Everything about The Frogs Band totally explained
The Frogs are an American
rock music band founded in
1980, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by brothers
Jimmy and
Dennis Flemion. The brothers mainly write and perform short,
pop songs, but they're also known for their
improvised home recordings which are delivered in a comedic style, and often tackle controversial issues such as
race,
religion, and
sexuality (notabily
homoeroticism). A history of strife has hindered the band, although a devoted fan base that includes many well-known musicians has supported the group.
History
Early years: 1980-1989
Brothers Jimmy Flemion and
Dennis Flemion began playing as the "Gila Monsters" and "Stupid Frogs" in 1980, frequenting Milwaukee clubs and coffeehouses.
(External Link
) In
1983, bassist
Jay Tiller joined the group and the band permanently became a trio. That same year, Jimmy began wearing what was to become his trademark stage gimmick, a pair of six-foot
bat wings, inspired by the band's set list which at that time featured many
glam rock songs about death and gloom. Soon the brothers also began wearing
wigs at their performances. Hence, "wings and wigs" became synonymous with the band. Although in their early days the Frogs played mostly in
coffeehouses, they developed a larger following due mostly to their fan-friendly shows. In
1988, the Frogs
self-released their first album in limited quantities. In that same year, Brian Hill joined the group as
bassist and continues to make appearances with the group to this day.
In 1989, a tape of the Frogs improvised home-made recordings reached
Gerard Cosloy, then head of
Homestead Records, who released a collection of 14 tracks under the title
It's Only Right and Natural. A number of tracks on the LP dealt with homosexuality and sexual fetishes, often mixed with religious overtones. Songs like "Been a Month Since I Had a Man" and "Gather 'Round for Savior #2" gave the band a unique theme. The label additionally announced that The Frogs were leaders in a "new gay supremacy movement". The album was received with mixed reactions; listeners were generally ecstatic, although others, who either disliked the subject matter or misunderstood the concept, were not as enthusiastic. In the gay press, writer Adam Block wrote "I thought I'd find the record a lot more remarkable if I believed the Frogs were actually gay."
It's Only Right and Natural was even denounced by a number of
conservative religious organizations as proof of
Satan's control over the entertainment industry.
Grunge and success: 1990-2000
In 1991, the Frogs produced a new album titled
Racially Yours, which included songs sung from the point of view of both blacks and whites, who find themselves in various race-related situations and predicaments. The lyrics are equally serious as they're satirical. Their label
Homestead was unwilling to release it (although it was distributed freely by fans). It eventually released in 2000 by the
Four Alarm label. The Frogs' further plans for a live album went unfulfilled, as labels they pursued all seemed to be suffering through
bankruptcy and management problems.
Jay Tiller left the band in
1992, to be replaced by
Damian Strigens, although there were several substitutes in the meantime, including such notables as
Eddie Roeser from
Urge Overkill and
Kelley Deal from
The Breeders.
The Frogs, through their unique sense of humor, have gained a small but very devoted fan base. Although critics have attacked the Frogs for poor taste, bands seen normally as
politically correct have come to their defense. In 1993,
Billy Corgan saw the band at a small club in
Madison, Wisconsin, and invited them to open for the
Smashing Pumpkins. The Frogs were soon opening for
Pearl Jam,
Mudhoney,
Urge Overkill, and other fans of the group, to mixed reaction. After meeting
Nirvana singer
Kurt Cobain in
1993, The Frogs wrote two songs about him and also made him a
videotape,
Toy Porno. The
VHS featured select live performances and
stop-motion animation with painted
action figures. Action figures and dolls were used as sexually
promiscuous characters in various short sketches. The tape became constant viewing material on Nirvana's tour bus. The videotape has since been made available to fans and has become a
cult classic.
In the
summer of 1994, the Frogs played the second stage at
Lollapalooza, with
Billy Corgan joining them at every stop for their encore of "I Only Play 4 Money" and "Lord Grunge" with Corgan shredding away on lead guitar. Corgan continued to support and promote The Frogs by producing a short film, "Meet the Frogs", which he included on the
Smashing Pumpkins Vieuphoria video compilation. The short film brought the group recognition, but it has also confused
Smashing Pumpkins fans who don't know if they should take the band seriously or not.
