Grab your s'mores, your bug spray and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is about to take over Northeast Pennsylvania with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like The Suicide Machines, War On Women and A Wilhelm Scream, will take place from 1 September until 3 September, tickets are available here. Brooke, from Philadelphia-based trio Froggy joined TGEFM to discuss their upcoming appearance at Camp Punksylvania for the latest installment of our Camp-centric Roll Of The Dice interview series. Check it out below and I'll see you at the campfire!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What can you tell us about Froggy, your sound and what you stand for?
We are a punk band in the Philly area, we strive to be our most authentic selves on stage and in recording, we feel as though our sound is really raw and powerful and we stand up for what we believe in! We like to have elements of serious topics and fun topics that reflect who we are as people!
You are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourself?
We love Camp Punksylvania because it's an independent DIY festival, everybody involved is super kind, and the experience feels geared towards the artists, everyone is included and everyone has a great time! We feel at home at camp and can't wait to be back.
What's the state of the live scene from your point of view? We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked. What impact, if any, do the current cultural and political landscapes have on the three of you and your music?
We started during the pandemic which gave us a lot of time to incubate our ideas and style, and improve as musicians. It was definitely concerning coming out of covid and having to be in larger groups of people (wanting to play big shows but not wanting anyone to get sick). We will always strive to create a safe environment at our shows and to make everyone feel included and empowered. We've supported a lot of causes surrounding our beliefs of equality, whether it be playing shows or attending protests!
Every artist has a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn't take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
Sending some record labels we looked up to some poorly recorded iPhone demos….
Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in. What activity would you be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp?
Brooke would be arts and crafts, Morgan would be in charge of hiking and excursions, Fiona would in charge of DIY tattoos and piercings.
End of the season Campfire; We know Froggy is skipping the S'mores in favor of 7-11 nachos, but what song are you performing?
“The Campfire Song” from SpongeBob or “The Mollusk” by Ween
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
THE SUICIDE MACHINES, War On Women, Freeze MF, Tsunami Bomb, A Wilhelm Scream, and The Homeless Gospel Choir!!!!
Was there anything I missed that you'd like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
We hope y'all come see us at Camp Punk and keep your eyes and ears out for new stuff!
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed's musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he's self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
