Rick Froberg performing with Drive Like Jehu at Coachella in April 2015 in Indio, California. The musician passed away on Friday, according to his longtime collaborator John Rees.
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Rick Froberg performing with Drive Like Jehu at Coachella in April 2015 in Indio, California. The musician passed away on Friday, according to his longtime collaborator John Rees.
Matt Cowan/Getty Images
Rick Froberg’s voice was the perfect mix of gruff and shrill.
Few of the male punk singers had the throaty resonance of Joey Ramone or the guttural depth of many hardcore bands.
But Froberg’s voice was unmistakable—not intentionally trying to sound harsh, it just ended up being that way. The voice that always sounded like a wiry old man who smoked too many cigarettes and drank too much whiskey.
Froberg died of natural causes on Friday, by John Rees, his musical collaborator for over three decades. it was Allegedly 55,
His first collaboration with Reiss was with San Diego post-hardcore band Pitchfork in the late 80s.
But a few years later, with ’90s band Drive Like Jehu, is when Rick Froberg’s voice came into full form for arguably the first time. The screams were there. So there were occasional melodious choruses as well. “Atom Jack” on the band’s self-titled debut album featured the disparity. In the band’s second album, yank offenseThe dissonant epic “Luau” of over nine minutes saw Froberg shouting out against imperialism while breaking into discord with “Aloha, aloha. Suit up. Luau, luau. Luau, luau”.
From left: John Reiss, Mark Trombino and Rick Froberg of Drive Like Jehu perform during the Coachella festival in April 2015 in Indio, California.
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From left: John Reiss, Mark Trombino and Rick Froberg of Drive Like Jehu perform during the Coachella festival in April 2015 in Indio, California.
Matt Cowan/Getty Images
However, it was in Hot Snakes where Froberg’s vocals reached their peak. It was the third major collaboration of Froberg and Reiss.
Reece’s long, winding, guitar leads disappeared from Drive Like Jehu – the songs were shorter, faster, more garage-rock influenced, straight to the point. This was an aggressive goon but smart. Time signatures occasionally opted for omitted or extra beats. The guitars rang out with abrupt staccato leads and rhythms.
Froberg’s vocals – now harsher with a higher pitch – seemed to match the music.
This was evident in the early 2000 version of “If Credits What Matters I’ll Take Credit” from Hot Snakes’ first album. automatic midnight,
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Hot Snakes released two more studio albums in their original version in the early 2000s, Melover. suicide challan then came the up-tempo audit in progress,
The band re-formed in 2018 to release their first album in nearly 14 years. NPR described Froberg’s voice as “high and jagged”. When it came to his lyrics, critic Andrew Flanagan said at the time: “Froberg’s lyrics don’t make sense most of the time; they serve as a kind of expressionist splurge of the band’s constant, bubbling spit, as a fragmented philosophical rage”. work. -Hot canvas.”
Besides his band with Reiss, Froberg’s most notable music came with the Obits, a more bluesy take on punkish garage rock. NPR said, “his vocals are strained with bitterness”, while the musical tone slowed down further. The band released three studio albums between 2009 and 2013.
A poster featuring art by Rick Froberg for Hot Snakes’ 2018 tour.
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A poster featuring art by Rick Froberg for Hot Snakes’ 2018 tour.
James Daubek/NPR
He also played guitar in most of his bands. But it never felt like it was Froberg’s primary focus. He said, “I have news for the world, I’m not a good guitar player.” in a recent interview,
Froberg was also a successful artist, creating art for many album covers and posters.
Remembering Froberg, Reiss wrote: “His art made life better. The only thing he loved more than art and rock n roll were his friends. Will always be remembered for his ability.” ,