Recently, XMFan had the privilege of speaking with Darren Schlappich, lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist of Frogholler.  For lack of a better description, Frogholler is a progressive country band consisting of one part Hank Williams, one part Roy Acuff, one part Jerry Garcia, and one part "shake yo' ass."  After hearing Railings, Holler's latest release, one has to believe Williams, Acuff, and Garcia are indeed looking down and doing some shakin' themselves...

XMFan:  Would you tell us how Frogholler came into being?
Darren:  Kutztown University (Pennsylvania) is kinda where we're all from.  We were all interested in the same kind of music, bluegrass music, and were all involved in the creative scene that was going on.  This was around '96, '97.

XMFan:  How would you best describe the bands style of music?
Darren:  This is always my least favorite question.  I'm down now to saying that we're a song band, and a rock band with a banjo.

XMFan:  Name a few musicians you consider a personal influence.
Darren:  Bluegrass music was the thing that got me started, the real traditional stuff like Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Doc Watson and Norman Blake.  I think that all of us, though, listened to all kinds of different music.  I don't know how much of it seeped its' way into Frogholler, other than to say that we're all just big music fans.  So I think bluegrass started it off, but we've gotten far away from just traditional bluegrass.  I think all the stuff we listen to must find its' way into there somehow.

XMFan:  How old were you the first time you sang in front of an audience?
Darren:  Ummm, twenty-nine.  I'm a late bloomer.  Frogholler was my first band, the first time I played in front of people.

XMFan:  How old were you when you realized you could sing?
Darren:  Twenty-nine (laughs).  I had never played, or even thought that I could, until twenty-nine.  Then I just started to do it.

XMFan:  The band has gathered quite a following on the east coast, with a reputation for hell-raisin', guitar-pickin', harp-blowin' shows.  Any comment?
Darren:  Yeah, that's true.  You know, we've always been lucky to get to play in front of crowds that outnumber the band (members).  I don't know how to account for that...  I think maybe alot of word of mouth follows our band, people see the band and tell friends about us.  I think maybe we've made a connection with the audience.

XMFan:  Do you prefer live performances or working in the studio?
Darren:  I was always a record person, and making records were more important.  I think for some of the other guys playing live might have been more important, but I think I enjoy both things now.  I love playing to an audience, it's really great.  Like the previous question, the connection we've made with the audience, it makes playing live really great.  I really enjoy both aspects now.

XMFan:  Do you have any special memories from your 2002 tour of the Netherlands?
Darren:  The entire thing (laughs).  The whole thing.  It was just a great experience, a great place.  We had a chance to see the whole country, not just Amsterdam, and I was impressed the whole time.  People really appreciated us, and made it easy for us to be creative there, and even on a Tuesday night there were alot of people there to see us play.  I can't wait to go back, actually. 

XMFan:  Along those same lines, did you notice much of a difference between an audience in the Netherlands versus an audience in, say, Pennsylvania?
Darren:  Well, kind of a tough question.  People in the Netherlands, in every town we played in, a bunch of people already knew who we were.  That was really surprising, but the people there are really responsive to american music, so we kind of felt at home in a way.

XMFan:  What are a few fan-favorites you make sure to play at every show?
Darren:  We mix it up.  We now have four records worth of material and a ton of other songs we cover, so we try to keep rotating and not get too stale with any song.  Some songs get retired at times and people want to hear them, but we like to give them a rest for a while.  Right now, people want to hear Pennsylvania alot, but we're not really playing it much right now.  We hope people are there to hear lots of different songs, not just one in particular. 

XMFan:  I've noticed XM has played Idiots, God's Children, Glory, and What Went Down the past few days.  I know XM is very responsive to taking requests, but it's interesting to hear which songs they play since Frogholler hasn't released a "single" per se.
Darren:  That's been one of the things I've really liked.  As far as radio play, it's never been a consensus of just one song.  Lots of different songs get played, and I really like that.   I like that our records have more than just one or two good songs to choose, and people who are given their own choice will choose alot of different songs.  It's really cool.

XMFan:  Frogholler is scheduled to perform at The American Roots Festival in Media, PA on April 24.  Could you tell us a bit about the festival?
Darren:  This is like a little community festival along the main street of the town, and we'll be playing at Joclyn's.  There's a big group of fans from Media that have come to see us play for a long time now, and it will be our first time playing in their home town. 

XMFan:  Do you have a website where fans can find your upcoming tour dates?
Darren:  www.frogholler.com. 

XMFan:  Which instruments should we expect to hear on Railings, your newest release?
Darren:  Acoustic and electric guitars, lap-steel (guitar), banjo, mandolin.  Also on Railings, different from the other releases, we used alot of organ and piano, keyboard sounds. 

XMFan:  How can XMFans buy Railings, or any of you other releases?
Darren:  The easiest way would probably be to go to the website www.milesofmusic.com or www.cdbaby.com.

XMFan:  Are all four of your CDs still available?
Darren:  Yes, they are.

XMFan:  Do fans ever mention to you they heard Frogholler on XM Radio?
Darren:  Yes, in fact they do.  All the time.  They have been since the last record, Idiots.  I get lots of reports from all over the place that people heard us on XM.

XMFan:  I read that you guys wear out your CD player while on the road.  Do you think you might get satellite radio one day?
Darren:  Yes, I've actually been thinking about that because we live in kind of a "radio wasteland."  Not much in the way of radio programming.

XMFan:  One last question.  In a nutshell, how would you describe the journey so far?
Darren:  Fun (laughs).  It's been really fun.  In the beginning it was kind of a dare to myself just to see if we could do it, having never played music before.  It's been seven years already, and that's hard to believe.  It doesn't feel that long.

Frogholler can be heard on XM Radio Channel 12, X-Country.