Nick Franclik is a singer-songwriter who is well-known in the Lehigh Valley, but not for singing or songwriting.

Franclik performs songs from his first solo album, “View From My Spaceship,” 10 a.m. Sept. 17, “Apple Days,” Burnside Plantation, 1461 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem.

Franclik is often seen as the electric bass player for the Dina Hall Band and Jack Murray and the Blue Tarp Wranglers.

He has been the sound man since the 1990s at south-side Bethlehem’s Godfrey Daniels, where he does the sound for most of the concerts.

Franclik has also been the bassist for the BC Combo, the Electric Farm, Eric Steckel, Swearingen & Kelli and Dave Fry’s “Rock Roots” school program.

And he has performed at every Musikfest since 1993, often multiple times with different acts. In 2022, he was there with the Dina Hall Band.

Franclik’s 11 original songs on “View from My Spaceship” are relaxed and evocative, with lyrics that tell stories and suggest feelings that can carry the listener on a personal journey.

“A song takes on a certain meaning to a person and might mean something completely different to someone else, “ says Franclik during an interview in the Weis Pub, Macungie, where he performs solo gigs, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.

“When I write songs, I let them come in and decide what they want to do. They usually are not about anything very specific.

“Later on, I see how they came to be and how they relate to my life.”

It might be surprising that Franclik took so long for his first release. But as with many other artists’ projects, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdown gave him time.

“I was busy doing other things, always playing in other people’s bands. During the pandemic, I had time to do something like this.

“I played guitar every day and wrote songs. The idea had been there for a long time, but it was difficult with my schedule.”

Franclik was inspired by many of the solo artists he saw at Godfrey Daniels, including Steve Forbert, John Gorka, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.

Many of the songs on his “View From My Spaceship” have a country music sound.

“I love the sound of country, like the classic sound of artists like Merle Haggard instead of the contemporary commercial type.

“For ‘This Car Ain’t Turnin’ Round,’ I wanted a pedal steel guitar and the classic Telecaster guitar sound.

“‘Kind of Boy He Was’ uses Dobro and harmonica, which are not traditional bluegrass instruments, but I thought they recreated the feel of that music.

“Writing a song most of the time is torture,” he says.

“A lot of times when you are actively trying to write a song, you can’t come up with one. I have notebooks of half-baked ideas that never went anywhere.

“Sometimes, you are trying and then something completely different happens. Initially, I don’t know what the song is about, but it takes off once I get a little direction, and discover that it wants to be about something else.

“It usually starts with a couple of words, a couple of chords and the hint of a melody. On a good day you keep following it until there is a complete song.

“You have the feeling and the idea, and it starts flowing out. You try to hang on to it and write it in an hour or a couple of hours.”

The first track on his CD, “Playing My Guitar,” describes Franclik’s feelings about songwriting and playing:

“You either find yourself paying attention to a lot of drama and getting upset, or you can be creative doing your own thing.”

The album was recorded by Franclik and Bruce Siekmann at Amoeba Studio, Fleetwood, Berks County.

“Bruce and I laid down the tracks and then brought in people one by one. Some of the parts were done remotely, with tracks sent in by musicians who recorded them in their own studios.”

Franclik, who was born in Allentown, grew up near Bear Creek Mountain Resort & Conference Center, Longswamp Township, Berks County, and attended Brandywine High School. He lives in Macungie.

“View from My Spaceship” is available at the Apple Music store; www.ebay.com; the Compact Disk Center, Bethlehem, and at Franclik’s concerts. Many of the songs can be heard on streaming services, including Spotify and Pandora.

“Valley Beat” is a column about popular music with an emphasis on concerts. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com