About The Werefrogs
Indie/Shoegaze rock in the early 1990's.
The band was formed in 1988 and played shows in and around New York City and the suburbs. Notable venues include The Beat (debut) and 7 Willow in Port Chester. Band members formed the Part Trance record label and release two 7" singles, It's Real b/w Tin The World, and Pearl Baby Flower b/w Picture Show.
Later the group visited the U.K. and eventually signed with Ultimate Records. They went on to record 3 EPs and 2 albums, only one of which Swing, was released on Ultimate.
The band toured the U.K. with various bands including the Kitchens of Distinction. Their last major tour was with Radiohead, on the 'Creep' tour, of the eastern U.S. After this tour the band returned to the UK for a final time, performing in support of Yo La Tengo.
After disbanding, members went on to form or become members of other groups such as Memphis Luxure (Wolf, Valentine, Gubler/PG6, Margolis), Memphis Luxure II, Tower Recordings (Valentine,Rush,Gubler,Wolf,Freyer etc.), Planet TR, Mice Parade (Wolf as sideman) The Lines (Savoca), and others.
Origins
The Werefrogs started out in 1988, rehearsing in basements, writing songs, and consisted of Matt Valentine on Bass, Steve Savoca on Drums, Marc Wolf on Guitar/Vocal; various other members were involved through is time, including Steve Olivieri on Sax & Clarinet. Pat Gubler (aka PG6) also briefly played guitar with the band. The 'frogs played their debut show at the Beat in Port Chester sometime around 1989/1990.
The band would record regularly at Bobby Ore's Clockwork Sound studio in Mamaroneck, and many of the tracks recorded there would be released later. This is also the studio they would return to years later to record their debut LP, Swing. Aside from engineering the sessions, Robert Ore played the guitar solo and sang bacground vocal on the track Pearl Baby Flower. Notable performances from this time period include opening for Lush at the Purchase College PAC.
Their London debut was made at the legendary Camden Falcon, in Camden Town attracting the attention of various labels, including Ultimate Records, and to whom they eventually signed to.
The first 7" was on Ultimate was 'Lazy'. The first EP was 'Forest of Doves', recorded at The Carriage House, and produced by Guy Fixsen.
The first UK tour was in April/May of 1992, opening for The Kitchens of Distinction, a band who the frogs were fans of.
Frogs returned to the UK in earlty 1993 for the Ultimate Tour, which featured other artists on the Ultimate label: Submarine and Sidi Bou Said. Venues incuded the Amsterdam Sleepin, the Gross Freiheit in Hamburg and Passage Du Nord in Paris.
In September of '93, the band played support to Radiohead for the U.S. 'Creep' tour (eastern U.S. portion).
Werefrogs on Record
The Werefrogs released six 7" vinyl records, three EPs (CD & Vinyl), and one album (CD & Vinyl).
Please visit the discography page for more info.
Werefrogs Archive
Archival werefrogs recordings, including songs that were not released, peel sessions and live recordings can be heard by clicking on the link for the Werefrogs music player. The player will open in a new window.
Werefrogs in Film:
Desolation Angels
Tim McAnn's 1995 film Desolation Angels features the song 'It's Real'.