Count Bateman <\/em>I was doing something that I didn\u2019t really exactly achieve\u2013I was going for something really, really out there. Sort of 70s, shamanistic with a drum machine, but I only had these tools that make it sound singer-songwriter-y, which held it back from getting it where I wanted it to go fully. But even so, I hinted at it, which is a step. But that\u2019s what I\u2019m influenced by, is the little worlds that people build in art. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSR : I feel like in a lot of articles that I\u2019ve read you\u2019re labeled as Americana, do you feel like regionality plays into the music of Frog? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : Well, that\u2019s interesting that you say that. Y\u2019know, I\u2019m an American of course. I\u2019m from New York City, I\u2019m from the New York suburbs. I lived in New York City for 15, 20 years. Part of what draws me into things is the way that people talk and the way that people from different parts of America talk. And part of getting to the place that I think I\u2019m journeying somewhere interesting that I can sort of get lost in and create something that I can get down with is sort of doing something that I don\u2019t know that well. So people think that I\u2019m like, Southern or something. I\u2019m influenced by the way that people talk and sing. The more esoteric, for me, I like it more. Part of creating artistically is creating a version of yourself that you\u2019ve never heard. You\u2019re trying to write something that you\u2019ve never heard or said before or read before. You\u2019re trying to take what you know and do something completely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s what\u2019s really fun and exciting about being an artist, is trying to do that. So as far as Americana, I love country music so much, like Hank Williams, I was a super fan. But yeah, my family is from the Midwest, and I don\u2019t know. Just the way people talk there and the way people talk all over in regional dialects sort of hints at something so big. And that\u2019s where I want to go. It\u2019s just something that ends up in the music somehow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : What got you into the sound of Casios and keyboards? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : I mean, we had a Casio! I named my band after the Casio. There was this one sound on this one Casio that I found that was called \u201cfrog\u201d, and it was unusable. It was the worst sound, you couldn\u2019t use it in any sound. It sounds so bad. And I said, \u201cthat\u2019s us.\u201d And that\u2019s how the name started (laughs). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Really, with the tools you\u2019re using, it\u2019s better if you don\u2019t have many options because then you can try and do something different using a limited palette. You need a limited palette\u2013it\u2019s imperative to have. I mean, you\u2019re an artist too, I know that obviously the computer opens up anything, just like in audio. But it doesn\u2019t really help you to do anything because it becomes, \u201cWell, what should I do then?\u201d You have to sort of start somewhere. You need a limited palette in order to really get somewhere. I do. I don\u2019t have willpower (both laugh). Choice is bad! You need to have no choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : You have a label as well, Tape Wormies. What brought that about? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : (Laughs) Is that a label? So, I had this label that I was working with, Audio Anti-hero, it was my friend, Jamie. We were internet pals and then it got to the point where they decided to take a chance and put a little investment and money into Kind of Blah<\/em>. And Jamie ended up moving to New York City and I got them a job, and they sort of stopped the label that they were working on. So, I decided to just go with myself and hire Jamie to do the PR part of it. This is something that I do because it\u2019s worth doing whether or not I do a good release strategy. The Tape Wormies label is just something that I put a name on for this process. I\u2019m not really interested in the business side of music as an entrepreneur. It\u2019s horrifying. It\u2019s not a \u201cbusiness\u201d. Business in quotes. That\u2019s what that is. It\u2019s not really a label. It\u2019s just something I use to release music on, or I did once. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSR : I like that it kind of goes with Frog, since frogs eat worms\u2013that\u2019s kind of nice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : Do frogs eat worms? I thought they ate flies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : Yeah, they do! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : Well Alex, thank God you told me that because now I feel vindicated by my choice of label name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : Is there any context behind the album cover of Count Bateman<\/em>? <\/p>\n\n\n\nDB : Well, this was an only me album\u2013I wore all the hats. I did everything, I recorded everything. And for better or for worse, I was the only thing that drove it. It felt funny to do a Lil Wayne type, young person picture on it. And my friend Emma took these Polaroids of us when we were 15, and that was a pretty funny one (laughing). It sort of fit with the vibe\u2013it was recorded on tape, and [the picture] looks from another era, I guess it sort of was. Even though that\u2019s scary to think about. It just kind of worked somehow for me, that it was me, pimply and what I was at that age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSR : Do you guys have any current projects in the works right now? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : Yes! We have a new record. This is my first record recording with Stevie, and I\u2019m so overjoyed with what we\u2019ve been able to do. I mean all of my bands since 2013 have been two people max, and so, it really is an intense sort of relationship. Instead of talking, you talk with music, and really anything that comes out of it is a reflection of the relationship. And it\u2019s just been so amazing, the music that we\u2019ve been making. I am blown away by it. Really excited to finish it\u2013I think we\u2019ve got four songs done, and then a bunch of songs that are somewhere not done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : Do you have a home studio situation or are you recording in a studio? