savantsounds: The Frogs

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, catchy pop improvised home recordings which are delivered in a comedic style, and often tackle controversial issues such as race, religion, and sexuality (notably 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.^[1] In 1983, bassist Jay Tiller 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 its 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.^{[citation needed]} 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."^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 was 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 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 Smashing PumpkinsVieuphoria 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, Eddie Vedder Joined The Frogs on Stage at the Chicago Stadium wearing a long golden robe only to be boo'd off stage by fans not knowing it was him.

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.^{[citation needed]} 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".^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed]}.

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.^[3]^[4]

In late 2005, news came on an unofficial website that two LP's were in the works.^[5] 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.^[6] The Frogs also opened for the Pumpkins on December 7, 2008, in Chicago.