Official obituary of Frank BonTempo, Jr. September 18, 1958 – December 14, 2024 (age 66)

I met Frank BonTempo through my cousin Tommy back in 2002 when I was fifteen. At the time I had a batch of songs written but nowhere to record them. I had been recording music on my computer for years, but I wanted to record these newer songs in an actual studio so they sounded better.

Somehow the word got to Frank through Tommy that I had this batch of songs ready to go. It just so happened that Frank’s home studio was located less than ten minutes from where I lived. Frank offered to record the songs for free! We set a date and time for the first of many recording sessions. The sessions often took place early in the morning around 7 or 8 am!

Frank had converted his entire garage into a recording studio. He called it Alien Studios. This is where Frank would jam with his impressive guitar collection and rock out on his expansive drum kit. He was able to play just about any instrument he picked up!

I remember the inside of Alien Studios as having blue walls and carpet. The mixing board and engineer’s room was separated from the rest of the studio by a blue wall and glass window. The studio floor was spacious and nestled among the walls were amplifiers, guitars and other gear.

In the above documentary you can see clips recorded inside of Alien Studios. Frank makes an appearance around 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the film.

Frank loved Jack Daniels whiskey. There was Jack memorabilia everywhere you’d look in the studio, on the walls, in the shelves and sitting atop tables. Frank once traveled with Tommy to Jack Daniel’s Tennessee gravesite and had a drink of whiskey within the presence of the man himself.

Frank was an excellent engineer and producer in the studio. I truly enjoyed working with him. Most of the time he’d let you do whatever you wanted but there were instances where he’d provide much-needed guidance or constructive criticism.

His years of experience with playing in bands and recording music made each studio session feel almost like being in school. Through Frank I learned about signal flow in multitrack recording and how to make sense of the mixing board. I learned how to deliver vocals into a microphone and sustain my voice for extended lengths.

While he did occasionally use punch-ins, he wasn’t big on it, so you had to really know your material and be able to perform it properly the whole song through. It taught me the importance of knowing your songs like the back of your hand when the red light was on in the vocal booth.

The recordings made by Tommy and I at Alien Studios took us farther than I could have imagined. Our CDs got passed around in Cleveland during shows for nationally-touring artists like Tech N9ne and Kottonmouth Kings. Eventually we were invited to play shows at venues such as Peabody’s, The Odeon and Nelson’s Ledges.

One of my favorite memories of all time is playing the main stage at Nelson’s Ledges at the Juggalo Gathering on my seventeenth birthday. After I got off stage people rushed me asking for CDs. This would have never been possible had it not been for Frank’s kindness in letting me use his recording studio for free!

In the above video you can watch our 2004 Nelson’s Ledges performance, which would have never happened without Frank. Frank and his good buddy Guido were in attendance for this legendary concert.

Eventually a bunch of my high school friends found out I was recording at Frank’s house and they wanted to try it for themselves. Frank selflessly invited several up-and-coming bands into his studio for free sessions, including local acts such as Forever Falls Tomorrow and Klay County Vendetta.

Another great aspect of recording music at Frank’s house was visiting his wife Dawn. She was always so friendly and supportive. She would let us in the front door with a warm smile and offer us drinks and snacks. While we were recording, Dawn would occasionally check in on us to offer water or anything else we might need.

Frank, thanks so much for all you have done for myself and all the other friends and musicians you’ve helped. May you rest in peace knowing we love you, we miss you and we will never forget you. We will remember you as a goodhearted individual who loved to have fun, make music and spend time with your wife.

Frank gave me two CDs of his own material. I’m sure there are more releases out there but these are the only two albums I own. I’ve listened to and enjoyed these CDs my whole life!

Frank played both guitars and drums in the first one, released in 1999, called Square Root of 9 – Going Off On A Tangent. The second album is a two-man effort from 2002 known as Bonaford- Axis Of Evil.

Click here to download both MP3 albums in an 88mb .zip file.

Square Root of 9 is Frank BonTempo on lead guitar and drums, Rick Monaco on vocals and drums and John BonTempo on bass guitar.

Bonaford is Frank BonTempo and Jerry “Wayner” Alford. No additional credits or details are given in the liner notes.