Black Frog
by Kris Klassen
May 2009
Milwaukee's Black Frog
Guitarist/vocalist Eroc explained to me how they came up with the name BLACK FROG. He had four carnivorous albino aquatic frogs in a fish tank. One day he noticed a frog was missing. The next day another one was gone. Mystified, he put weights on the cover of the tank but he came home and the other two frogs had vanished.
Months passed and the frogs were never found as Eroc concentrated his energies on building a recording studio in his basement and launching a new band. One fateful day, the furnace in the studio needed repair and as the technician opened the furnace, Eroc heard him scream. When Eroc entered the room he found the repairman holding four fist sized frogs as flat as pancakes and blackened from oxidation. They had made their escape through the heating ducts to an entire new floor of the house. In honor of these four brave souls, Eroc decided to name the band BLACK FROG. He still has their corpses today and hopes to shellac them into a guitar.
Hailing from the beer filled swamps of Milwaukee, the best thing about BLACK FROG is the variety of music they play. With rock, country and blues, their live shows consist of half originals and half cover tunes, surfing the spectrum of BLACK SABBATH and RUSH to STEVIE RAY VAUGHN and TIM McGRAW. I don’t know of any other band that can amaze you with a song from JOE SATRIANI then get you to sing along to JIMMY BUFFET. They also include comedy in their act and it’s definitely not g-rated. You can expect a high-energy show every time they step under the lights.
With KK Lee on bass and vocals, Todd Hoffman on drums, and Tommy Greywolf, formerly of BROOKS and DUNN, on electric violin, they form an explosive and dynamic sound in which audiences love to watch time and time again. They have been together for five years and have certainly covered a lot of ground. They annually play the big four bike rallies in the U.S., those being Sturgis, Daytona, Myrtle Beach and Laconia, New Hampshire. One of the hardest working bands, they sweated for 16 shows in 9 days their first year at Sturgis. The music crazy locals loved them in Key West, Florida and upcoming concerts include Country USA in Oshkosh from June 24-27 and the Iowa Romper Run on June 19-20, where JIMMY VAN ZANT will be backing them up.
With over fifty original songs to their credit, the debut disc has been recorded and is currently in the mastering process. If you go to their website [www.blackfrogmusic.com] and watch their videos and listen to their music, you will find it hard to believe that they are not under a major record label yet.
When Greywolf rips out searing licks on his violin that sound like a shredding guitar, Eroc is more than ready to match his energy in what is essentially a duel of trying to out jam each other, and the winner is always the people at the show who get to witness the spectacle. KK Lee brings the thunder on bass and his booming vocals remind you that he used to play with death/metal band DOOMSDAY out of Arizona. When Eroc sings, it could be described as the “great impersonation” because whatever group he is covering he can slip into their vocals and mannerisms with his own special style. With Hoffman and his metronome precision on percussion, the intensity of BLACK FROG should never be underestimated.
A respected Milwaukee musician saw them play for the first time a few months ago and I asked him what he thought of their sound. His response was simply a two word reply; “blown away.” The potential of these four musicians together is unlimited and they have developed a loyal local and national following. They are more than ready to explode on the big stage and yes; the best of BLACK FROG is yet to come.
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