Frogg Café: Belgian Boogie Board full score now available

With huge amounts of thanks and bouquets of Martian Fire Flowers to both Andy Sussman and Frank Camiola, I am pleased to present the full score for 'Belgian Boogie Board,' the instrumental track that closes out Frogg Café's latest album, Bateless Edge.

It will be available for the next 3 weeks at:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C8ON309D

This is fully authorised by the author of the piece; otherwise, you'd never have seen the teaser images I posted, let alone the full thing.

Enjoy! See everyone tomorrow!

CD REVIEW: Frogg Café - The Safenzee Diaries (2007, 10T Records)

(NB: this review was originally web published 3 April 2007.)


Robert Fripp of King Crimson once made a series of analogies comparing the band and its live shows to relationships. If memory serves, King Crimson concerts were “hot dates,” while studio albums were “love letters.”

What then does one make of a live album? Is it a fond remembrance of a hot date?

And what does any of this have to do with Frogg Café?

Read on, and hopefully find enlightenment.

Frogg Café is, much like King Crimson, a band that shines in a live setting. As good as their studio albums are (and their last two releases, Creatures and Fortunate Observer of Time, are as close to “all killer no filler” as one can hope to get), the band really comes alive on stage in front of an audience. Furthermore, Frogg Café is a band that excels at intelligent improvisation; rather than amble mindlessly over a vamp, the musicians in Frogg Café are adept at taking the listener on an enjoyable and unscripted musical adventure, dropping them off pretty damned close to where they were picked up.

The Safenzee Diaries, Frogg Café’s latest release, provides ample evidence of this.

The album is not a traditional live album as such. Interleaved with a wide selection of live tracks are several studio improvisations, skillfully woven into the fabric of the album as to be nearly indistinguishable from the live tracks. From a band history standpoint, the material on The Safenzee Diaries covers nearly two years of concert material, with tracks from a variety of venues and events, including NJ Proghouse shows, NEARfest 2005, and a number of dates in the band’s Long Island back yard. As a further treat for long time Frogg Café listeners (as well as newcomers to the band), an extensive amount of new material not released on album previously is debuted on disc here, making it an essential purchase for any Frogg Café listener.

Newer tracks such as “Leave of Absinthe” and “Small Chuwawa” (which open disc one and disc 2 of this set, respectively) sit comfortably alongside Frogg Café classics like “Abyss of Dissention” and “”You’re Still Sleeping.” Despite the quantity of shows and venues from which this album was drawn, the songs flow smoothly into each other, creating a seamless listening experience that maintains the listener’s attention. The newer tracks seem to lean a little more toward a jazz feel rather than some of the heavier rock influences that drive material such as “Abyss of Dissention,” but jazz has always been a major influence in the band’s sound, and as such is not too surprising.

The band is in fine form on the 14 tracks captured here. Nick Lieto is an impressive lead vocalist, and his keyboard and brass talents are sued to excellent effect throughout. Bill Ayasse’s violin and John Lieto’s trombone help to add jazzy and organic inflections to the band’s sound, while Andy Sussman and James Guarnieri amply hold down the bottom end and rhythm section, able to drive a grove or turn on a dime and change up the beat at a moment’s notice. Steve Uh’s guitar chops add the final ingredient to the mix, easily making older tracks his own while adding his own touch on the band’s more recent material.

There can’t be a lot of complaint over track selection. The band has succeeded at balancing their more song based material with looser and improv based selections to give the new FC listener a representative taste of everything the band has to offer. It is true that I wished for a moment that they had included the emotional “Waterfall Carnival” from their NEARfest 2005 performance, which featured a reunion with former guitarist Frank Camiola, but including it would have perhaps meant one newer track would have been left off. As such, it’s a compromise I can accept.

The Safenzee Diaries is the latest in a series of incredibly strong releases from Long Island based band Frogg Café. It is an indispensable addition to the hardcore FC fan’s collection, while simultaneously being an excellent starting point for neophyte listeners.


Track listing CD 1:
Leave of Absinthe
Space Dust
Gagutz
Candy Korn
Il Gioco
Creatures
You’re Still Sleeping

Track listing CD 2:
Small Chuwawa
Fat Guys in Shirts
Abyss of Dissension
Tagliarini
The Gold Ambler
Asleep on the Rim
Cut and Run

Band Members:
Nick Lieto (lead vocals, keyboards, trumpet, flugelhorn)
Steve Uh (guitars, violin, vocals)
Bill Ayasse (violin, mandolin, vocals, percussion)
Andrew Sussman (bass, cello, vocals)
James Guarnieri (drums and percussion)
John Lieto (trombone)

Frogg Café day continues...Belgian Boogie Board score samples

Yes, the Frogg Café celebration continues!

