ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 14, 1997 TAG: 9702140021
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Off the Clock
SOURCE: CHRIS HENSON
"Any wacky elements of this letter should be blamed on the cold medicine I have had to slug for the last two days."
So ends a recent letter sent to us by Morgan Huff, drummer of Richmond's wacky band Frog Legs. It's just a note he printed out on some lime-green paper to say 'hey' and let us know a little bit about his popular group. They'll be playing Saturday night at the Ghost of Hollywood.
"From Manhattan to Birmingham," he continues, "the band has turned dark, beer-swollen outposts into theaters of surreal rock 'n' roll."
He says the band never plays the same show twice. "Given to spontaneity, the band thinks of itself as a soundtrack to a movie for the blind."
Huff has an English degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Duh.
Originally from Blacksburg, Huff cites a Roanoke KISS concert in 1978 as the turning point for him, the armor-clad finger that pointed him toward music. He was 7 years old.
Now just another unemployable college graduate, Huff and his bandmates flirt daily with the music biz, and have even given birth to a smart-sounding CD, "Allnight Radio."
"The CD is deep into a second pressing, and college radio stations in over 30 states are floating it through the airwaves," points out the band's recent newsletter. "Over 100 stations in all responded to our musky, Viking scent." Yeesh!
The CD is as much about filtering old funk-rock sounds as it is about finding the new ones. And that's the fun part. The music has grooves as familiar as your heartbeat (you can't miss the P-Funk influence), only more urgent. You sort of fall into it, spin around and wake up 11 songs later.
Plus, the Frog Legs' sound is kind of interactive. Huff's clock-solid drumming and bassist Turtle's percussive bottom end spell doom for the idle listener. Meanwhile, guitarist Tom Illmensee creates a funky fabric with his fuzz tones and chunky chords. Singer Wrenn Mangum's voice is as schizophrenic as it is hypnotic, providing the band with a sort of lyrical anarchy. You feel the need to get involved somehow.
Their live shows are the same way. Maybe even more. It's like a circus where all the acts come out at same time. And there are more clowns than usual. Before you know it, you're a part of the bedlam.
That kind of energy draws attention. In the last two years, Frog Legs has shared the stage with the Dave Matthews Band, WAR, GWAR, Everything and Gibb Droll. Not bad company at all.
Joining Frog Legs on Saturday are Mr. Pink, named after Steve Busciemi's character in "Reservoir Dogs," and the autobiographical Bad Tequila Experience, a band all about rock 'n' roll's absurd excesses of alcohol and boredom. These are two bands that know how to get the lead out. Think of them as the sound of a hostile takeover.
And what did we do to deserve Frog Legs, Mr. Pink and Bad Tequila Experience all in one night? I'm not sure, but it must have been something. Still, it's a show that promises all the pomp and pageantry of a monster truck rally ... only louder and more festive. Maybe a little less muddy.
Meanwhile, even in his cold medicine stupor, Morgan Huff has his priorities. "Every time the band comes to Roanoke," he writes, "a mandatory pit-stop homage is made to Miniature Graceland. No lie ..."
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB