Frank began playing guitar at age 7 in Canberra, Australia, where he was born and raised. He was influenced by the blues playing of
Jimi Hendrix,
John Mayall, and
Eric Clapton. In his mid-teens he discovered
Steely Dan,
The Brecker Brothers and
Chick Corea, which pointed him in a jazzy direction. In 1982 at 23 he decided to leave his home to study at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Hollywood.