FROGAPALOOZA
Our little tadpole has grown up.
Frogville Records, spawned about four years ago on the heels of the humble little scene at the VFW hall, was begun with a burst of enthusiasm and perhaps more verve than resources. For those who weren't in Santa Fe at the time-or, more likely, who were too hammered on cheap brew to remember-back in 2002, a group of Texas transplants, wandering Americana-noir minstrels and local countrified wack jobs got together and got to playing some good old-fashioned
American music: a country/roots sound with a friendly DIY/punk attitude in the most unlikely of spots, the Veterans of Foreign Wars gathering place. Inspired by the scene, a man named John Treadwell gathered up the bands and
started a tiny record company, Frogville, headquartered in a house/studio high on a hill on the northeast side of town.
Last year saw the first FrogFest, at the Santa Fe Brewing Company, drawing a ton of folks who came out to drink beer, watch the sunset and soak in some local music.
But for FrogFest 2 (noon-midnight, Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 19-20), the bar has been raised. It's now a two-day affair, spanning both the inside and outside stages at the Brewing Company (35 Fire Place, 424-3333), and national god of the Americana singer-songwriter set James McMurtry headlines, capping off a list of more than 13 bands.
I asked Treadwell over the phone if the expansion of the festival has caused new hassles. "It hasn't been that big a deal," he told me in his usual laid-back, deep voice. "It was weird trying to get a bunch of different headliners."
Treadwell and the rest of the Frog family settled on McMurtry, who's become friendly with both Treadwell and a number of the label's bands over the past year or so. "We met at Thirsty Ear, and ThaMuseMeant [formerly on the Frogville label] used to open for him," Treadwell says. "We were working on [McMurtry playing FrogFest 2] for about three months and we were able to entice him out. We want him to go back home with a happy memory."
The audience at FrogFest 2 should go back with happy memories too.
In addition to local favorites Hundred Year Flood, who top off the Friday night show, other local bands include Boris and the Saltlicks (whose latest release,
Cactusman vs. the Blue Demon
, is a beautiful, haunting trip through an Americana desert); the legendary Bill Hearne Trio (a classic country group centered around Hearne's immaculate flatpicking); Percy Boyd (who play a hair-raising, unique and gorgeously weird brand of traditional music); along with many others. Saturday sees Goshen (whose tripped-out chunky rockabilly was recently enjoyed by Val Kilmer, John Travolta and Ray Liotta at the Mine Shaft); Nathan Moore (a brilliant singer-songwriter); and newcomer Toast (who churn out a new take on old blues-rock sounds).
Non-local standouts include Dave Insley's Careless Smokers and the Texas Sapphires. Originally from Arizona, Insley now lives in Austin, and his oeuvre is a wide-ranging as a cattle ranch: old-school country rave-ups; Stones-like barroom rockers and crafty honky tonk (sample lyric: "There's gonna be a few changes made around here/I've expanded my vocabulary/beyond the words 'yes, dear'"), all delivered a deep, baritone voice with a boot-scoot delivery. "I don't know too much about him," Treadwell says, "except that he's got a great album." True:
says
Here With You Tonight
is "made somewhere outside the bounds of both Austin and Nashville"; that is, it's an original work in a genre of the same ol', same ol'.
You might have caught Austin's Texas Sapphires at recent gigs at the Cowgirl and other spots around town last week. This is another band that stands out in its genre, shimmying from
Urban Cowboy
-esque, '70s-style country to knowing references to the punk party Ladyfest without skipping a two-step beat: "We just dig 'em," Treadwell laughs. "They're just a tight, fun country band."
Expect a lot of tight, fun country at FrogFest 2, but expect something else too: a wake-up call about how much Frogville's grown in such a short amount of time. Treadwell tells me he has a lot of irons in the fire-talks with a national distributor, visions of expanding beyond New Mexico, and bringing in more national acts, including Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and others. But I wouldn't expect the Frogville world, which is much like a family, to change much by way of attitude. They're downright home-cooking, the musical equivalent of chicken-fried steak, and they're bound to stay that way. Tickets are $25 advance per day, $30 per day at the door, $40 advance for two-day pass, kids under 12 free. More info, including the full lineup, is at
.
ROYALTY
Also growing is the reputation of Santa Fe's Motor Kings, a tight blues band buoyed by the bodacious vocals of Julie Stewart. The Kings are hitting the road this summer and fall for some giant opening slots (catch 'em 6 pm Aug. 24 at the final Santa Fe Bandstand show for a local taste). Giant, as in opening for the likes of Bad Company at the Rally in the Rockies Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 in Durango. Even giant-er, as in opening for the Doobie Brothers, Cheap Trick, the Black Crowes and Blues Traveler for an audience that borders 100,000 at the Lake Havasu Rock Fest, the weekend of Oct. 6. These are biker-friendly events, so rev up the Harley and support your local blues band!