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : We have a home studio. Actually, back in the day, I went to college for recording. I didn\u2019t really go to class, I didn\u2019t really learn anything there but I did get into recording gradually by doing it, which is really the only way to learn how to do anything artistically\u2013you just have to do it, and that\u2019s what really got me into recording. And whenever I try to get someone else to help mix or produce, literally, every single time, I have to do it myself. I don\u2019t know\u2013for better or for worse, I want it to be a way. I can\u2019t find someone who can do it so it\u2019s my way but professional, so I just do it my way. And that\u2019s how it\u2019s worked out! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : What do you think of the direction of independent music today? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : Interesting question. As far as the scene in New York, I don\u2019t really hang out. Y\u2019know, I have kids\u2013if I leave my house, there\u2019s a really really really good reason. I don\u2019t go out anymore, really, unless there\u2019s some occasion that I have to go out to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back in the day, when I used to play a lot of shows out there, a lot of the kids were starting their own little DIY spots and it was a really interesting little scene. New York is a tough place to try and play music because everyone\u2019s like, \u201cI grew up somewhere different and now I\u2019m in New York City\u201d so they try and be cool. And so they act a little mean. So it\u2019s a little like highschool kids that don\u2019t think they\u2019re highschool kids anymore, but they still act like kids. I never really was at home in that environment, and I don\u2019t think anyone really thought that I was part of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As far as today goes, on the internet, there\u2019s a lot of amazing things about how artists and bands meet each other and collaborate and make music on the internet. One of the biggest bummers is that people seem to gravitate towards really easy wins, and things that are really easy to do\u2013and this is just a general thing but it affects music too\u2013but instead of focusing on trying to do something different musically they become something and look some way and sound some way to be an emo person or what have you. It\u2019s not really about music, it\u2019s more about the world as it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As far as the music business goes and Spotify or whatever, everyone complains about it, and rightfully so, but as someone who really tried to be a professional musician in 2009, people don\u2019t remember that. That was so much worse. That was really bad. The music business didn\u2019t exist. The internet destroyed it, and they didn\u2019t understand it. The major labels\u2013they\u2019re really dumb people, and they could never build any sort of new platform that could change everything and make them money again. And I think people hate on it, rightfully so, it\u2019s very difficult to make money but like, for one thing, Spotify doesn\u2019t make any money. They lose money every year, just look at their accounting. They\u2019re a public company. And they pay 70 percent of what they get to whoever owns the rights. Really, the problem with the music business from an independent artist\u2019s standpoint is that there are many more artists than ever before, there are like millions of artists now when there used to be like, 300 artists that released records worldwide. And now there\u2019s a million who release a song\u2013there\u2019s like a million songs released every day. The only way to survive is to do something real that you really think is worth doing no matter if anyone listens to it. The rest probably won\u2019t figure itself out, but at least you\u2019ll feel good about what you did, if that makes sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SR : I\u2019ve got one more question for you. What are you most proud of as an artist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DB : I don\u2019t really like to look back that much on my old art because it\u2019s not productive. It\u2019s alright out, you can\u2019t change it anymore. I guess Kanye did, which is pretty interesting. You could kind of see his artistic process happening on the album everyday. In general, I don\u2019t usually listen to my own music, or at least not the music that\u2019s out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as far as albums I like, I love all of them except for Whatever We Probably Already Had It<\/em>. It\u2019s my least favorite and that\u2019s really only because Tom was leaving and he wasn\u2019t able to be as involved so we couldn\u2019t spend a lot of time on it. And for whatever reason, it takes me a lot of time to start something and find something interesting and really go off on a journey and get something really different than what I was trying to do. And that\u2019s the fun part, where I\u2019m like \u201cwow how the f*ck did this happen, I would\u2019ve never thought this up\u201d just through the process of doing it over and over again. A lot of it is writing songs and then seeing how to record them. And that album is\u2013how we started it\u2013it\u2019s basically our live set. Which is, in itself good, and I like that approach. I love the Ramones and that\u2019s what they do, it\u2019s just that\u2019s not what I dig as much. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSo as far as the albums I like most, I love Kind of Blah<\/em> even though I was kind of bummed out about how that turned out in the moment because I was going for something different and my production skills weren\u2019t able to get it to the place I wanted it to get to. But when you listen back now, it works anyway a little bit. I like that one. I like Count Bateman<\/em>. I guess the thing that I can say I\u2019m most proud of is that I have two kids and a mortgage, a full time job, and I\u2019m still doing it. So, I don\u2019t know how that happened. I actually can\u2019t believe that that happened. That\u2019s I guess really the achievement, is that I kept at it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In November of 2021, I sent out an email on a whim to the band Frog because I had some questions about their latest record, Count Bateman. Danny Bateman was kind enough to make time to chat with me–our conversation is transcribed below. Check out Frog’s music here. Listen to the interview below. SCAD Radio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":6318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,530,48],"tags":[1174,1170,1171,1160,1175,1169,50,1173,1172],"yoast_head":"\n
Interview with Danny Bateman of the Band Frog - SCAD Radio<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n