Frank Klepacki

	Alt./Nickname:	-
	Date of Birth:	May 25, 1974
	Location:	Las Vegas, NV (USA)
	Website:	www.frankklepacki.com
	Picture:	Official Website ~ 32nd Birthday

Biography

Frank Klepacki was born in a musical family. This lead him to become an active musician at a young age, starting with drums and later learning keyboards, guitar and bass. He also gained knowledge of how to use studio equipment and how to program BASIC on a computer. At age 17, he applied for a job at Westwood Studios in Las Vegas. Frank considered this to be like a magical place, where he could get to work on a combination of two of his passions: video games and music. After having been hired, he started to work on the titles in development. A few Westwood games were released on consoles, but most of them were PC games. Some early works include "Dune II", the "Legend of Kyrandia" trilogy and "Lands of Lore".

Klepacki's name is most associated with his soundtracks to the "Command & Conquer" series. They consist of a mix of several genres and influences, ranging from hard-hitting industrial rock to militaristic orchestral and even dance music. The evolving technology at the time made it possible to use "live" music for this series, and not be forced to use MIDI or FM synthesis anymore. This was a relief to Frank, as he was now able to let himself loose and really exploit his creativity and resources.

Frank was the main composer at Westwood up until it was aquired by Electronic Arts, at which point he and several other employees decided to leave and form a new company in 2003: Petroglyph Games. He is currently employed by Petroglyph, heading the audio department. So far, he composed the soundtracks for their first game, "Star Wars: Universe at War", and its expansion, "Forces of Corruption". For Frank, who is an avid Star Wars fan, this was his career's highlight; he had the chance to work on a Star Wars product and arrange John Williams' original score, in addition to creating some new themes of his own used for the planets not represented in the original movies. "Universe at War: Earth Assault" is the latest game he scored, released in December 2007.

Aside VGM, Frank is also involved in other musical venues. He was a drummer in a couple of bands, including I AM and Home Cookin', and currently is for The Bitters. He is also part of Vegas-based live acts managed by Jarrid Mendelson like The Dynamite Band and The Whip Its. Furthermore, he contributed music to a few films and TV programs, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As a side project, Frank produces albums of his own original non-game material, which is written in a style not stranger to what could be heard in the C&C games. So far, he has released 4 solo albums and is in the process of putting a new one together, with a projected date of release sometime in late 2007.

Games

Albums

Non-VGM

Links

Petroglyph