About Us
Faculty Members
Franchot Tone
Guitar and Bass Guitar
Franchot was bitten by the music bug at 12 years old when he first picked up his Dad’s guitar after hearing his early favorites including The Beatles, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Loggins and Messina, Michael Jackson and Def Leppard.
Franchot joined his first band in the 7th grade and has been pursuing his passion for music ever since.
Tone attended Colby College in Waterville Maine and graduated with BA in music theory. He later attended the world famous Musicians Institute in Hollywood where he studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology earning a performance certificate.
Tone spent 12 years in LA as a gigging musician and recording studio owner. He built an impressive resume, both as a performer and as a studio wizard/composer
His best-known work is as one half of the Culver City Dub Collective, the critically acclaimed band he shares with drummer Adam Topol. As a touring musician Franchot has played or sang on stage with some of his musical mentors and heroes including: Garth Brooks, Jack Johnson, Ozomatli, G Love, The Doors' Robby Krieger and 311’s Nick Hexum.
Tone has also shared the bill as the opening act for legendary acts including Jackson Brown, Ben Harper, Gary Clark Jr., Los Lobos, The Wailers, Toots & The Maytals, Nick Hexum (311), Lucas Nelson, The English Beat, Michael Franti, Huey Lewis and The News, The Greyboy Allstars, G love and Special Sauce
A bend resident since 2008 Franchot is the proud father of Whitney (a gifted singer) and Nikolas (a ripping drummer and banjo player).
Tone loves teaching guitar and bass and seeing the light come on as his students are exposed to the magic of making music. His specialty is teaching blues, folk, reggae, classic rock and pop. And his teaching philosophy is embodied by the following statement. “Let’s have fun and make some music!”