WiL Francis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Roy Francis

Background information
Birth name William Roy Francis
Born January 8, 1982 (1982-01-08) (age 26)
Origin Seattle, Washington, USA
Genre(s) Post-Hardcore
Alternative Rock
Occupation(s) Singer
Songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, Bass, Piano, Guitar
Years active 2003-Present
Label(s) Victory, Dead Teenager
Associated acts Aiden
Website http://www.aiden.org/

William "wiL" Francis (born in Seattle, Washington on January 8, 1982) is the lead vocalist of the band Aiden.

Contents

[edit] Biography

William Roy Francis was born in Seattle, Washington. During his early years wiL had an interest in music thanks to bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers [1] but only really began to take it seriously after he started to join bands at 13. Recently in an interview with Kerrang! Magazine [2], he admitted that he had planned a massacre that he was going to commit in Seattle's University District on New Year's Eve, 1999. He claimed his means of carrying out this massacre was "a backpack full of guns". He said he was lonely and violent enough to carry it out because of the life he had lived. He went to jail and upon release decided it was time for him to turn his life around. He wrote a letter of apology to his mother for all the bad times he made her go through (inspiration for the song Genetic Design For Dying) and took part in a 6 month rehabilitation course.

Through his teenage years some of his favorite bands included Nirvana, NOFX, Red Hot Chili Peppers, HIM, The Misfits, and Bad Religion' [3] but during wiL's years dabbling with drugs he was no longer active within a band and only began re-playing guitar during his rehabilitation as a form of therapy and it developed from there.

Clean from drugs, wiL joined a band called "Youth At Risk" which occasionally supported the metalcore band Himsa. Prior to "Youth At Risk" he played in a band named "Spontaneous Combustion" in which he played guitar and sang. When wiL joined Aiden he originally played bass but took over as lead singer after the original vocalist quit.

wiL has also shown his reliance on friendship. The song Silent Eyes from the Rain in Hell EP was written about Bayside drummer, John 'Beatz'. whilst on tour with Aiden, Hawthorne Heights and Silverstein, the Bayside bus flipped on a patch of black ice. 'Beatz' died due to severe injuries.

Another band wiL is good friends with is The Used.

He is working on a side project called "William Control" [4]


[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Collaborations

  • "Silverstein" - Bleed No More (Live) - 18 Candles: The Early Years
  • "The Used" - Box Full Of Sharp Objects (Live)- Mainly On The Taste Of Chaos Tour

[edit] Official Aiden sites

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Interview hosted on youtube
  2. ^ Kerrang magazine [1]
  3. ^ wiL talks to TasteitTV in Belgium
  4. ^ MySpace.com - William Control - SEATTLE, Washington - Electrique / New Wave / Rock - www.myspace.com/williamcontrol
Languages