Andy Sussman was generous enough, as he mentioned in his reply to the CD review below, to send me a copy of the full score to 'Belgian Boogie Board,' Frank Camiola's Zappa-esque instrumental that concludes the Froggie's latest studio album, Bateless Edge.

We're still working on figuring out if there's a way to share the whole thing with you, but in the meantime I will post two sections of the score, watermarked and incomplete, to give you some idea of the complexity of this piece from a compositional standpoint. For the record, each page of the score covers 23 instruments:

• Clarinet in B flat
• Alto sax
• Tenor sax
• Bassoon
• Trumpet in B flat
• Trombone 1
• Trombone 2
• Wood blocks
• Glockenspiel
• Marimba
• Snare drum
• Bass drum
• Drum set
• Banjo
• Guitar
• Bass guitar
• Piano
• Harpsichord
• Organ
• Violin 1
• Violin 2
• Cello
• Bass

If at some point we've got clearance to post the whole thing, I will make an announcement. Until then, enjoy these samples :-)

CD REVIEW: Frogg Café - Bateless Edge (2010, 10T Records)

THE ARGUMENT: In which a gauntlet is thrown down…

I have been planning a review of the new Frogg Café album, Bateless Edge, for a short bit now. It is a new album, Frogg Café is a well-known band on the East Coast live prog circuit, and it’s been 5 years since the band has released a studio album.

Then Andy Sussman tossed down the gauntlet. In a metaphorical sense, I mean…tho I would not put it past him to find a gauntlet to throw down. When I interviewed him as a precursor to this review, he offered up the following morsel:

“I’ll leave it alone with this: I haven’t read a review yet of Bateless Edge, good or bad, that makes me believe the reviewer spent any amount of time with the CD before putting the pen to the page. Have at it.”

To which I say to myself, ‘Self, Mr. Sussman has challenged you, I do believe.’ Thus I sit here, cracking my knuckles, ready to offer you my thoughts on Bateless Edge.

I’ll be doing this review a little differently than most; while it’s not uncommon at all for me to jump from track to track when I am writing up a review (i.e., reviewing non-linearly), this time I’ll be reviewing the album on a songwriter by songwriter basis. While you may think that this infers that the album offers up a lack of consistency dependent on who is writing the song being played, my hope is that instead it offers up evidence of the opposite; that no matter who is the main credited songwriter on the piece, the band’s strengths are always on display.

And so, the review:


PART THE FIRST - ANDY SUSSMAN:

Andy presents 2 tracks on Bateless Edge; the album opener, ‘Terra Sancta,’ and the 20-minute 3-part suite ‘Under Wuhu Son.’ The first part to bring up is regarding the subject matter of the second piece; as explained in the liner notes, Sussman based the song on two related things. The first is the book Wuhu Diary: On Taking My Adopted Daughter Back to her Home Town in China by Emily Prager. Attached to this are Sussman’s own experiences over a four year period trying to adopt a child from China, a situation that comes with its own happy ending, as his adopted daughter has been with them over seven months now.

Knowing this, the album opener ‘Terra Sancta’ takes on a bit more emotional intensity, even though there’s no attachment to Sussman’s other contribution to Bateless Edge. Intended as a dedication to children who lost their parents on 11 September 2001, it opens with quiet, phased sounding guitar or bass before horns, violin and pleasant, almost joyful vocal harmonies intone the opening lines. The marimba and violin synchronised lines are especially sweet, and not at all unexpected from a band that has such a long history of Zappa influence. The addition of some extensive eastern instrumentation (tabla, tambora, Indian slide guitar) give the piece a nice diversity of sound, and occasional use of ambient sounds (rain storms) add tension and early indicators that things aren’t as they seem. I have to say the that the harmonised vocals are actually somewhat odd when one considers some of the lyrics that Sussman’s provided:

‘Now that Terra Sancta’s laid its death wreath at your door…I will show you blood and tears that caused this look upon her face.’

‘Terra Sancta’ is intense without relying on heavy or fast instrumentation to try and create that intensity. Grooves develop slowly, tightly composed sections layer as the song gradually ascends to a final a capella vocal resolution.

‘Under Wuhu Son’ is Frogg Café in long form mode, something we generally don’t see an awful lot of. It may seem strange to say that, considering that all but one song on this album is in excess of 10 minutes (yes, I count ‘Under Wuhu Son’ as a single song despite the three separate track indexes), but for the most part, real long form Frogg Café material seems to come not very often at all. The first movement, ‘In The Bright Light,’ reminds me so much of the Beatles in some of the string arrangements (melodies that recall ‘She’s Leaving Home’ or pizzicato strings reminding of ‘Eleanor Rigby’), while some nice vocal harmonies hearken back to ‘Terra Sancta.’ Camiola lets loose with tasty guitar lines, while the overall band sound is fairly grandiose, playing locked in time with each other in an intense manner.

