Fraser Reviews JJF

Recently I was at a show at the Precinct in Somerville, Massachussets. ELF and I were there to see the Froggy and the Friendship, formerly known as just the Frog. It’s nice to see the backing band has a name for itself now. Their set was great, as I knew it would be. It was off the wall, silly, and it rocked. No surprise to me there, really. The real surprise was the following act, JJF.

JJF is friends with Froggy and the Friendship, having been featured in a song on the album, T3RD. I knew of them through that, but not for their own music. What I heard was good alternative rock, and watching the three piece band play, I could easily tell they were enjoying themselves and not being too serious. Good on you, JJF, good on you. Before I had left I mentioned to Froggy that I wanted to review the band on the blog. It was a few weeks later that I received a copy of JJF’s album. After having listened to it a few times, here’s what I have to say;

The Jimmy Johnson Files, otherwise known as JJF, comprise of Dan Goldberg on drums, Scooba Dooba on bass/vocals, and Dv L Baronson on guitar/vocals. Normally a three piece alternative rock band sounds very rough live. Think about all the “grunge” bands you may have heard in years past, even their studio stuff was rough, and that was the style. Nothing but raw rock. Live, JJF was no different. Raw music, and a lot of fun.

Listening to the studio recording still had a bit of a raw feel, but what a difference from them live. Maybe it was the acoustics in the club, or something else I cannot pin down, but in the studio there is a lot more polish, and it absolutely 100% works. Give credit to Sean Cahalin for mixing it down, and Nick Dragoni to the mastering. I heard so much more in the guitar work than when live, and that was a pleasant surprise.

JJF is definitely not a band that takes lyrics too seriously. They do what works, and what is fun for them. It fits in great to what they do musically, and is so much more different than a lot of bands that come to mind. Fun is fun, and the energy it creates live is even better. The track “Beer & Cigarettes” mentions that ‘yogurt is nutritious’ and makes it work wonderfully. I actually laughed the first time I heard the line, and immediately thought of songs like “Chic n Stu” by System of a Down, and the old Roger Miller (points for you if you know who he is) song that mentions ‘maple syrple’ (rhymes with purple). I laughed the first time I heard Sirge sing about ‘pizza pizza pie’, too. Anyone that can do that is awesome in my book, and I don’t care if its country music, either.

Tracks like “FuckShit” and “Two Chords” poke fun in their own way. They are also a tribute to what can be done with so little in terms of music and lyrics. It’s the fun behind it that drives these tracks, as it seems to do on several others. Look at their NWO style shirts. How can you take a bunch of guys who love wrestling that much so seriously? I get the feeling that any day with JJF is a good time. Who can’t love that?

So what do you get when you take solid alternative rock, fun lyrics, and a good time? Three letters, J – J – F. Go see them live and get their album. Even if their genre isn’t tops on your list of favorites to listen to, they are too much fun to miss live, and it spills over into their album, too. Their picture is on this page above the Frog's, so click it to find their Facebook page. Also visit www.youtube.com/yakbardar for JJF video clips. It's got some other good stuff on there too. Listening to JJF is like drinking a bottle of good. Pop the top and chug it.

R. M.

Fraser Reviews The Frog?

Hello again everyone! This blog may be a bit earlier than I expected, but it's just gonna have to do. Why am I reviewing the Frog? Well, because he asked me to. That, and the fact that as most of us CODAs will readily admit our extreme love for music. If I'm mistaken in this, all of you CODAs can tell me. I'm a big boy. I can take it, just please, please, put those floggers down. Here's the review;

I am very excited to give my review of the Frog's third album, entitled "T3RD". The Frog himself asked me if I would review the album for him, and I figured, 'why not?' So, after listening to it, I then listened to the Frog's two previous albums, Transformation Complete and Motivation to Procrastinate. Little does he know, until reading this, that is, that I am so enamored with the albums, I am going to review all three! How does that old Folger's ad go? "We secretly replaced the review of T3RD with a review of all three of the Frog's albums. Will he notice the difference? Let's find out…  

The Frog puts his music in the genre of alternative folk/indie. I'm not so well-versed in musical genres specifically, but it seems like this should fit - sometimes. The truth is, the Frog's music is all over the place, which is what makes it so fun and unique. Some songs are existential, some seem to have deep meaning, and most just feel overall silly, yet, no matter how you define the lyrics, they are all superimposed onto a musical backdrop that is catchy and fun. Sometimes I just don't know if the music is more aloof than the lyrics, and that just adds to its character. Throw in that all songs are created from the Frog and his cigar-box ukulele, which are heard in every track if I am not mistaken, and maybe you can begin to see the picture. If not, just give it a listen. Even if it's not your style of music, there's something to be deeply appreciated in it. For now, I think I may need to go through these albums in order.

The first album, Transformation Complete, consists of eight stripped down tracks - just the Frog and his ukulele, with accompanying tambourine on the tracks Vote For Me and Where Would I Be?, and a bass drum in Tie Me Tight. It's as basic as you can get, and in my opinion, the best. I'm a sucker for the raw energy in it, but that's just me. What I really hear in this album is someone with all the talent and creativity that any great musician has. Yea, ok, so what? A lot of musicians have that, right? Of course. But do they put it all out there and go for it? Here's that raw energy I was speaking of. The lyrics are brutally honest, and the Frog shows his bravery, putting all his issues and feelings out there, regardless of repercussions or skewed perceptions. The music is in its most basic form, and the vocals are as unpolished as an old set of silver from your grandmother's china cabinet. You know, the ones that look perfect in its surroundings despite its tarnish? Never mind that the rest of the songs just have that knack of getting in your head all day, and you still love it. If you don't believe me, listen to Little Rich LaFave. Yea, that is Transformation Complete.

Motivation to Procrastinate is the second installment of the Frog. The music is a bit more polished, adding in more instruments (we'll call them the unknown band for now), but the energy and silliness are the same (listen to Veggies and Moustache Baby to see what I mean). The addition of the horn section takes it to another level musically, beyond that of the unknown band itself. Lyrically, it's still all out there for everyone to witness, and still gives it a hint of that "raw" feeling. Something else is happening here too though. "I'm gonna kill zombies, zombies"? "I saw a ghost in my apartment once, it was so scary, so scary"? Could this turn into a theme? On to the third album for confirmation.

The third album, T3RD, is the evolution of what the Frog has become. Super powers of hypnotization, tornado attacks, freeze breath, fireball power, x-ray vision, super speed, invincibility, invisibility, and it all boils down to this. The zombies and anyone else who get in his way are pretty well screwed. Kermit was never badass like this. The unknown band got a bit more involved in T3RD, and it all rounds out now. The Frog gets a little more experimental with different styles of music in the tracks Tornado Guy (crazy hyper rock), Hop (club?) and Change the World (a little Froggified rap, featuring JJF). The glue to this album is definitely the musical variety, the ridiculousness, and the Frog's ability to put everything out there in his lyrics.

There you are, Mr. Froggy Dillinger. All three albums reviewed. All I have left to say concerns all three albums, and that is this - when you listen to all the albums, you will identify the spark of insanity that the Frog embraces and runs with, leaving all issues and truths out there for everyone to criticize, or relate to.  It's the serious in the not-so-serious, the fun in the hysteria, and the truth in the madness. So give the Frog a listen and see if you can find it yourself.

P.S. There is a picture at the bottom of this page that will link you to the Frog's website, where you can listen to all the albums and tracks. The picture is T3RD's album cover art. Macho Man likes it, too.

R. M.