Frank Klepacki - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Frank Klepacki was raised by a family of musicians of Polish and Italian descent who played on the Las Vegas strip. He drew art as a hobby, but music prevailed in his early interests. He received his first drumset at age 8 and began performing professionally by age 11. Among his early influences were electronica bands and Heavy Metal groups, including Depeche Mode, Afrika Bambaataa, AC/DC, and Iron Maiden. Seeking to master guitar, bass, and keyboards, he formed local bands and created a demo tape of original material by age 17. His impetus for diversifying his instrumental abilities was "not being able to communicate with other band members on ideas...for original songs." His first piece of audio gear was a TASCAM 4-track cassette recorder, which he used to record demos, band practices, and live shows.

After learning to program BASIC on a Tandy 1000 and becoming interested in computer and video games, he applied for a job as a game tester at Westwood studios. He submitted his demo tape—described as "an acoustic guitar song with electric guitar leads and keyboard strings, and raining sound effects"—to the company's audio director. The growing company enlisted him as a composer for the NES port of DragonStrike and the computer game Eye of the Beholder II. He later composed with MIDI sequencing for several other Dungeons & Dragons games. In 1992, he helmed the audio of Dune II, attempting to complement the music of the original Dune. He later noted that he pushed the sequencing program on his Amiga to the limit while scoring the game. While working on Disney's The Lion King in 1994, he and the Westwood team were shown sketches of the unfinished feature film. Film composer Hans Zimmer later praised Klepacki for reworking his scores. After finishing The Legend of Kyrandia III, Frank Klepacki met with Westwood leaders to discuss the upcoming game Command & Conquer—the first in a series which would bring him wider fame and critical acclaim.