Fran Merante is a Drummer / Instructor in the Greater New Haven area and has been playing drums now for over 28 years. If you ask him, he’ll tell you the most important of those years were the ones he spent at the Berklee College of Music where he has honed his drumming to a level that he is very pleased with. The school also left him with the best concepts in the world on the teaching / learning facet of the instrument, which enables him not only to continue to improve his playing, but also to improve the playing of his students in a very efficient manner. Fran has done everything from studio work to off Broadway musicals to top 40 gigs to headlining gigs with the band he was formerly in, Cubistic Jack. His most recent gig was playing with the band Styrocultural Antidote. It is an original "Progressive Fusion" trio powered by the composing and guitar playing wizardry of Ron Neuhauser. In this setting, Fran was able to freely create and always progress as a player. He feels some of his best playing to date was done in this band.  You can hear him on various SA Band cds and dvds available at www.nocheez.com.

Because of his love for music and his education from Berklee, Fran is well versed in all styles . His favorites being Funk and Latin. “Of all the rewards that music has to offer its musicians, the chance to educate other people in the art of playing drums is the one I relish most.” , Fran says, “Being able to do something that brings people closer to the same dreams I had of playing the drums is an extremely gratifying experience.”