Frog Holler

Frog Holler is a wonderful band. While this is slightly out of the purview of my little Lehigh Valley blog, it still speaks to a special fidelity to a region of Pennsylvania--one that's not so far away. And it is about great music. Frog Holler are a collection of ex-bluegrass musicians organized around the songs and voice of Darren Schlappich. They are definitely a part of that loose conglomeration of bands labeled alt-country (and, I admit, I first heard of them in the pages of No Depression), so that tells you that they're a guitar band with fun extra stuff like banjos and mandolins and lap-steel guitars. But they're from PA, so the twangy shit isn't as prevalent. They've described themselves as a "song band," "Pennsylvania Dutch rock-n-roll," "indie/alt-country," and probably some others. What strikes you as you listen to their records is how life in this particular part of the country has been captured and reflected back out in a totally relatable way. Granted, I'm a 30-something Pennsylvania Dutch dude from working-class, rural southeastern PA, so it is pretty easy for me to relate to Schlappich's songs, but Frog Holler's growing popularity--especially with the ladies out in force last night (more about this in a bit)--seems to indicate that the songs are speaking to a range of people. And they have their share of fun bar songs about shooting the shit and gettin' out of town and crazy hicks and just being proud of where you're at, which also carries along a record and a show. What you notice after spending some time with the music is that the simple nature of the melodies and the singing and the musicianship belies some real thought and creativity and tenderness that is unique to really great bands and writers. As they say at the end of the liner notes for the second record after thanking the people that helped them, "Alright then, the song is King." On Saturday, Frog Holler played a CD release party/show at the Silo in Reading. I've always wanted to see them play a home game, so this was my chance, and I was fortunate in that Colleen (also acting as a much-appreciated designated driver) and Eileen Crack were willing to come along. The new record, Haywire, is another little step forward in the band's progression from bluegrassy bar band to varied and interesting Americana rock band. At first, I was a little resistent to its charms, but the songs have really grown on me, and the musicianship--subtle as ever--only reveals its nature to me over time (which is probably my own fault for being an impatient listener). It is a characteristic of their music that I notice its attributes in stages, which isn't that common for me. I like to think this points to Frog Holler's depth and quality, but I could just be slow. You can decide for yourself. The Silo is a large club, with one of those official five-foot-high stages built into the wall with amp stacks on each side and a fenced-off pit in front for standing/staring/dancing/moshing/??. Actually, in keeping with the Berks County country nature of things, the fence around the pit was a very nice wooden banister. If the rest of the club was as nice as the stage area, the Silo would be fancy-schmancy, but it ain't. Which is fine--this is rock-n-roll, after all. The audience was surprisingly female, especially for the alt-country universe. As they are described in the Wilco bio by Greg Kott, these kinds of shows are usually populated by sullen, well-read guys in baseball caps, so the large number of obviously enthusiastic women points to either the growing popularity of alt-country, or the wider-ranging appeal of Frog Holler specifically. The band was in excellent form, which may be a bit surprising since this was their first show in several months. They played most of the new record, naturally, and many of their most recent songs (they played for around two-and-one-half hours), but several of their old favorites were skipped over, such as all songs from Adams Hotel Road, and "Pennsylvania" and "Choose a Path" from Idiots. This is not a complaint, though I was disappointed in that my companions didn't get to sing along to "Pennsylvania" as I had promised. The sound was generally great, though the lead guitar was lost in the mix too often, which is a shame since John Kilgore's work comes in surprisingly intense bursts in a handful of songs, and those moments are often quite effective and exciting. The new material blended seamlessly with the old, which is interesting considering one generally feels a change of tone from record to record. Hearing the new songs live had a lot to do with my coming to happy terms with new CD, I have to admit. If you have a chance to see Frog Holler live, do it. They put on a good, laid-back, musically interesting show. And the lyrics are worth the trouble of listening, too. [Though skimpy in the actual reviewing section of this review, I'll post it as is, since it is so late and I'm going to see the band again this weekend. Dont want to get the two shows confused in my wee mind.]