‘Left For Dead’ is the instrumental ‘middle 8,’ so to speak, and sees the band playing the hell out of a riff that verges on heavy metal. Atop this, the Lietos layer long, sustained horn notes, Ayasse plays some poignant violin, and somewhat jazzy organ battles for audible space. A minute and a half of this leads to a brief Western sounding interlude before we’re tossed back into that meat grinder riff, this time with marimba adding texture. If this is Frogg Café channeling the nuevo metal side of King Crimson circa 2000-2003, all I can say is keep doing it.

‘Under Wuhu Son’ wraps up with ‘Brace Against the Fall,’ a second vocal track with a shuffling, swinging jazz feel, warm trumpet or flugelhorn (I still have problems differentiating them…please don’t think ill of me for that admission). Sussman’s lyrics are again very poetic, and the vocal arrangements (mostly doubled or tripled vocal lines, with harmonies to match) are interesting and ear catching. Nick Lieto really sells the song lyrically, and the band really rises to the challenges of this suite from opening note to closing horn riff.


PART THE SECOND - NICK LIETO:

Nick Lieto (keys, trumpet, vocals) also contributes a pair of tracks to this release. The first of these is ‘Move Over I’m Driving,’ a sweet and jazzy instrumental that allows room for everyone to get an instrumental workout. Guarnieri’s drumming is rock solid, popping and snapping in the back while Sussman lays down some thick bass. One of the things I have always loved about Frogg Café is that they feature both horns and strings. Being that I am a sucker for sax and violins (I couldn’t resist…I’ll try harder in the future), getting both in one band is like going to the ice cream parlour on a hot day to find out that your two favourite flavours of ice cream are being given away free that day. The grooves are super deep here…no risk of things falling apart, and the band plays with enviable tightness. On an album where just about every song is over 10 minutes long, I admit that the 8 minute length of ‘Move Over I’m Driving’ seems like a single edit; I’d happily have taken another 8 minutes of this.

Nick’s second contribution is ‘From The Fence,’ a 12-minute piece of jazzy symphonic rock. Opening with grand towering chords, it moves into a quiet section with almost folky delivered vocals and lush horn charts. As I listen to Nick sing here, I am reminded so much of Chicago and Peter Cetera before he went all soft and power ballad-y mushy. Add in those wonderful horns and I bet there’d be times that you listening at home would think you’re listening to some great lost Chicago song from the second or third album (I am almost convinced that Chicago pre-the death of Terry Kath verged on being a prog band, but that’s perhaps a tale for another time). I can’t speak highly enough about this song; each successive FC album has seen Lieto’s offerings going from strength to strength, and this is possibly the strongest piece he’s ever contributed. When you look at past offerings (‘All This Time,’ ‘Creatures,’ ‘No Regrets,’ ‘You’re Still Sleeping’) that’s saying a hell of a lot.

And it may sound odd, but one of the things I love most about this song is how it almost doesn’t resolve at all. Frank Camiola gets the final say on ‘From the Fence,’ playing a guitar lead to fade, and as the rest of the band dies out in the mix, his instrument is the only one heard. It’s not until almost the last second that he bends that final note to resolve the chord and cadence, and that tension adds a nice bit of edge to the symphonics of the song.


PART THE THIRD - FRANK CAMIOLA:

Frank brings Frogg Café two incredibly dense instrumentals. I wonder if maybe that was part of the reason he came back. Maybe he had compromising pictures of the band as well; I’ll never find out. In any event, the first of these two pieces is the memorably titled ‘Pasta Fazeuhl.’ There’s no hiding who Camiola was thinking of when he conceived of this track, but thankfully his writing skills are great enough that this is the furthest thing from a straight up Magma/Christian Vander pastiche you could get. There are elements of the classic Magma sound, of course, scattered here and there where needed to maintain the theme. When the band locks into one of those tight drum/bass grooves that typify so much of the classic Magma catalogue, they ride it for all its worth. And when things shift away, moving from the more overt Magma elements to bring in bits of the Frogg Café sound, it becomes evident that these guys could do some serious damage to a few Magma tunes if they so chose to. Ayasse gets plenty of opportunities to show off some nice violin chops, and while xylophone and marimba seem more Zappa-esque than shades of Vander, it’s not as if those instrumental tones are totally alien to Zeuhl. The song is described in the liner notes as a tribute ‘not so much in the style of Magma per se, but rather in the spirit and energy that the band exudes,’ and I think that is more than a fair assessment. So many elements are merged together in this track, much like the ingredients of pasta e fagioli, the influence for the title.

Then there’s 'Belgian Boogie Board.'

Oh, how to describe this one?

