Appetite for Distortion · Appetite For Distortion

Frank Hannon, Reflections: Instrumentals, Tesla, and Guns N' Roses | Ep. 556

March 17, 2026·49 min·3 clips

Frank reveals that 'This Is Goodbye' was written at 5 a.m. as his wife left for Dickie Betts's memorial, the song recorded spontaneously while alone in the house.

Frank Hannon is back on Appetite for Distortion, and Brando starts exactly where this show tends to live: the previous interview, a Guns N' Roses clip, and the chance that a three-year-old might wander into the room. The tone loosens up fast. Frank is in a good springtime mood, remembers being on before, and plays along before the talk shifts to his instrumental record Reflections. The Old Town is the piece everything keeps coming back to. Frank says it came quickly, almost without thinking, after his father-in-law had died and his wife left before sunrise for a memorial tribute. There is no glossy backstory pasted on top. He describes sitting alone with his guitar and an app, catching the feeling while it was still raw. The song stuck around. About a month later, a cemetery looked to him like the music felt, so he called a friend with a camera and shot a video there. They had about an hour. Brando gently asks whether filming there with his wife, while she was thinking about her father, made it heavy or just work. Frank answers plainly. The light was fading, so they stayed on task, and his wife found the nerve to act in it because she loved the song too. He is proud that it is real. He also says the music and video are not AI, just simple handmade work that means something to him. The road comes back into the picture too. Frank mentions a guitar festival in Dallas from May 1st through the 3rd, where he plans to play that song and more of Reflections. Then the Tesla gratitude settles in. The ending is about loyal listeners, underdog energy, and the good feeling those songs still bring people. Brando closes with a wink, thanks Frank, hopes it is not another four years, and signs off with a Chinese Democracy nod and the usual messy-radio charm still there.

As heard by us

A loose rock chat that turns grief, guitar, and old fandom into something intimate.

Frank Hannon starts with easy weather talk and a bit of Guns N' Roses history, then circles into a new instrumental that turns grief into something moody and personal.

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Why you'd press play

You want Frank Hannon at his most relaxed, reflective, and off-script.

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