Biography
Although Frog Holler has often been labeled a Philadelphia country band, the description proves inaccurate because the ensemble actually hails from Berks County, Pennsylvania, situated two counties removed from Philadelphia County in the southeastern part of the state. Despite lying only a few hours from Center City, the bustling downtown core of Philadelphia, Berks County occupies an unmistakably Middle American landscape that resembles countless communities stretching between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. That rural setting has profoundly influenced Frog Holler’s contributions to alternative country-rock, No Depression music, and Americana throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Whereas many artists in those genres have focused on life in the Deep South, Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, the band proudly celebrates its Pennsylvania roots and paints vivid pictures of the small towns and countryside within the state. Lead singer Darren Schlappich, who authors most of the material, draws on his own encounters in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, conjuring an atmosphere far removed from the metropolitan environments of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The contrast is comparable to the difference between Bakersfield, California, and Los Angeles or San Francisco, yet Frog Holler’s recordings demonstrate that this rural Pennsylvania milieu can sound every bit as country as any region below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Schlappich established the group in 1996 in Shoemakersville, one of Berks County’s modest communities, where it began as an acoustic bluegrass trio. Once the ensemble expanded into a sextet and adopted electric instruments, its direction turned toward alternative country-rock, No Depression, and Americana, absorbing a broad spectrum of direct and indirect influences. Those roots encompass not only Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Buck Owens, and Bakersfield honky tonk but also the Band, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, John Cougar Mellencamp, and the Allman Brothers. Schlappich composes with equal regard for country, bluegrass, rock & roll, and folk traditions.
The Pennsylvanians issued their first album, Couldn't Get Along, on the ZoBird label in 1998. The next year they signed with Record Cellar, an independent imprint located in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd, and cut their sophomore release, Adams Hotel Road. Record Cellar subsequently issued Idiots in 2001 and Railings, the band’s fourth album, in 2003. Since becoming a six-piece, Frog Holler has undergone occasional personnel shifts; its 2003 configuration featured Schlappich on lead vocals and acoustic guitar alongside John Kilgore (electric and acoustic guitar, organ), Daniel Bower (drums, percussion), Mike Lavdanski (banjo, steel guitar, accordion, background vocals), Josh Sceurman (electric bass), and Todd Bartolo (steel guitar, electric guitar).
Schlappich established the group in 1996 in Shoemakersville, one of Berks County’s modest communities, where it began as an acoustic bluegrass trio. Once the ensemble expanded into a sextet and adopted electric instruments, its direction turned toward alternative country-rock, No Depression, and Americana, absorbing a broad spectrum of direct and indirect influences. Those roots encompass not only Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Buck Owens, and Bakersfield honky tonk but also the Band, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, John Cougar Mellencamp, and the Allman Brothers. Schlappich composes with equal regard for country, bluegrass, rock & roll, and folk traditions.
The Pennsylvanians issued their first album, Couldn't Get Along, on the ZoBird label in 1998. The next year they signed with Record Cellar, an independent imprint located in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd, and cut their sophomore release, Adams Hotel Road. Record Cellar subsequently issued Idiots in 2001 and Railings, the band’s fourth album, in 2003. Since becoming a six-piece, Frog Holler has undergone occasional personnel shifts; its 2003 configuration featured Schlappich on lead vocals and acoustic guitar alongside John Kilgore (electric and acoustic guitar, organ), Daniel Bower (drums, percussion), Mike Lavdanski (banjo, steel guitar, accordion, background vocals), Josh Sceurman (electric bass), and Todd Bartolo (steel guitar, electric guitar).
Albums