If ‘From the Fence’ is the lost great Chicago song, then ‘Belgian Boogie Board’ is the Zappa classical piece that never was. Camiloa wrote the song originally for 2 clarinets and 2 bass guitars, and somehow that has transmogrified into this. The piece shifts through more moods than some babies go through diapers in a day. ‘Belgian Boogie Board’ is the kind of song that caused Frank to invent the term ‘statistical density.’ Odd percussive accents, snips of melody, strings flying out of every conceivable corner of the mix…I’ve heard this piece described as avant garde, and maybe there’s some truth to that, but for me I see and hear nothing more than a modern classical composition the likes of which would cause Frank Zappa (were he still alive) to raise one eyebrow and think two things simultaneously:

‘Who the hell are these guys ripping off my stuff?’

‘How the hell did they come up with this?’

I think he’d have loved it. I think he’d have admired the balls of a band willing to present something like this in this day and age. And in the hands of lesser musicians and a lesser band, this would have become a cacophonous mess of sound. I don’t doubt what the liner notes say, when they state that ‘the recording of this piece has given Bill (Ayasse) a headache at least twice…per hour.’ I can’t imagine seeing the score for this thing, even though I’d love to. I couldn’t imagine trying to play this live. It may end up being a studio creation only, but man, what a creation.


THE CONCLUSION, in which statements are made:

Having spent over 2,000 words to this point going over this album, the only things I can do to conclude are these:

1) Buy the damned album already.
2) If you’re not convinced by what I had to say, go listen to it for free at the 10T Records website.
3) Then, go back to number 1.

While it may be too early to make statements about top albums for 2010, right now Bateless Edge is sitting right near the top. We’ll see if anything comes along in the next few months that blows me away as much as this.



Track Listing:
* Terra Sancta (12:10)
~ Move Over I’m Driving (7:59)
^ Pasta Fazeuhl (14:01)
Under Wuhu Son (total time 20:12):
* In The Bright Light (8:22)
* Left for Dead (5:36)
* Brace Against the Fall (6:14)
~ From the Fence (12:03)
^ Belgian Boogie Board (10:31)

* written by Andy Sussman
~ written by Nick Lieto
^ written by Frank Camiola

Musicians:
Bill Ayasse (violin, mandolin, vocals, hand percussion)
James Guarnieri (drums, glockenspiel, orchestral percussion)
Andrew Sussman (bass, cello, acoustic guitar)
Nick Lieto (lead vocals, keyboards, trumpet, flugelhorn)
John Lieto (trombone)
Frank Camiola (guitar, string bass, banjo)

With:
Dennis Lippe (guitar)
Dee Harris (Indian slide guitar, tambora)
Nitim Mohan (tabla)
Vessele Stoyanova (marimba)
Michael Kollmer (marimba, xylophone)
Sharon Ayasse (flute)
Jon Preddice (cello)
Steven Sussman (clarinet, bass clarinet)
Steve Kastikas (keyboards)
Mike Kauffman (alto and tenor saxophones)

10 questions with...Andy Sussman

What can I say about the members of Frogg Café that I might not have said in the past?

That’s a tough one to answer, I think. Other than the fact that I think that both Frank Camiola (whom I interviewed way back in 2008) and Andy Sussman are both borderline certifiable, and also incredibly talented musicians, it’s hard to come up with something new to say. I’ve had countless opportunities to get to know them, and the rest of the band, over the years, and they have always come across to me as genuinely affable, people who have not one shred of ego about what they do or how they do it. Each of their studio albums (Frogg Café, Creatures, Fortunate Observer of Time, and the newest Bateless Edge) have grown in intensity and statistical density, to cop an old Frank Zappa phrase. With three distinct songwriting voices in the group (Sussman, Camiola and Nick Lieto), Café albums are always diverse affairs, requiring an attentive listener to pick up all the nuances hiding in the nooks and crannies.

With the summer release of Bateless Edge, I thought it a good time to revisit the Froggies, and Andy was willing to spend a little time escorting me around the dark corners that are the land of Frogg Café. Toss on a wet suit, because this runs the risk of being a very messy ride :-)



1) Since I am sure there are people not entirely familiar with Frogg Cafe reading this, could you give us a brief history of how the band got together?

AS: Well you see there was this evil ring and we had no choice but to band together in an attempt to destroy it for its powers were eating away at us from within…

The ring I’m talking about was in Mineola, NY (Long Guy-Land) circa 1998 and it consisted of a “grandma” slice of pizza at Mama Teresa’s on Jericho Turnpike, a trip to Starbucks for a cup of leaded beanjuice, then off to “Mr. Cheapo’s” which is a great used CD store that was close by, and then finally to finish our circular journey, back to my apartment to listen to tunes at the beautiful “Rich Lee Gardens” apartment complex. Don’t forget to jiggle the handle after you flush.