In 1996,
Pearl Jam released a song called "
Smile" on their
No Code album. The lyrics were taken directly from a note that Dennis hid inside
Eddie Vedder's notebook when he was on stage performing. The words used in the note are taken from the Frogs songs "This Is How I Feel" and "Now I Wanna Be Dead". Vedder has told the story of "Smile" several times while performing in
Milwaukee. Dennis also gave Vedder a small pair of bat wings from the Frogs' early days, and Vedder has proudly displayed them behind his guitar amplifier. (The wings can seen on the front cover of
Touring Band 2000.) Pearl Jam has unfortunately never performed a Frogs song, but Eddie Vedder has sung "I Only Play 4 Money", "Starboy", and "The Longing Goes Away" with The Frogs on more than one occasion.
In
1994, The Frogs followed
Gerard Cosloy to a new label,
Matador Records, releasing two singles. In
1996, Matador released an album of old home-recorded and improvised material called
My Daughter the Broad. It became another cult classic, with fans shouting out many of the song's titles and lyrics at every show.
In
1997, their
Starjob EP, produced by a
pseudonym of
Billy Corgan in
1994, was released by
Scratchie Records (founded by
James Iha, among others), but it almost immediately went out of print when it failed to sell enough units to satisfy the label. The EP contains well-produced studio tracks, including "Lord Grunge" and one of the most well known Frogs songs, "I Only Play 4 Money".
From August
1996 to February
1997, Dennis Flemion replaced recently-deceased keyboard player
Jonathan Melvoin for the
Smashing Pumpkins' Infinite Sadness Tour. Jimmy Flemion performed "
1979" (which was influenced by an unreleased Frogs song, "Pleasure") with the
Smashing Pumpkins nightly during their encores, as well as selecting audience members to dance on stage. The Flemion brothers also appeared on The
Smashing Pumpkins' "
Tonight, Tonight" single, and sang backing vocals on 1998's
Adore.
In
1997, Jimmy Flemion joined
Sebastian Bach's touring band. Rather than stripping Jimmy of his trademark bat wings, the whole band adopted costumes as well. Jimmy also recorded a side project called
The Last Hard Men with Bach,
Kelley Deal and
Jimmy Chamberlin. Bach also performed "Lord Grunge" with The Frogs on an infamous
MTV appearance on
Oddville. The Frogs destroyed their set and broke several rules set forth by the producers, so the producers retaliated by only broadcasting the first verse of the song.
In
1999, the Frogs covered "
Vacation" by the Go-Go's for a tribute album. In that same year, another LP of old home-recorded and improvised material called
Bananimals was released on the Four Alarm label, and the unreleased
Racially Yours album soon followed in
2000. To support these two releases, the Frogs played in
Canada for the first time. However, they were stopped at Canadian Customs as officials seized all of their
merchandise, declaring it "pornographic". The Frogs had to play their Canadian shows without any merchandise to sell.
2001-present
The Frogs latest studio effort,
Hopscotch Lollipop Sunday Surprise, was released by
Scratchie in
2001. However,
Scratchie wasn't happy with the finished album, and they put it out of print after only a few months, just like they'd with the previous
Starjob EP. Fans were still enthusiastic about the band's Scratchie releases, regardless.
After Damien Strigens exited the band in
1998, past bassists such as Brian Hill and Jay Tiller returned for some appearances, while some new bassists began performing with the band, including
Josh Silverman,
David Geschke, and
John W. Busher. Australian
Ben Lee made a special guest appearance on bass in New York City on September 28, 2001.
In November 2004, the mayor of
Minneapolis,
R.T. Rybak,
crowd-surfed during a Frogs set at
First Avenue, a popular
nightclub in the
Twin Cities, fulfilling a promise made earlier in the summer when the club temporarily closed due to financial difficulties.
(External Link)(External Link)
In late 2007, Jimmy Flemion performed with the Smashing Pumpkins in
Austin, TX.
(External Link)
The Frogs are currently on hiatus.
(External Link)
Discography
Further Information
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