of the Year” and “Still Beautiful Falling Apart” was voted “Album of the Year” for 2001.
In early 2002, Frank was invited to collaborate with good friend Ross Beall on his Simulator project. Frank wrote lyrics and provided guest vocals on Simulator’s debut CD “Enter The Unknown” which was released by Cohaagen in the spring of 2002. For more information, please visit the official sites for Simulator and Cohaagen. The CD was positively reviewed and led to several 2002 Electrogarden Network Community Awards nominations in the following categories:
2002 Song of the Year - Divided by Simulator
2002 Album of the Year - Enter the Unknown by Simulator
2002 Artist of the Year - Simulator
Throughout 2002, Brand New Idol played live shows in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. In late 2002, after serving as lead vocalist, co-songwriter and synth player with Brand New Idol from 1999-2002 including the release of their award winning debut CD “Still Beautiful Falling Apart”, Frank left to create a project that would take full advantage of his talents and halovox is the result. Heavily inspired by artists such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Eurythmics, A Flock Of Seagulls, Front 242, early Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, early Nine Inch Nails, Ultravox, Camouflage, Cause & Effect, The Cure and Peter Gabriel, Frank set out to create a sound that would honor these influences and also break new ground.
The first official halovox production was a 2003 remix of A Different Drum artist The Echoing Green. halovox contributed “Fall Awake (Catcher in the Rye Mix)” which appeared on the “Fall Awake” single.
halovox released 4 songs over the internet in 2003 that were very well received. Among them, “Deception” received airplay in clubs around the world and gained major support from DJ Tim Cody, host of Subculture Live on the world famous WLIR on Long Island. Those first four songs plus an additional nine original compositions and a breathtaking cover of the Depeche Mode classic “Fly On The Windscreen” made up the 14 track debut halovox self-titled CD released in the summer of 2004. Read the REVIEWS on halovox.com. In support of this release, halovox played numerous dates in the New York, Long Island and New Jersey region.
In 2004, A Different Drum requested another remix, this time for Provision. halovox remixed “Each Second Suffering” which appeared on a limited edition bonus disc bundled with the Provision album “Visualize”. In 2005, “Retrospect” by halovox was invited to appeared on A Different Drum’s massive 6 CD “State of Synthpop” collection. Also in 2005, “Deception” appeared on WSVNRadio Hall of Fame compilation Volume 15. For more information on these releases, please visit the DISCOGRAPHY page on halovox.com
.
Since its debut, halovox has received regular prime time radio airplay on shows including The Shape of Things To Come on 89.1 FM, college radio stations including KDIC, KEOS, KGFN (top 20 for 4 weeks), KKFI, KSMR, KTEC, KUPS, WMUC, WPMD, WPRK, WRIU, WSVN, WUSM, WUSR and internet shows such as AmpedOut, ArtistFirst Network, eoRadio, Flashback Alternatives, Lord Litter, The Michael Anthony Show, Muse’s Muse, PittRadio, RadioNonsense, RantRadio, Raw Egg Radio, Regen Radio, SlothRadio, SonicRaider and on internet shows such as Live365 stations such as New Wave Radio, Wintermute and The Dark Zone.
halovox has been played by DJs in several countries and has been contacted by fans, fellow artists, DJs and club owners from all over the U.S. and internationally from Canada, Mexico, Britain, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Japan.
halovox has also participated in some high profile shows, opening for Freezepop at the 2005 New York Synthpop Festival and APB at Subculture in December of 2006.
What sets halovox apart from other electronic bands is the songwriting and vocals of its creator, Frank J. Freda. halovox features intelligent, emotional lyrics and melodic modern music reminiscent of Violator-era Depeche Mode that sounds fresh yet nostalgically familiar to fans of 80s New Wave and synthpop.
Coming soon, the anticipated second album from halovox…
2003 - Present halovox
Frank J. Freda - Vocals, synths, programming, music & lyrics
2002 Simulator (appeared as guest musician)
Ross W. Beall - Music and sound design
Frank J. Freda - Vocals, lyrics, additional production
1999 - 2002 Brand New Idol
Frank J. Freda - Vocals, synths, programming, music & lyrics
Tim Heireth - Synths, samplers, programming, vocals, music & lyrics
Kris Heireth - Synths, samplers, programming, music & lyrics
1994 - 1999 Deep Freeze
Frank J. Freda - Vocals, synths, programming, music & lyrics
1993 Stripped
Frank J. Freda - Lead vocals, synths
Brett L. - Synths, programming, vocals, music & lyrics
Retrospect
Halovox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How did I get here, why did this happen and when will this torture ever end?