Those were the footloose and fancy-free days of Frank Camiola and Andy Sussman before mortgages and wives and children and lawns to mow and long commutes…basically free of hassle. At Mr. Cheapo we picked up a “new” Frank Zappa release called Mystery Disc (which is a lot of earlier FZ) and that was the flavor of the day for us. We were enjoying it even though there were 100 other things we would have preferred the Zappa Family Trust release from the vault, but I digress.

Frank says: “Wouldn’t it be cool to start a Zappa band?”

And I said: “Will I meet any girls doing this? Because just look at us, I’m sitting on a couch with your ugly ass right now.”

Frank: “Probably not but I want to play electric guitar in a band”

Suss: “But you’re an amazing bassist, don’t you want to play your main instrument?”

Frank: “Not really. Besides, what the hell are you going to play if I play bass?”

Suss: “Good point…where are we going to rehearse?”

Frank: “Remember Bill from college?

Suss: “Yes, he’s as big as a giant. I never figured out how he got those sausages up and down the violin neck.”

Frank: “I know, it’s one of the great mysteries of the universe…BUT he has a basement and five bottles of single malt scotch at any given time.”

Suss: “Ok, he’s in.”

Frank: “Someone in the band should probably have some talent.”

Suss: “Nick Lieto is a bad ass monkey on trumpet and can sing his juevos off.”

Frank: “Will he want to do it?”

Suss: “Probably not but what the hell else is he going to do on this godforsaken island?”

Two years as a Zappa Tribute band called “Lumpy Gravy”. Great fun with amazing memories and crazy antics on stage but being a cover band, even if it is of the greatest music of all time, has a shelf life and we started to write. Named the band 'Frogg Café' after renaissance composer John Dowland’s piece called 'The Frogg’s Galliard' which was arranged by Frank (with added renaissance lyrics) for us to play ala ELP style.

It was about halfway through the 7th verse about dragons and a “jolly ol’ pint of ye finest ale, governor” when our drummer wanted off the magical ride called Frogg Café.

DRUMMER AUDITIONS. Lock up your women and the good silverware.

Enter the Dragon: Old Man Marinara aka James Guarnieri to the Frogg Café drum auditions, day 1,013. He shows up on time, he is easy to work with, he is showered and well groomed, he can actually READ MUSIC, and most importantly he can wear jeans without a belt. We were sold. This is not just a drummer…this is a GOD!

Saint Jim Robinson of the NJ Proghouse (and now the NEARfest godfather of prog and overall sexiness) gave us a gig at the now burnt up Metlar Museum and we were now called a…wait for it... a PROG BAND. Over ten years we’ve managed to put out 6 Cds, play more shows then I can remember, tour in Europe and Canada, play several big prog and jam festivals and that has gotten us….basically nowhere…but we love this band and we are close friends who still enjoying making music together.


2) How would you describe Bateless Edge, the band's newest album?

AS: It’s a load of bollocks, don’t bother. No, silly…I kid because I care.

How do you describe this album, he asks. Well, it’s long. 77 minutes and we even cut a track to get it to that. This bitch is a 5 headed monster. We’ve been writing, arranging, recording, mixing, mastering this motha for over 3 years.

It is a musical response to where the live Frogg act had been going for awhile with our previous guitarist Steve Uh. Steve had the 'crazy' idea that maybe more then just 2,000 chubby prog fans (myself a baton twirler in this portly parade) should know who we are and want to see us live and buy our CDs, and generally think we are cute and cuddly, etc. So we expanded our repertoire to some Phish-like, jam band-esque material. We can play that way when we choose to and it can be fun sometimes. But too much vanilla makes a fat guy like me want some pecans, marshmallows, and chocolate chips in my desert. Burp.

So, as uncomfortable as it was, we had to part ways with Steve who is an old and dear friend of ours going back to Music Ed. School in the early 90’s. The band had to go back to the warm bosom, in this case a man bosom, of our prog family. I called Frank, who had retired from FC because he couldn’t do the 35 shows a year we were doing with his tinnitus condition, and asked if he’d be up for a studio CD. And he definitely was because his two tracks on this album plus his angular guitar solos are as anti-jam band as you can get.

This album for us is dark, it’s personal, it’s sometimes avant-garde and at other times it’s gentle and melodic and sometimes we just let loose and jam. Sometimes it will cuddle with you and sometimes it wants you to shut the hell up and make it a sandwich.

You tell me. You can stream the whole sucker here for free you cheap bastards:

http://10trecords.com/artists/genres/progressive-experimental/frogg-cafe/discography/



3) What kind of response has the album gotten thus far?

