Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.46 10/03)
excerpts from an interview with Frank Camiola (Guitars, Banjo, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion)
Well, I guess we try to play an original mix of some of our favorite musical styles - mainly symphonic prog, Zappa, jazz, improv, and even some classical music elements thrown in there. I would say that our music is equal parts written music with a lot of room for improvisation.
Before Frogg Café, you've played in a Frank Zappa cover band called "Lumpy Gravy". Can you tell a little bit more about them, e.g. why did you decide to play Zappa's music and from which musical era did you choose the songs?
Haha. Zappa was and probably still is our number one hero and influence. His own music contains all of the elements that we like to convey in our own music. Andy - our bass player - and I had the brilliant(!) idea one day to start a Mothers of Invention cover band, because we thought playing that particular period of Zappa's music would be a little easier than the later stuff. Boy, were we wrong! It's all hard! But it was really good training for the type of music that we like to compose and perform today in Frogg Café.
Is there a story behind the name "Frogg Café"? How did you come up with this name?
I happen to be a huge John Dowland fan, who was an English renaissance composer. His lute works are incredible, and one of the them entitiled "The Frogg Galliard" was particularly enticing to me. So, after many choices, Frogg Café was the one that we chose. Some people must think that we are a French prog band!
In which way do "unusual" rock instruments like violin and trumpet or including different guest musicians influence your songwriting?
Bill and Nick are violin and trumpet players respectively by trade, so that instrumentation gives you a more unique sound right from the start. We happen to be friends with a many musicians from Long Island - where we live -, so it was pretty easy to get different instruments on our new album. We really didn't plan on having a flute, clarinet, and sarod on our new album "Creatures", it just sort of happened that way after the fact.
Where do you see the differences between your debut and the new album "Creatures"?
I see a major difference in composing and performance on the new album. We are much more comfortable playing as an ensemble now than we were on our first album, so the playing is much stronger on the new one. The first album "Frogg Café" was a very nice debut, and had some pretty cool songs on it, but overall, the new one has better production, songs, and playing in my opinion.
Can give a short overview about the songs, one by one, on "Creatures"?
Sure, I'll try! "All This Time" is a prog-metal tune that is probably a bit harder in style than anything we have played before. It is pretty straightforward, and has some cool mellotron sounds in it. "Creatures" is a laid-back, Zappa/Keneally influenced tune that has some really very nice vocals by Nick along with a fairly complex scored middle section. The ending is pretty ethereal, which leads directly into the next track. "The Celestial Metal Can" is tune that Bill and I put together in the spirit of Charles Ives, who is an amazing American composer from the first half of the 20th century. He tends to mix many styles and melodies and textures sometimes all simultaneously, so you get the basic idea here. It is more of an experimental compostion than a group effort, and I think it gives the album a nice flow with good variation. Our good friends Sharon Ayasse, Chris Tunney, and Dee Harris play some different instruments on it so it also has a different sound than we are used to. "Gagutz" reminds me of a Canterbury style tune which is equal parts jazz, funk, and fusion. It contains some nice counterpoint and contains solos from Bill on violin, myself on guitar, and Nick on trumpet. The last track called "Waterfall Carnival" is the big prog epic in the style of Genesis, Yes, maybe some Flower Kings, and a little Tull. It has many sections and many diffrerent melodies and textures which hopefully make it interesting. We did not attempt anything like it on our first album, so I think it's a bit different and unique to the Frogg sound. So there you have it.
When playing live do you recreate the songs like they were recorded or is there also space for jamming and improvisation?
We definitely try to add many elements of jamming and improvisation in our live shows. I would have to say that out two studio albums have not given a decent representation of the collective improvisation that we are capable of, and we may try to incorporate more of that on our third album. One of our dreams is to do a complete album of just total improv which would be fun to make and hopefully listen to!
At the beginning of July you've played together with The Flower Kings at their "Fanfest Jam" at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC. How did this gig went and how did you get in contact with The Flower Kings?
The contact with the Flower Kings came about with me meeting people on the Flower Kings internet mailing list. Through that list I met a good friend named Tim Roache, who turned out to be a pretty big Frogg fan. He had an idea to put together a cool show in NYC featuring the Flower Kings and was kind enough to ask us if we wanted to open for them. It turned out to be a great show, as we played well in my view and the two bands gave the entire concert a nice blend of different styles. I have always been a pretty big fan of the Flower Kings, so this show was like a dream come true for me. Tim is just an all around great guy and huge prog fan, who is doing his part to help keeping this music alive and thriving.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2003