In the history of Milwaukee bands that broke into the mainstream—albeit briefly—no group leaves a stranger mark than The Frogs. Brothers Jimmy and Dennis Flemion formed the aggressively lo-fi and subversive alt-rock band in 1980. Years of local shows, years of local acclaim, and years of elaborate winged-and-wigged costumes followed. The Frogs’ proper recording career began in 1988 with a self-titled album, and it wasn’t long after that they caught the attention and adoration of ’90s icons like Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Billy Corgan, and Beck. (The “That was a good drum break” sample in Beck’s “Where It’s At” is The Frogs.) Years of national shows, years of national attention, and more winged-and-wigged costumes followed.
The Frogs carried on until the tragic death of Dennis Flemion in 2012. In recent years, brother Jimmy has happily stayed busy on YouTube. Browse through his channel and you’ll find oodles of intimate living-room acoustic ditties. There are clips of him performing deep-cut cover songs, like “Tapioca Tundra” by The Monkees…
…early Frogs gems like “Whether U Like It Or Not I Love U”…
…and terrific new songs like the just-written-this-month “Never Do I Leave”…
Great stuff! (Hell, “Never Do I Leave” may be one of our favorite Milwaukee songs of the still-young 2025.) And there’s plenty more, too! Here’s Flemion playing with Eddie Vedder in 2012…
…and here he is playing with Evan Dando in 2024…
Oh, and dig this recent radio interview where Flemion discusses his long and fascinating career. Bless you, Jimmy.
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