AS: Well, my mom really likes it. Actually we’ve gotten a lot of good feedback on the CD personally but it was only officially released on 7/2/10 so it hasn’t been heavily reviewed yet. The reviews I’ve seen so far have been good, but at the risk of sounding like a primadonna douche bag, I get really annoyed at how most people write music reviews. And it’s not because they are saying bad things about the CD, now or in the past, it’s just that most of these guys don’t spend the time to really digest the music they are writing about. They probably have 100 other CDs in their queue and it’s not like they get paid to do it so you’re lucky if they give it one complete spin. Most of the time they are writing the review WHILE they are listening to the disc. You can just tell with how they are describing things, like a color commentator for a MLB game.

I’ll leave it alone with this: I haven’t read a review yet of Bateless Edge, good or bad, that makes me believe the reviewer spent any amount of time with the CD before putting the pen to the page. Have at it.


4) How would you say your songwriting style differs from Nick Lieto's or Frank Camiola's?

AS: Nick and Frank really look to me for guidance in almost every measure they write…YEAH RIGHT. These two are compositional monsters coming from completely (and sometimes the same) musical places. Both love and play jazz, both love to listen to Mahler, both love piña coladas and getting lost in the rain.

Nick: Loves Johann Sebastian Bach and Nick’s style of writing use many of JSB’s compositional techniques with his own jazz flare for writing for brass. It’s a great combo that has served him (and us) well and every piece he writes is better then the last. Last year Nick wrote an amazing three movement symphony orchestra piece. Anyone want to record it?

Frank: Immerses himself in 1000’s of different recordings in several styles. Ironically, considering the tinnitus, he has the best ears of all of us. He has a penchant for the bizarre and his ears favor music that stretch the limit of tonality, timbre, and creativity. Listen to his solo CD called Cardboard Amanda and you’ll know what I’m talking about. His Waterfall Carnival days are over. Well not over, just evolved. Robert Fripp says move on.

Me: I cut a lot of my composition classes in college. I used to make mac and cheese for lunch, throw in a can of tuna and a slice of Kraft American cheese. Kind of like eating a cement truck. A damn tasty cement truck. Class was at 1pm but Sussy was sleepy. I’m a classically trained cellist who grew up listening to Van Halen, Rush, Yes, and ELP. And then later Zappa and KC and the rest. So I write what I know. My stuff is more middle of the road for the listener and sometimes more accessible, for better or for worse.


5) Considering the band's affection for Frank Zappa, do you feel humor belongs in music?

AS: It does when you can pull it off. Otherwise just shut up and play your guitar.


6) What would you say was the 'biggest' show you ever played (be it audience size, or the bands you played with, et cetera)?

AS: The festivals we played in Germany had by far the most people in the audience. We actually played right after Caravan at the Burg Herzberg Festival. Cool guys who told us stories of when Genesis used to open for them! The song 'Leave of Absinthe' is about our crazy time there.

But the biggest thrill was playing at NEARfest because those are our people and the vibe is unmatched anywhere.


7) What would you like to achieve musically that you haven't done yet?

AS: I’m trying to figure that out right now in the wake of Bateless. I just listened to Brett Kull’s (of Echolyn) amazing solo CD called The Last of the Curlews and it really inspired me to maybe write my own CD from soup to nuts. There is a real allure to doing something like that where the final product flows from one thought process.

On the Frogg front we’ve been throwing around the idea(s) of an all acoustic album, a children’s concept album, an album based on improvisation, or maybe just another straight up Frogg album of tunes. It will come to us, it always does.


8) When Frogg Cafe appeared at NEARfest 2005, Frank Camiola had a brief live reunion with the group. Parts of that show were released on the NEARfest 2005 DVD. Is there any chance that the band might release the entire performance at some point?

AS: I think that would be a cool thing to do down the road. Maybe as a bonus disc to a remastered Creatures album or something like that.


9) It's fairly well known that Frank had to leave the group due to health issues. Do you think Frogg Cafe will be limited to being a studio project now?

AS: The Frogg live act will ride again, it’s just a matter of how, who, and when. We would love for Frank to play with us obviously, but that might not be a reality for him. We’re working it out now and when we do come back we want it to be bigger and better. Otherwise why bother because it’s a lot of friggin’ work. Rule #1: It can’t suck.


10) Do you have any final words for our readers?

AS: If you’ve actually read this far you are either in the band or related to me. But if you are not in one of those two categories that probably means that you like the music that we have worked so hard to put out over these last ten years. And all joking aside, I can’t tell you how much it means to the band and myself to have that kind of support so THANK YOU!

Discover more at:
http://www.froggcafe.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thefroggcafe

(Photo of Andy Sussman at NEARfest 2005 by Bill Knispel.)

The last NEARfest 2010 post: the haul...

