Tour Wrap Up

Leaving Chicago was a blur, Double A slept through the night while the band socialized as to beat the monster morning commute Chicagoans endure every day and by the time we woke up, the RV was back in the middle of nowhere (as much of our country is, filled with nothing but field or forest). Understand, this is a groggy wake up. A party in urban Chicago Wrigleyville, after a Cubs game no less, is a far cry from scrubbing the sleepies out of your eye in an Iowa truck stop bathroom. We had an expresso and chatted with Aaron (Double A the road manager) for hours before passing out again in the RV at sunset somewhere in the middle of Nebraska. We woke again at 3:30, 15 hours after leaving Chicago, as we pulled into Denver. Trevor grabbed another four hours of shut-eye before waking, zombie-like, at 8am to drive to play a benefit for the environment at noon in Vail, a two hour haul away. One thing that must be clarified, is that Double A, our all encompassing friend, driver, chef, mechanic, roadie, photographer and life-coach is there every step of the way and our only regret is that we can't clone him (YET!, muahaha...)

But during our early morning discussion in Iowa, we mulled and slightly lamented the fact that most people have a routine that doesn't allow for the observable cross-section of American culture to make itself visible, as our lifestyle accommodates. We meet all types of people from all classes, backgrounds and politics, and it makes us better and more tolerant to absorb their viewpoints. We see truckers, cashiers, police officers, bar owners, the guy sweeping the bar floor and we talk to all of them. Most readily observable are those at the bar, inebriated beyond belligerence at 2am. It's not what they tell you, but what they show you about the way America, politicians and citizens and neighbors alike, treat those who need help the most. We'd selfishly like to think we help them with music. But observing this cross section is funny and sad and hard and easy and even fun, but it gives perspective. And it's never, ever stagnant.

Take Stillwater, OK, for example. People don't have amazing things to say about Oklahoma. We even received messages on our way there from friends who had grown up in the region, now living in Colorado, calling it "mediocore". For our mental sanity, we try and keep our expectations neutral before a gig, but then Stillwater happened. You get a vibe pretty much right when you walk into the bar or drive into a given town. You never want to pass judgement solely on a first impression, but you become reasonably good at guessing what an audience might be like that night. Stillwater had positive vibes, even on a gloomy day when OSU was out of session. The clouds cleared after a fierce rainstorm and the large, appreciative audience danced in the mud all night, bought CD's and asked for autographs outside the RV. Stillwater showed us a great time and we'll be back for sure.

Next were St. Louis and Chicago, both big, sometimes friendly Midwestern cities. The nice thing about both St. Louie and Chi-Town were the number of repeat fans we had attend after they hadn't seen a Frog's show for a year or in some cases, any of us since elementary school. Peering out into a dark club and seeing friends from childhood at your show, smiling at their friend's success, is a great feeling. In St. Louis we had three people drive into the city, just to see Frogs, after not seeing a show for over a year. Three might not sound like a lot, but that far from home, even a little bit of Frog Family around is nice and certainly pumps energy into the show.

Tour was great this time around. Grassroots publicity is all about making fans, one-by-one which is a blast, but a persistent effort, no doubt. Check out our summer Denver dates and a link to vote for us for Westword's Best Jamband in Denver Award. See you out there!

Settling In - New Orleans

One genius piece of planning we've managed to plant in every year's tour is to spend not one or two days, but weeks, in New Orleans. This allows us to absorb the culture, so different from the suburban Denver and High Rockies environments we are used to. New Orleans is in some ways more reflective of the "real" world or the "rest of" the world, not only for it's proximity to the Caribbean (and by extension Latin America and Africa), but for the living conditions here themselves. It's hot, unstructured, slow and developing. Perfect for the dirty, percolating swamp music.

We have a theory, that because the air itself is thick here, certain sound frequencies can resonate more fully in a given room. True or not, the funk permeates. And "funk" is more than musical syncopation. Excuse the cliche, but funk is a lifestyle. To be funky is to express oneself, move smoothly but in-time, and to never, ever let others get you down. This is the true spirit of New Orleans.

The heat is a reminder that being funky takes hard work, sweat, without the presence of which no task would be worth undertaking. And so, for our first couple days in New Orleans, we had obstacles to overcome. Logistics are complicated in a city shaped like a crescent, sporting drive-thru daiquiri shops on each end of town.

Finding a place to rehearse was crucial. Our new drummer, Dax, has barely heard, much less played, much of our material which is both wide and deep in content. We have songs with bluegrass, reggae, rock, psychedelic and a number of other "feels" and drums are so kinetic, muscle memory is key. But in an act of synchronous artist altruism, our friend and amazing painter Frenchy let us use his studio for two days in a row for rehearsal. Beautiful.

