Leaping to new heights: FROGG to perform at New Haven Music Festival

by Danny Tehrani
Express Editor

On Friday, May 21, Westhill students Minou and Skyler Clark’s band FROGG won the BandJam concert at Darien High School. The Westword decided to sit down and talk to the brother-sister act aspiring new musicians.

The Westword: Recently you have won an award, what was it for?
Minou Clark: We won BandJam, it was held at Darien High School and we won first place. My brother and I received outstanding musician awards as well.

TW: You have you first major performance coming up. What will you be performing?
MC: It is called the New Haven Festival of Music and Ideas. We have a half hour set and will most likely perform five songs. We will be debuting an original song as well as a new and improved look. We definitely need to step it up since we [will] have an audience of 4,000.

The recently formed band FROGG has recently won the BandJam competition at Darien High School. The band will get the opportunity to play at the New Haven Music Festival on June 14.

TW: How is your new look different from your current one?
MC: We are trying to tighten up and get more serious. Now we have real fans, who missed junior prom to come see us play. I am really amazed. Skyler did a great job promoting our bad through Facebook and word of mouth.
Skyler Clark: Our image is not too generic. I would say we’re not just metal. We are a more simple and clean.

TW: What inspires you and your band?
MC: My brother finds a lot of inspiration from famous Finnish guitarist Alexi Laiho. We cover a lot of his music. Skyler loves metal, and although we do not listen to it, his passion inspires us.
SC: Tons of other Finnish and Japanese rock and medal bands inspire us. Specifically, Japanese band “Hellman.”

TW: How did your come up with your band name?
MC: We did not have a name until [Stamford High’s] New Band’s Night. They needed a name to put onto a flyer, so I came up with FROGG. At first we all laughed at it, but it really stuck.
SC: We did not want a generic metal band name that was too hard core.

TW: How would you describe your music?
SC: My music is always changing, I like to the of the band as progressive and extreme. As a soloist, I really strive to serve the song.

FROGG wins BandJam 2010 from The Westword on Vimeo.