Frokus performing live at Bemo's in Bay City, MI
Q: How did you get your band name? Does it have any significance?
A: It was all Joe, our guitarist. I blame him entirely. Before Frokus, we were Cough Syrup for Cancer. But we felt like that didn't explain who we were and what we sounded like. We thought about what words described us best, and the three words we found were "funk" "rock" and "us," and Joe thought we should put those three words together, creating that strange word which nobody pronounces correctly: Frokus.
So as for significance, I can't say much. It's really just wordplay. It's significant to us, of course, but I'm sure most people see it and quickly think, “those idiots don't know how to spell Krokus.”
Q: How did your band form?
A: So I confess, I wasn't really around when Joe thought up the word Frokus. Sam has been playing drums since before he could walk, Joe and Codi picked up their guitars while in high school and were just prodigies. The three guys were so good it kind of freaked everyone out. I don't mean to brag, but honestly, sometimes they're a scary kind of good. I guess that's what you call talent though.
Anyway, the three of them formed a band with another friend of theirs, Jordan Westphal, at the microphone, who left pretty early on to peruse other things.
Now I just moved to Bay City from San Diego, and was looking for some kind of creative outlet. I've been trained in musical theater for a couple of years and knew that singing would be my best bet. After failing miserably in my first audition, I went to the music store and drowned my sorrows while playing a guitar. It was there that I found a poster for a funk-rock band seeking a singer.
If you knew me then, you'd know I was about as funky as a wet sock. But I tried it anyway, and obviously, it worked. We just clicked. Some people you can write music with and some you cant, and since the first moments of my audition with the guys, we wrote like madmen on a mission from God. It's been awesome, and honestly, I could never work with another group of musicians and call them my band. These guys are it. We're family now.
Q: If you could play on your dream tour, what bands would be on it?
A: Us. *laughs* ...and probably the Parliament. Just to get some P-Funk flowing. And the Chili Peppers would be nice. I really feel like we're a bit too much like that band on a personal basis, so I'm curious how we'd mingle.
Q: How do you go about writing your songs?
A: That's a good question and I wish I knew that answer. It would make my job a whole lot easier if I knew that. Though Sam's muse is always spouting off, mine is a bit more reserved. Whatever it is that motivates me to write, it only happens every now and again. Usually, when the four of us are together in our basement songs simply fall out of us. None of us know where they come from, they just, umm... show up? I guess you can say.
Q:What's your favorite place to go eat together?
A: Chinese buffets.
Q: Why is that?
A: Eh, no reason.
Q: Which show that you've played has been your favorite so far?
A: Probably our album release party at White's Bar. It probably wasn't our best show, my voice was shot, the sound was horrible, but we love that bar, and all of our friends came out to see us there. It was just a great night.
Q: What's your favorite part of being in a band?
A: Really, it's who I'm in the band with. That's my favorite part. My guys are awesome and I wouldn't trade them for the world... or Alan White... *cough cough*
Q: What's your LEAST favorite part?
A: The dorky feeling I get when I drop the line “yeah, I'm in a band.”
Q: What's the best movie you've seen lately?
A: Eh, I'm not much of a movie-watcher. I would say SiCKO by Michael Moore. I saw that a few months back after my brother recommended it. It made me political for about a month, which was fun. It motivated me to do a ton of research. I feel sorry for my friends though. They had to put up with all my rants.
