A LITTLE ABOUT US

Frank's & Karen's Journey

Making It Up as We Go Along

I’ve spent a good part of my life telling stories in one form or another.

I started in radio in 1982, back when records, reel-to-reel tape and a good pair of headphones were part of the daily routine. Over the years I worked behind the microphone and behind the scenes, producing audio, talking about music and collecting more stories than I realized at the time. That part of my life still turns up here through Radio & Production, Frank’s Stories, and Spinning My Dad’s Vinyl, the project that grew out of my father’s record collection and our shared love of music.

But this site isn’t just about looking backward.

In 2019, Karen came into my life, and a lot of what you’ll find here now comes from the places we go and the things we discover together. Road trips, hiking trails, kayaks, campgrounds, museums, wineries, strange roadside attractions, sunsets and whatever else looks interesting enough to make us stop the car. We rarely seem to run out of ideas. And we catch every sunset we can together.

Live music is a big part of that life together. We’re often at local venues and community concert series that offer free or inexpensive shows, especially the tribute bands that make a summer evening worth planning around. We also try to see as many national touring artists as we reasonably can.

Music is woven pretty deeply into our story. Karen and I got together at one of those local concert series, and I asked her out for the first time at another one. So when you see Live Music & Shows on this site, it isn’t just another category. It represents something we genuinely love doing together and something that has been part of us from the beginning.

Somewhere along the way, photography became a bigger part of the story too. I’m usually carrying a camera, looking for stars, wildlife, landscapes, or simply something that makes me stop and look twice. Sometimes Karen and I photograph the same place and come home with completely different versions of it. I like that.

Family is another thread running through all of this. My daughter Sofia has grown up with plenty of music, stories and cameras around her, and has developed a serious interest in photography of her own, along with a growing vinyl collection. So, apparently some things really do travel through the family whether you plan them or not.

The family side of the site also includes our Family Tree and the annual Family Scholarship, which continues to award support to students each year. The scholarship page isn’t just part of the family history. It’s where prospective applicants can learn about the program and apply when applications are open.

So what exactly is frankvaccariello.com?

It’s part travel journal, part photo album, part family archive, part radio attic and part collection of things that probably made perfect sense when I started them.

You’ll find adventures with Karen, photography, live music, family history, old radio stories, vinyl records, sports, collections and a few projects that don’t fit neatly into any category.

Which is probably why Making It Up as We Go Along continues to fit so well.

That’s pretty much the plan.