Frank DeFonda is the timekeeper of Mark Doyle and The Maniacs.

A Geneva native, Frank has been playing since the early Sixties performing his first paying gig in 1969. His skills are self-taught with guidance from the greats such as John Bonham, Bill Bruford, David Garibaldi and Bernard Purdy.

His extensive experience includes touring throughout the Northeast and destinations as far as North Dakota and Texas, a stint with The Mark Doyle/Joe Whiting All-Stars foreshadowing current times, session work in Boston and a successful audition with The Cars which he turned down! Staying true to his instinct and working with Syracusans Andy Mendelson, Mark Doyle and Gary Link led to a national tour with Andy Pratt, but the changing musical climate and his future wife Janice made the time right to return home.

After playing four years in Atlas Linen Company Frank went through a period of not playing, which definitely wasn’t going to last long. Soon he became a member of The Joe Whiting Band, which provided a sixteen-year platform for his innumerable skills.

With former Maniacs band-mate Terry Quill, they recorded a half dozen cds, won SAMMY awards and played constantly. Re-enter Mr. Doyle, writing songs with Joe for their “The Truth” cd and sitting in with the band. Rehearsal jams featured some blues/rock numbers that just clicked and ultimately resulted in the now infamous statement from Mark’s wife Liz, “Why don’t you play more of this music”? The rest is history in the making!

Putting all of his musical influences to bear on the music Mark Doyle and the Maniacs are creating is Frank’s full musical commitment and it shows, in a very big way!

Read Frank’s full self-written bio here and join Frank's facebook.

[Photo by Sandra Jackson]

Mark Doyle

Joel Kane

Terry Quill

Mark Doyle and The Maniacs