Obligatory swag:
NF t-shirt
NF program
NF pint glass

Not so obligatory swag:
Frogg Cafe t-shirt (came with the CD below)

CDs:
Frogg Cafe - Bateless Edge
The Enid - Journey's End
The Enid - Arise and Shine
King Crimson - Lizard 40th Anniversary Edition
Cabezas De Cera - CDC Live USA CD/DVD
Strawbs - Dancing to the Devil's Beat
Strawbs - The Broken-Hearted Bride
Strawbs - Live at NEARfest 2004
Deluge Grander - The Form of the Good
RPWL: The Gentle Art of Music
Birds and Buildings - Bantam to Behemoth
Renaissance - In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2001
The Tangent - Going off on One 2CD/DVD Limited Edition
IQ: Stage: Dark Matter Live in America and Germany 2005 DVD
The Enid: Something Wicked This Way Comes: Live at Claret Hall Farm and Stonehenge 1984 DVD

10 Questions With...Frank Camiola

One thing I can say about progressive musicians in general is that they tend to be pretty strong characters…and Frank Camiola is no exception. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen him at NEARfest in a rainbow curly haired wig. Saying this makes him seem like a joker…someone who isn’t serious about his music or anything else. I don’t know the man personally, but I think nothing could be further from the truth. His tastes may lean toward the quirky, but musically he is as comfortable with avant-garde and classical music (Camiola is one reason I’ve discovered the American composer Charles Ives) as he is traditional symphonic and progressive rock.

Camiola appears on three Frogg Café albums; the self titled debut (2002), Creatures (2003) and Noodles, a limited edition CD-R of improvisations and instrumentals recorded between the studio efforts. Unfortunately, some health concerns (as seen below) forced Frank from Frogg Café, and he moved on to a new project, Cardboard Amanda, a 22-track opus described as “...the most bizarre and unique CD released this year...” (Peter Pardo, Sea of Tranquility), "...a very intriguing, weird and unusual listen, and if I can say that after all these years, that's saying something!" (Steve Feigenbaum/President, Cuneiform Records/Wayside Music), and "One of the most truly 'progressive' works in decades." (Robert Marone/New Jersey Proghouse). A ‘final’ live performance/reunion with the Froggies at NEARfest 2005, performing the epic “Waterfall Carnival,” added a nice touch, and for some of us, seemed to indicate the final closing of that chapter of Camiola’s musical CV.

Recently fans were overjoyed to discover that Camiola was invited back to Frogg Café for the recording of their next studio album. Work on this release continues apiece, and it’ll be interesting to see what directions the band goes in with Frank back in the saddle, musically speaking.

I'm pleased that Frank agreed to a profile here...he's insightful, incisive, and has a lot to say about the importance of music in today's society, his influences, past and future work, and much more besides.



1) Tell us a little bit about how you got involved in music.

FC: Hmmmm....here goes. Played the violin in 4th grade - wasn't any good - switched to string bass in 6th. Got better. Parents bought me a Peavey electric bass in 8th grade. Played in a rock band as well as the school jazz band. Music overtook my life rather quickly from that point on. Discovered the usual prog suspects (Rush, Yes, Crimson, ELP), that changed my life, went on to music school and received a Bachelor's and Master's in Music. There is probably more, but that is it in a nutshell. It is my life and always will be.


2) Doing a quick Google search finds a band called Euphoria, with songs like "Hey Baby, Touch my Organ!". Was this a group you were involved in?

FC: Yeah. Wow - you found that! That was actually the second band I ever played in (first was Inertia). Euphoria was our high school band. We played 95% Rush covers and then 5% anything else. "Hey Baby" was a joke (obviously) that turned into our greatest original - how sad is that? Great fun though playing in this band and it was basically training for future musical endeavors. That was the first and last piece of music that I have ever sang lead vocals on - and for good reason.


3) How did the Cardboard Amanda project happen?

FC: After I discovered that my tinnitus was severe enough to curb my involvement with Frogg Cafe/live electric music, I had an idea to create an album of predominately acoustic-based textures. My interest in modern classical music and the avant-garde was growing heavy at this time, so that essentially was the impetus of the record. I had contacted my good pal Chris Tunney and another pal Dee Harris, both of whom played on our wacky track called "The Celestial Metal Can" on Creatures. Chris is really a brilliant guy and he is so creative in about a million different ways. And Dee is one of the more accomplished musicians I know as well - he religiously practices about 20 different instruments for hours-on-end. The sales pitch was something like "Are you guys interested in making one of the strangest albums that we've never heard until now?" And they said sure, and we mainly recorded the material at Dee's house and I did some stuff at my old apartment in New Paltz. I wrote a good deal of the music, and Chris wrote some music as well as the entire "libretto", lyrics, and story line. There were a few pieces of collective improvisation as well. All in all, it is an album that we are proud of and it was the most liberating musical experience I've had thus far. It sold some copies, but understandably it is not for everyone. But there were some very positive comments made by some people who I highly respect, so I feel it was a success.