Several gigs were booked before we arrived here in town, but more are always necessary. We've managed to pick-up a few, one a benefit for the Wetlands (a restoration project we care deeply about). Cash flow that  determines how many stops we can make on the way home for shows is largely dependent on how hard we can get out there and hustle, convince clubs in a city that very much work on word-of-mouth that we are worth listening to, even booking on such short a notice. It's worked a couple times and it would appear Frogs will make it back to  Denver, possibly with a little cash in hand.

Our host on Sauvage St., the oft bare-chested Steve-O, has a house located two blocks from the fairgrounds and as it turns out we can wake up and play our annual post-fest concert each night, right on Steve-O's driveway. Our trailer is tucked behind the stage, the mojitos will be mixed soon for sale next to the music, and we can hear the massive sound systems inside the fairgrounds being checked out now, hours before the fest is supposed to start. The electricity is tangible, neighbors were out all day yesterday, some working but most chatting and socializing like 3rd graders before a field trip.

We cleaned up the driveway and backstage (backyard), bought bottles, chalked some promo signage into the street in front of our guerilla venue and in a few hours, it'll be time to sound check our own PA in front of 1617 Sauvage St.

New Orleans is one place Frogs thrive. We do business online in the morning, practice during the day, and play shows or network at night. Things are centralized, it's a community. People remember us and our names and nicknames, even if we only come here once or twice a year. Good music endures, it's not about fads.

This morning a toothless neighbor named Ted walked up and introduced himself to one of us. We began to tell him our band name and he cut us off, reminding that he was cuttin' a rug at last year's guerilla concert. We can't wait to watch him do the same tonight.

Hittin' the Road in 2011

You hear a lot about culture shock, but the band adjusted quickly as most of us woke up due to the heat in Memphis. Our RV Bertha has a climate of extremes. Heat rises up and into the loft and in the south, a nap in our transport is quite toasty. We parked next to the fragrant smokers owned by the local BBQ and walked into a store that let us know with decor and demeanor that we are in fact, no longer in Kansas, or Missouri or Illinois, for that matter.

Last night's gig, the first of tour, was near the modern looking campus of Southern Illinois University, but waking up just a few hours south in Memphis for BBQ was like stepping into a different world with richer food and way more sugar in the iced tea. Frogs thrive in the south, have a history in Tennessee and generally can't wait to marinate for two weeks in New Orleans for Jazzfest this year. More on New Orleans in a second. First, let's take a peek inside Bertha and at how, and who with, we will roll down the highways of this great country.

Bertha is a 1987 Mallard (Ford) Sprinter RV. She has lots of character, but unlike lots of big ladies her age, she runs strong at 60 mph down any reasonably paved interstate. Parking her is a bitch. The trailer doesn't help and behind the girth of the RV, looks like a flapping flag at the beach on a windy day while cruising down the highway. Inside, Bertha has a decidedly retro-vintage feel, with none of the vintage smell. She is well endowed with windows, two on the top and at least ten on the sides. Amenities aren't lacking either. Bertha has a gas-stove, furnace for central heat, a sleeping loft, a kitchen table that turns into a bed, a futon, a microwave, refrigerator, freezer, sink, toilet and shower. Most of our college dorm rooms weren't this nice.

The personnel inside are top notch, too. We have two new faces since last tour, Dax the Drummer and Double A the Driver. I know that's a lot of D to take in, but we'll include some pictures and links so we can get to know these two. Dax has been doing a great job learning dozens of Frogs Gone Fishin' originals, not to mention fifty covers or so, only one or two of which we'll play at a given show. He's a general rock star, with style to go with the chops. Double A is currently in the driver's seat, ballin' it down the highway for the next gig.

As a group we anticipate our arrival in New Orleans the whole time we are routing ourselves there with other gigs. We enjoy each stop and make sure every fan has a great time, but New Orleans is inevitably the main event for us. Dax and Double A have never been. We aren't sure our stage tech  will absorb much more than Abita beer as pertaining to his job, but Dax will benefit greatly from his first time in the most richly rhythmic city in America. New Orlean's connection to the primal roots of music on Earth is a direct one. But this connection isn't without celebrity. The HBO hit-series Treme has brought to light the amazing musicians, many of them our friends, that dwell in literal and figurative darkness during their normal gigging lives.

While in NOLA (New Orleans LouisiAna), Frogs will play gigs at the Balcony Music Club and Banks Street Bar, in addition to a number of house parties. We'll post-up outside the JazzFest fairgrounds at a house where they sell the most delicious mojitos for five bucks. We play for the masses who are still energized from the music festival they are walking out of, ready to dance, quite literally, in the streets. You can find a video of last year's house party here.

New Orleans makes us better as musicians and we'll update you on how with pictures and videos, right here on the the blog. A large part of being a musician in New Orleans is being there in person, petitioning gigs and promoting on the street. Until then, please vote for us in a competition we are honored to be nominated for, Best Jam/Improv Band in Denver by Westword Magazine. 

We've worked hard over the last year and it's great to be recognized by one of Denver's seminal publications.

Party hardy and look out for pics and vids from New Orleans in coming days! Happy Spring!



http://www.frogsgonefishin.com