The Frogs (band)

Infobox Musical artist
Name = The Frogs


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Background = group_or_band
Origin = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Genre = Alternative rock, lo-fi, folk pop, comedy rock
Years_active = 1980-present
Label = Homestead Records, Matador Records, Scratchie Records, Four Alarm Records
URL = http://www.thefrogsarchive.com
Current_members = Dennis Flemion
Jimmy Flemion
Past_members = Jay Tiller
Brian "Beezer" Hill
Damien Strigens
Kelley Deal
Jim O'Rourke
Eddie "King" Roeser
Scott Shimpff
Josh Silverman
John W. Busher
David Geshke
Ben Lee

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 are 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. [http://citypages.com/databank/22/1077/article9723.asp] 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, and using pyrotechnics. 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 1988, Jay Tiller gave a tape of the Frogs' improvised home recordings to his friend Steve Albini, and the tape eventually made it's way to Gerard Cosloy, then head of Homestead Records. Colsoy approached the band and offered to release an album. The Frogs were hoping that Homestead would re-release their first album, but Cosloy wanted to release an LP of the group's improvised home recordings that dealt with over-the-top homo-eroticism. Since the songs were not intended to be released, the group hedged at first, but eventually they relented, and mixed a 14 track collection of songs that were recorded on 4-track reel-to-reel with two microphones. The result was "It's Only Right and Natural", the group's second LP. Songs like "Been a Month Since I Had a Man" and "Gather 'Round for Savior #2" gave the album (and the band) a unique theme. Homestead announced that The Frogs were leaders in a "new gay supremacy movement", and the media ran with it. 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.Fact|date=April 2008 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."citation |title=Of Flattops, Fake Fags, and Real Benefits |periodical=The Advocate |url=http://www.monkeychicken.com/AdamBlock/1989_6_20phranc.pdf |date=June 20, 1989 |first=Adam |last=Block] "It's Only Right and Natural" was even denounced by Pat Robertson on the 700 Club and a number of conservative religious organizations as proof of Satan's control over the entertainment industry.Fact|date=May 2008

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 are 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.Fact|date=May 2008 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.Fact|date=May 2008 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".Fact|date=May 2008 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 had 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. [http://howwastheshow.blogspot.com/2004/07/mayor-rt-rybak-stage-dives-and-crowd.html] [http://citypages.com/databank/25/1254/article12779.asp]

In late 2005, news came on an unofficial website that two LP's were in the works. [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/news.html] One record being "spiritual" and the other "sad". There has been no update since.

In late 2007, Jimmy Flemion performed with the Smashing Pumpkins in Austin, TX. [http://smashingpumpkins.com/news_2625]

The Frogs are currently on hiatus. [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/news.html]

Discography

tudio albums

* "The Frogs" (1988) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/thefrogs.html Lyrics]
* "It's Only Right and Natural" (1989) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/ioran.html Lyrics]
* "My Daughter the Broad" (1996) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/mdtb.html Lyrics]
* "Bananimals" (1999) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/bananimals.html Lyrics]
* "Racially Yours" (2000) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/ry.html Lyrics]
* "Hopscotch Lollipop Sunday Surprise" (2001) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/hopscotch.html Lyrics]

ingles and EPs

*"Now You Know You're Black" (1994), Matador Records
*"Here Comes Santa's Pussy" (1995), Matador Records
* "Starjob" EP (1997) [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/lyrics/starjob.html Lyrics]

plit EPs

*with Pearl Jam: "Immortality/Rearviewmirror" (1995), Epic Records
*with Wesley Willis Fiasco: "The Frogs do Wesley Willis/Wesley Willis Does the Frogs" (1996), Sympathy for the Record Industry

Compilations

*"Night of the Living Dead" (1993) Massacre at Central Hi Records
*"Bruce Lee, Heroin, and the Punk Scene" (1993) Massacre at Central Hi Records
*"Punk Rock X-Mas" (1995) Rhino Records
*"What's Up Matador?" (1997) Matador Records
*"Too Much Scratchie Makes You Itch" (1997) Scratchie Records
*"Live Music From a Dead Campus" (1998) WFMU
*"Unsealed: A Tribute to The Go Go's" (1999) 4 Alarm Records
*"Better than God: Greatest Hits"

ee also

*Ween, an alternative rock group with similar humor

Notes

*http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dpfwxqqkldke
*http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:76308
*http://www.scaruffi.com/vol5/frogs.html
*http://www.thefuton.com/frogs/discog.txt

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.thefrogs.net/ Official Website] (on Internet Archive)
* [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/ The Frogs Archive]
** [http://www.thefrogsarchive.com/audio.html Audio Downloads]
* [http://www.rustyspell.com/music/frogs.html Frogs Biography] on RLM
* [http://citypages.com/databank/22/1077/article9723.asp Frogs Biography] on City Pages