Franky Perez

Franky Perez is an American musician best known as a solo artist, touring vocalist of the Finnish metal band Apocalyptica, and as former guitarist for Scars on Broadway.

He has also released three solo albums, Poor Man's Son, My 4th of July, and Addict, and performed with guitarist Slash in his live band before Slash assembled the touring band that backed him during his first full solo tour with Myles Kennedy.

Perez has also collaborated with Slash's Velvet Revolver bandmate Dave Kushner, releasing songs under the pseudonym of DKFXP, as well as the virtual band Pusher Jones, contributing the song "Count Me Out" to The Avengers soundtrack.

Perez has performed with a number of all-star cover bands over the years including Camp Freddy, Ducati All-Stars, Royal Machines, and Kings of Chaos.

Perez also brought his band to L.A., named The Highway Saints, and signed a deal with Atlantic Records in 2002.

He released his debut solo album, titled Poor Man's Son, on May 13, 2003 to some positive reviews, with Christina Fuoco of AllMusic stating that "with Cuban music as a base, he successfully experiments with a buffet of tastes including sultry blues, roots rock, inoffensive '80s rock, and anthemic pop."

The album's single, "Something Crazy", peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Adult Top 40.

In 2005, Perez released My 4th of July and toured in support which included an appearance at the Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin.

They played their first live show in April 2008, at the Whisky a Go Go, and played at the Coachella Festival in the same month.

The group's debut album, Scars on Broadway, was released in July of the same year.

In August they announced their first North American tour in support of their debut release, while also releasing a music video for the track "World Long Gone", however the tour was canceled by Malakian for "compelling reasons".

Perez addressed the fans about the tour cancellation saying:

I know the news has been extremely shocking to all of you.

However, I know that Daron has compelling reasons to not continue with the tour at this time.

I wanted to take the time to thank him and John for giving me such an incredible opportunity to do what I love and to be a part of an amazing band with undeniable talent.

They are like brothers to me and with time our band became like family which made the news even harder to swallow.

I also want to thank the fans from all over the world for all of your support and for welcoming us with open arms.

I hope you will continue supporting us no matter where this journey leads us.

Each member of Scars has a deep love and passion for music that will never die.

With that said, this is not a goodbye, but a see you later.

Almost a year after the tour cancellation, Scars on Broadway announced they were to tour U.S. Army bases in Iraq without Malakian.

Perez stated that "We all wish that our brother D [Malakian] would come as well, but he has other commitments in the States. He has given us his blessing to go perform and supports the cause completely."

Perez had briefly been hired as vocalist of Velvet Revolver in 2008 before the band changed their mind.

The songs recorded were released under the pseudonym of DKFXP (a combination of both Perez and Kushner's initials), the first released on September 19 titled Party of One.

In the same year, Malakian, Dolmayan, former System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and Perez performed together at Odadjian's Halloween party at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood on October 31, 2009.

In 2009, Slash announced that Perez was part of his live band, along with John 5, Chris Chaney, Jason Bonham and Teddy Andreadis, to perform at his headlining appearance at the Quart Festival on June 30 in Kristiansand, Norway.

He was once again part of Slash's live band, this time on lead vocals, at his show in Las Vegas on October 2 the same year.

On September 10, Perez performed at the Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.

Guests at the tribute included Henry Rollins, Tommy Lee, Slash, Billy Bob Thornton, Lemmy and Corey Taylor among others.

On June 20, 2009, Perez announced via his official Myspace that he was in the studio collaborating with Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner.

On March 14, 2010, Perez announced that he had signed with Sanctuary Artist Management intending to release a new solo album.

After recording an album and posting their first track online, titled "They Say", Scars on Broadway collaborators Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (both of System of a Down) recruited new members to perform for upcoming live shows.

Added to the lineup were Perez, on guitar, Dominic Cifarelli, on bass, and Danny Shamoun on keyboards and percussion.

On April 13, 2010, Scars on Broadway announced that they were performing a comeback show at The Troubadour in West Hollywood on Sunday, May 2, 2010.

During the show, they debuted a new song, reportedly titled "Talkin' Shit", and were joined on stage by Shavo Odadjian, on third guitar, for two songs.

On September 22, 2012, Scars on Broadway performed their first concert in over 2 years at the Epicenter Festival in Irvine, Ca. Franky Perez did not appear, and he confirmed on Facebook that he was no longer in the band.

As of 2014, Perez is the singer of the Finnish metal band Apocalyptica.

He sang for the supergroup Deadland Ritual, alongside guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Michael Jackson), bassist Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell) and drummer Matt Sorum (the Cult, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver and many others).

At the beginning of his career, Perez befriended conga player and Cuban exile Lazaro Valdez before moving to Miami, Florida although he initially planned on moving to New York City.

After waiting tables in Miami, Perez was contacted by former Van Halen and The Black Crowes manager Pete Angelus who suggested that Perez move from Miami to Los Angeles.