
Frank Hurricane’s Mystical & Musical Journey
Special | 13m 34sVideo has Closed Captions
A musician finds inspiration in the towering trees and misty mornings of NC’s mountains.
For singer-songwriter and guitarist Frank Hurricane, exploring nature is more than just a walk in the woods but a pilgrimage that shapes his melodies and storytelling. Follow Frank’s journey as he finds inspiration in the towering trees, the misty mornings and the mystical traditions of what he calls “the holy mountains of North Carolina.”
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My Home, NC is a local public television program presented by PBS NC

Frank Hurricane’s Mystical & Musical Journey
Special | 13m 34sVideo has Closed Captions
For singer-songwriter and guitarist Frank Hurricane, exploring nature is more than just a walk in the woods but a pilgrimage that shapes his melodies and storytelling. Follow Frank’s journey as he finds inspiration in the towering trees, the misty mornings and the mystical traditions of what he calls “the holy mountains of North Carolina.”
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[crowd chattering] - I think everybody has a purpose in life.
A lot of people may not know it yet, but I think everybody's got a really special talent or something that they can do to make this universe a more amazing place.
Telling mystical stories, I think that's my mission and I think that's, you know, what I'm meant to be here for in this world.
My name's Frank Hurricane.
I'm a musician, storyteller and hiker.
I'm always on the road, but my home is the holy mountains of North Carolina.
[orchestral music] We're almost up to the first ball up here, which is funny why those people said it was a tough hike.
It's pretty easy.
[Frank chuckling] Chain bald is like that lower one that's like shrimping kind of right there.
♪ I go up to that mountain peak ♪ - So, I hiked the whole Appalachian Trail over four hikes, looking for inspiration for music.
That was the beginning of the Big Holy Journeys, which then did lead eventually to touring and traveling, and that kind of changed my life.
This zone right here is one of the first like, epic big hikes that I did.
It was a mystic stepping stone, that's for sure.
The Roan Highlands, this is where I gotta be as much as I can, because this is where I feel the closest to how I think maybe I should be feeling all the time.
It's a very magical place, a very sacred place, that's for sure.
[orchestral music] Hiking on the Holy Trail has taught me a lot of stuff, you know, I realized, "Oh, like I can take care of myself and like do things a little differently and live a much more amazing life".
That's where I write a lot of the lyrics and the holy melodies and stuff too.
I don't really know where it comes from, it just kind of happens when I'm out there.
It's kind of being touched by a spiritual force, you know?
And then I try to transfer that into the music.
It's about travel, it's about love, it's about stories, it's about people, you know?
I think it's really an amazing, beautiful world out there and I think once you realize that, everything's gonna be all right, you know?
Then you realize it's kind of off the chain.
[guitar music] [chickens clucking] [Frank mimicking chickens] The chicken's holy xylophone right there.
[chickens clucking] Looks like we got some breakfast for the holy day, thanks to these chickens up in here.
Oh yeah.
Woo!
Holy breakfast!
Big chickens.
The mountains, I realized are really where I need to be and where I feel happiest.
There's a peace kind of, that overcomes me when I'm around and I feel relaxed.
I feel like I'm myself.
You know, around these holy parts here in North Carolina, we got all kinds of wild chickens and mystical plants.
Good stuff to eat on.
Holy earth, thank you.
Coming from the earth, natural, this is that holy stuff.
[guitar music continues] The music that I make, I make to like show people I think things about the world that maybe they don't know, and also share experiences and, you know, a lot of funny stuff too to make people, you know, just like lighten up and enjoy themselves and it's about, you know, the mystical experience, you know, I think a lot of people make music, they just wanna, you know, blow up on the radio or get reviewed on some hein blog or something like that.
Whereas what I'm doing is a lifetime of spiritual songwriting and music, and I ain't stopping anytime soon, that's for sure.
Never stopping.
Well, I just played Knoxville last night, Knoxville, Tennessee.
I've been on tour for about two weeks, playing a show every night, taking a little break today.
But tour's been really successful and I've been up in upstate New York and PA.
I rocked the site of Woodstock 69, spiritual place, very epic.
Pulled into North Carolina today, the Holy Home State.
We're coming out here taking a little break at the spiritual Elk River Falls, and it's a pretty mystical spot.
Big waterfall on a river.
A psychedelic grandma at a diner in Hampton down the road told me about this place one time, which means it's a good spot, you know what I mean?
[guitar music] ♪ We're down on Stanley Creek ♪ ♪ And that autumn is coming ♪ ♪ Leaves are falling down ♪ ♪ And that water sure is running ♪ ♪ Look up to your side ♪ ♪ See that big old, big mountain ♪ ♪ Feel that spirit flow ♪ ♪ That holy cleansing fountain ♪ You know, the sound of my music is kind of like, what the stuff that I'm experiencing sounds to me.
