Franz was raised with his brother and musical collaborator Pete in
Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia, which they reference by putting the letters "BXR" on Scream's albums. Their father, Arnold, was a lawyer who also managed DC rock band
The Hangmen, which scored a regional hit with 1965's "What a Girl Can't Do". After learning guitar, Franz started playing in local Virginian bands with bassist
Skeeter Thompson. In 1981, Franz and Thompson formed Scream in
Alexandria, along with brother Pete and drummer
Kent Stax. After Scream broke up in 1990, Franz and Pete formed the band
Wool, releasing the album
Box Set for
London Records. Wool then broke up in 1996. When he visited Ray McVeigh of
Zilch, Stahl met Japanese rock musician
J while he was recording his first solo album and learned that the drummer was fellow DC musician
Scott Garrett. With the band needing a second guitarist for an upcoming tour, Stahl successfully lobbied for the job because he liked both J's music and his personality. and the re-recorded version of "
Walking After You", which was released as a single and included on
the soundtrack for
The X-Files movie. He also appeared in the music video for the Foo Fighters song "
My Hero", even though he did not play on the recording. He was released from the band in 1999, before the recording of their third studio album,
There Is Nothing Left to Lose, due to creative differences. Stahl was replaced by
Chris Shiflett later that year. He would later say his tenure in Foo Fighters was "the best two years of my life". When J's main band
Luna Sea disbanded, he resumed solo activities in January 2001 and regrouped his backing band, including Stahl. In 2007, he composed the title track for the film
One California Day. He reunited with J on stage during the encore of the bassist's September 2, 2012 concert. In 2023, Stahl, along with the members of Scream, released their 7th studio album entitled DC Special. As of 2025, this is Screams' most recent album. ==References==