George Frayne (born 1944)
George Frayne, better known as “Commander Cody,” is by turns an artist and classic rock musician. Frayne has described himself as “an artist with an artist’s temperament” noting, “Sometimes I just feel like I’ve got to rock n’ roll. Sometimes I feel like I can’t rock n’ roll for another second, ‘Where’s my paintbrush?’ The next second it’s ‘If I see another paintbrush, I’m going to commit seppuku.”
He was encouraged by his artist parents to pursue art practice, and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan in 1968. The following year, Frayne and his bandmates, the Lost Planet Airmen, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to join the burgeoning rock and hippie scene. They signed to Paramount Records and shared the stage with bands such as The Grateful Dead, The Doors, and Led Zeppelin at the Fillmore Auditorium. At present, Frayne is based in Sarasota Springs, New York. He continues to perform as a keyboardist in The Commander Cody Band, as well as create music-inspired art work.
courtesy of Skinner, Inc. March 2009