I think the finger picking has something to do with that, you can kinda mimic the vibes of the flowing rivers, and the sky and the mountains and stuff.
They just felt natural.
[orchestral music] Yo, we're in Asheville, Static Age Records, the holy venue.
We're coming down here to the Hurricane Mobile, about to get the guitar and the merch stuff, gonna set up the merch table, get ready to slang some T-shirts and records and holy tapes and stuff like that.
People are starting to show up already, so it's incredible, man.
Very stoked.
Static Age is an awesome venue where when I was a much younger I would buy records, and you know, it's an influential place in my life.
Now, I'd be rocking to joint.
What up homie?
How you doing?
The spiritual shirts, we got, "Shrimping on the River of Love".
And then we got this, "The records, tapes".
Beautiful.
Yo, Big Kev, you ready to hit that Holy Mamacita's?
Ready to shrimp at the Mamacita's?
- Ready.
- Let's dog.
It's time to dog some food, get ready.
That's how we do it up around here.
Mamacita's, dog till you drop.
Pico.
Is that La Lechuga?
[woman and Frank speaking in a foreign language] I think everything's kind of an adventure.
So I like to find the special places, you know?
I think everybody does, but secret holy camp spots or waterfalls or, you know, funky restaurants or psychedelic granny's shacks.
Places where mystical things go down that your average person probably doesn't get to check out.
And then I like to, you know, kind of write that stuff into a song or a tell the tale and bring that holy experience to the people that aren't able to see that themselves.
I try to like, I don't know, inspire people to like be a little more hyped about everyday things, and maybe open shrimps up a little bit, hopefully, you know?
[guitar music] Well, if you wanted to see what I'm talking about, kind of with my music and what inspires it and what gets me going, you know?
You can get you a cheap tent and see who you meet, see who you run into out there in the woods.
Usually it turns out that little things are more of an adventure than big things that people think are actually going to be an adventure.
- [Man] Hey!
- Whoa!
Whoa!
[car engine roaring] [car horn] I love that, they found it.
- [Man 1] Now, how would you even describe your music?
- I would say shrimp and naughty blues, finger picking shrimp folk type of stuff.
Storytelling.
[man 1 laughing] - [Woman] Cool.
- [Man 2] Shrimp and naughty.
- Shrimp and naughty blues.
- Whoo!
How's that sounding, Big Mike?
What up holy Asheville, North Carolina?
[audience cheering] It's a spiritual pleasure to be here tonight, and it's nice to be back down in the southern realms.
Big North Carolina.
Born in the Holy Durham, Vietnam.
Now, when you're out in those holy mountains, you're shrimping on those mystical peaks.
It's a holy thing.
I've been hiking a lot recently, and I wrote this song about some mystical hiking right up the way from here.
[guitar music] I think that success for me means just getting some people to have some fun and maybe enjoy life a little more.
I think that's my mission and I think that's the success, is seeing that for real.
♪ I was dead at night ♪ ♪ That old pine tree fell ♪ ♪ A big old pack of Chugging Nuts ♪ ♪ Was sipping from the will ♪ ♪ I didn't get no sleep that night ♪ ♪ Was underneath the spell ♪ ♪ But a sacred wind coming on the hill ♪ ♪ I rose up in the morning, man, feeling off the chain ♪ ♪ Looked out my window and I saw that mountain range ♪ ♪ Well, I know that that girl I love is living in Tennessee ♪ ♪ Know that that girl I love is living in Tennessee ♪ ♪ I gots to keep it spiritual ♪ ♪ Yeah, I gots to keep it G ♪ ♪ 'Cause I know that that girl I love is living in Tennessee ♪ ♪ Whoo ♪ You know, performing for people, it's incredible, 'cause I know that's like what I'm meant to do, and it's cool because when I'm playing shows, people come and they have, you know, a mental adventure.
Spiritual adventure of their own listening.
I think that that's like what the music sound is all about that I make.
♪ Whoo ♪ [audience cheering] It's a spiritual pleasure.
[guitar music] Love you, love you!
[audience cheering] Thank you guys.
So beautiful.
[audience cheering] Thank you so much.
So awesome.
Living the holy dream, that's for sure.
It's like incredible, it's insane, really.
I'll tell you what, I would be pumped if I seen myself even a tiny aspect of what I'm up to these days, five years ago, especially 10 years ago and all the way back.
Oh, I'd be flipping my lid.
Yeah, blessed pimp for sure, blessed shrimp.
I love it.
[Frank chuckling] ♪ And I bet some day you'll live ♪ ♪ What you gonna do today ♪
My Home, NC is a local public television program presented by PBS NC