Do I deserve it, am I a victim or is it all just part of the master plan?
Would I change anything if the hands of time would allow me to?
And if I could change everything what kind of world would I wake up to?
I think of the places, all of the spaces that I used to fill back then
All of my family, all of my enemies and all of those who I could call friends
Would I change anything if the hands of time would allow me to?
And if I could change everything what kind of world would I wake up to?
If I could turn back the page to those chapters of my life
How many times would I change my mind and what would I write?
Sometimes I wonder - does destiny have a plan?
And when will I ever understand who I am?
Who I am
How did I get here, why did this happen and when will this torture ever end?
Do I deserve it, am I a victim or is it all just part of the master plan?
Would I change anything if the hands of time would allow me to?
And if I could change everything what kind of world would I wake up to?
If I could turn back the page to those chapters of my life
How many times would I change my mind and what would I write?
Sometimes I wonder - does destiny have a plan?
And when will I ever understand who I am?
Who I am
You do realize that this is all your fault
Every decision that you've ever made has brought you to this moment
You know how you got here
You know why this happened
You know you're not a victim
And you certainly know you deserve it
So why should your torture ever end?
If I could turn back the page to those chapters of my life
How many times would I change my mind and what would I write?
Sometimes I wonder - does destiny have a plan?
And when will I ever understand who I am?
Who I am
The song "Retrospect" by Halovox is a thought-provoking piece that revolves around the idea of questioning one's past decisions and their consequences. The lyrics compel the listener to ponder upon the circumstances that led them to their current state of being and introspect about the choices they made that might have resulted in unfavorable outcomes.
The first verse begins with a series of questions that express frustration and confusion regarding the current situation. The lines "How did I get here, why did this happen and when will this torture ever end?" depict the singer's frustration with their predicament. They ponder whether they are a victim or if their path was predetermined by some "master plan."
In the second verse, the lyrics delve deeper into the thought process of the singer as they contemplate revisiting past experiences and changing the outcomes. The lines "If I could turn back the page to those chapters of my life, how many times would I change my mind and what would I write?" express the desire to rectify past mistakes and seek a different outcome.
The bridge of the song is an outward projection of the singer's inner conflict, as a voice reinforces the idea that every choice they made led them to their current predicament. The lines, "You do realize that this is all your fault, every decision that you've ever made has brought you to this moment," emphasize the notion that the singer has the power to change their destiny because their decisions ultimately shape their lives.
In conclusion, "Retrospect" by Halovox is an introspective exploration of the self that encourages the listener to reflect upon their past mistakes and seek a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
How did I get here, why did this happen and when will this torture ever end?
I am lost and in pain, questioning my circumstances and searching for an end to my suffering.
Do I deserve it, am I a victim or is it all just part of the master plan?
I am grappling with questions of blame and fate, trying to determine if I am responsible for my pain or if it is out of my control.
Would I change anything if the hands of time would allow me to?
I am reflecting on my choices and wondering if I made mistakes that I would undo if given the chance.
And if I could change everything what kind of world would I wake up to?
I am contemplating the consequences of different choices and considering what the world might look like if I had done things differently.
I think of the places, all of the spaces that I used to fill back then
I am reminiscing about my past and the different roles I have played in my life.
All of my family, all of my enemies and all of those who I could call friends
I am thinking about the people who have been important to me throughout my life, both positive and negative.
If I could turn back the page to those chapters of my life
I am imagining the possibility of going back in time to relive or redo parts of my past.
How many times would I change my mind and what would I write?
I am considering how my perspective and actions might differ if given multiple chances to relive certain moments of my life.
Sometimes I wonder - does destiny have a plan?
I am contemplating whether or not there is a greater purpose or meaning to the events of my life.
And when will I ever understand who I am?
I am struggling with questions of self-identity and trying to make sense of my place in the world.
Who I am
My identity is a fundamental part of this ongoing struggle.
You do realize that this is all your fault
There is an implication that the source of my problems lies within my own actions or decisions.
Every decision that you've ever made has brought you to this moment
My past choices have all led up to my current state of being, for better or for worse.
You know how you got here
I have a certain level of awareness and responsibility for my current situation.
You know why this happened
I may have some understanding of the causes or factors that led to my current struggles.
You know you're not a victim
There is a suggestion that I should take ownership of my role in my struggles and refrain from seeking pity or excuses.
And you certainly know you deserve it
There is an implication that I have earned or brought upon myself the struggles that I am facing.
So why should your torture ever end?
Given the above, there is a suggestion that I may need to live with or work through my current struggles without the expectation of a satisfying resolution or escape.
Contributed by Jason E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.