4) Will there be a future release by CA, or has Dr. Amanda Mueller's story been told?

FC: If all goes as planned, my next major musical project will be the second CA album. I have written great deal of material, and Tunney has as well, so it will be just a matter of learning the stuff, finding the time to rehearse and record, and getting it down. I hope to have some more musicians on this one, maybe some special guests, and expand the textures quite a bit.


5) How did you get back together with Frogg Cafe?

FC: Andy Sussman called me last winter and asked if I was interested in recording the next FC album. I was honored to be asked. He basically proposed any "anything goes" approach to the material which sounded enticing (!), so I said yes. I have contributed two pieces for this album, which are probably the most complex pieces of music I've written up until now.


6) How is work proceeding on the new album?

FC: So far, so good. Bill's engineering skills are constantly improving, as is his gear, so sonically this will be the best sounding Frogg Cafe studio work to date. As for the material, I am feeling really good about what is on display. The pieces were written by Nick Lieto, Andy Sussman, and myself. We all seem to have different approaches and musical visions, so I think that one of the strengths of the material lies within it's diversity and eclecticism. Some of the stuff is HARD, so it is not an easy session by any means! Working with these guys is incredible. We have a great chemistry both musically and socially, so the sessions are always a fun endeavor. Sometimes too fun...


7) Will your current work with Frogg Cafe be limited to the studio?

FC: I would say so. The guys understand this, and live electric music is not the best environment for me these days. But that does not mean that you will never see me on stage again - anything is possible.


8) Irreverent question number 1: Charles Ives or Burl Ives, and why?

FC: Haha. As much as I like the old Rudolph Christmas special, I'm gonna go with Charles. With all of this talk on TV recently about "mavericks", well Ives is a TRUE maverick. In a nutshell, Ives wrote music way ahead of his time, and in a most original manner. His music is an incredible conglomeration of looking over his shoulder at the past while searching for the future. He has turned my musical world upside down. Charles Ives is the very definition of progressive music, and a lot of this was accomplished before 1920. He is still very much ignored and misunderstood by many, even amongst the "musically elite", but it is their loss. Some of my favorite music on Earth. I cannot hold any higher regards for his musical accomplishments.


9) Irreverent Question number 2: Complete the following: "What the world needs now..."

FC: In the states - I would start with a new president. I would also say that our culture does not see the arts as a top priority. Think about this - if a school district is fortunate enough to have an instrumental music program - and the budget was cut severely for some reason - guess what program would be the first to go? Music is so important in the development of children, and to ignore it is to ignore a vital aspect of life. When as the last time you turned on the TV on a Sunday afternoon and saw 80,000 people attending a classical music concert at Giants Stadium? See my point? We seem to glorify other activities that I feel are way less substantial in my view, at least here in the states. The most important advice I could give at a taxpayer is to please, please, please support the arts. Once they are gone, you will never get them back.


10) Do you have any final thoughts for us?

FC: Yes - thank you so much Bill for taking the time to "pick" my brain. I really appreciate it and I wish you the best of luck in your musical endeavors.



Links of Interest:
http://www.froggcafe.com/ (under construction at this time)
http://www.10trecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cardboardamanda
http://cdbaby.com/cd/cardboarda

(Photo of Frank Camiola live with Frogg Cafe @ NEARfest 2005 by Bill Knispel)

Frogg Cafe updates - and a note on this blog

I tried posting this yesterday, but Blogger was being difficult.

The original line-up of the band is in the studio right now recording our 4th studio album. Last month we laid down the foundation tracks for tunes called Terra Sancta (Sussman), From the Fence (Lieto), and Move Over I'm Driving (Lieto) and in mid-May we are going to attempt to lay down guitarist's Frank Camiola's latest epic called Belgian Boogie Board. You won't be spinning "Boogie Board" at your grandmother's 90th birthday party unless you tragically want it to end early. Hold onto your Charles Ives knickers for this one.

This is the longest break we've ever taken from playing live shows and we definitely miss it. But it has given us the freedom to concentrate on this CD which we are having a blast creating for you. I'm sure that once this CD is done we'll be able to play some shows as long as we get some prog fans who don't mind changing a diaper or two for us in the parking lot. And NO, it's not for our drummer. How dare you. He may be old, but he is spry.

See you soon.

Best,
Frogg Cafe
http://www.froggcafe.com

~~~~~~~~~~

Now:

I'll keep this simple and to the point. When I started this blog, I opened up anonymous replies to allow people who were reading an opportunity to comment on posts and allow their viewpoints and opinions to be heard as well. I will not support or allow discourse that is less than civil on this blog. I trust that is something that is easy enough to achieve.

I do NOT want to remove or delete comments. But should there be further replies similar in tone to the one received this morning I will re-evaluate the anonymous poster policy.