The Francesconi's came to California from Lucca, Italy in the early 1900's to make boots and be bootleggers. At the time, both trades were in support of the flourishing logging industry of Northern California in the early half of the century. I was born on July 1st, 1974 in San Francisco, California. It's a nice birthday and a nice city. It suits me. Or, more likely - I suit it.

My father was a mime and my mother taught English. Raised between awkward silence and good grammar I quickly gravitated towards music. I built my first guitar from rubber bands when I was seven. Sensing I might be able to get a better tone with real strings, four years later I got my first electric and promptly ruined it with a splatter paint job. The second guitar met a worse end as it flew off it's strap while I was practicing the whirl the guitar around the back move in 1987. No one told me Steve Vai had strap locks.

Years of guitar practice led to years of composition led to years of work led to years of play led to years of guitar practice. Formal studies in 20th Century composition led to informal confusion at being a composer in the 21st Century. Occasionally I notice coming full circle again to where I began. Boots and bootlegging, silence and grammar. Only the scope and scale of things changes around me.

Ryan Francesconi is a composer, conductor, guitarist, balkan musician, programmer, and cyclist living in Portland, Oregon. His playing can be heard on recordings by Joanna Newsom, RF, RF & Lili De La Mora, The Toids, Trio Mopmu, Sleeping At Last, Dosh, Sawako, Midori Hirano, FilFla, and others. He's the author of the experimental sound software, Spongefork, and one of the main proponents of Bulgarian folk music in the United States. Recent highlights include arrangements for Joanna Newsom, conducting the Chicago Symphony, and somehow managing to blow his entire savings on bikes.