reviews

frogholler reviews

reviews for 'Idiots'

go to: Philadelphia Inquirer article by Geoffrey Himes

"The collision of old and new is especially vivid in the region around Reading and Kutztown, Pa., where some farmers still drive buggies and work by kerosene lamps while the nearby suburbanites drive SUVs and catalogue their DVDs on their PCs. That collision echoes throughout "Idiots," the remarkable third album from the Kutztown folk-rock band Frog Holler.
The old is represented by the band's fiddle, mandolin and banjo, while the new comes from the drums, electric bass and electric guitar, and the two sides push and pull at each other as if Del McCoury and his sons suddenly found themselves on stage with Crazy Horse. Supplying the Neil Young-ish songs is singer-songwriter Darren Schlappich, who has a wistful affection for the disappearing Pennsylvania Dutch culture but has no interest in submitting to its conservative conformity.
The resulting tension fuels such memorable moments as "Adams Hotel Road," a lament for a favorite rural tavern that was sold to developers, and "Choose a Path," a raucous rocker challenging two young women to pick between religious piety and barroom revelry. Though these songs are steeped in local details, the characters and situations should be universally recognizable. After all, who hasn't known someone like the character in "Stray," a would-be hipster who's always putting down the small town or neighborhood you love?" -- Geoffrey Himes The Washington Post

go to: rockzillaworld review

go to: Pop Matters review

go to: No Depression review

(Best)Songwriter and Band Most Deserving of Your Support: (City Paper Choice award)

"They're big in Kutztown and play themselves off as fun-loving hicks - what with a banjo player, steel guitarist and a bassist who performs in overalls and white v-neck T-shirt. But Frog Holler's not so easy to figure out. Leader/songwriter Darren Schlappich writes some of catchiest country rock songs this side of the Allegheny. As my friend Heidi, who turned me on to the band, says, "Darren shits good songs." They've got three albums, including their brilliant latest effort, Idiots, and their live show is a roaring, rollicking ride, switching from country laments to rip-roaring barn-burners to the occasional Neutral Milk Hotel cover with the greatest of ease. DO NOT miss them next time they play." - Brian Howard, Philadelphia City Paper, Best of 2001

"Joining the Cary Fridley Band on the bill at the Roots Café at St. John's Church this Saturday Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. will be Pennsylvania's Frog Holler, a seven-piece, roots-rock outfit that blends acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and drums, banjos and bass into a heady hybrid of Dock Boggs old-time music and Neil Young folk-rock. Darren Schlappich and his pals formed Frog Holler as a bluegrass trio. Schlappich still writes the songs, and the group's new album, "Idiots" (Record Cellar), has some great ones. Schlappich pledges allegiance to his native state on a raucous sing-along that manages to simultaneously poke fun at Pennsylvania and express fondness for it. "I'm PA Dutch," he hollers, "and I ain't learned much, but I'm willing to try." The album begins with "Adams Hotel Road," a song that shares the title of a previous disc, suggesting that this is a continuing story. Over a seductive country-folk melody, he sings, "There at the mouth of the hotel road, the Adamses lived and the Adamses sold, out to a deal, that left out in the cold. "The backdoor to the hotel is locked now, and a key gathering place for the community is gone, gobbled up by another business deal. "The story is told." Schlappich sings, "just like yours, filled with holes." The question for those who remain is whether to settle down and conform to the conservative way of life in Pennsylvania Dutch country or move to Philadelphia, where there's more tolerance for their brand of rowdy bohemia? On the album's most powerful number, "Stray", the singer addresses his girlfriend, a local who thinks she's hipper than her neighbors, who can't wait to get out of her small town and hit the road. Schlappich hopes she'll wise up and realize what rural Pennsylvania has to offer, but she breaks his heart with her reply, "I'm not a housecat; I'm a stray." The music here is so smart, so catchy, so rooted in it's home turf, though, that it's clear the seven members of Frog Holler are no strays. They're housecats all the way. - Geoffrey Himes, Lifetimes (Baltimore, MD)

"If you want to play by the rules and be a successful band around these parts, chances are you'll start learning the Top 40. Such a thought wouldn't likely occur to Berks County alt-country rockers, Frog Holler, who are gaining a national reputation by avoiding "the rules" altogether. The six-piece band from Shoemakersville has been mulching bluegrass into pop and vice versa since 1996, most recently with this year's "Idiots" (Record Cellar), an album that has reached the top 40 of Alternative Country.com's Americana Chart. The disc's success is no surprise to anyone who has heard its assured mixture of country twang and confessional folk-rock, bolstered by lead singer/guitarist Darren Schlappich's sure sense of songcraft. Swinging from the lovely melancholy of "Happy Hour" to an upbeat, banjo-stoked tribute to our fair commonwealth, "Pennsylvania" (I'm PA Dutch and I ain't learned much/ but I'm willing to try") "Idiots" may be the best regional release so far this year." - John Terlesky, The Morning Call (Allentown, PA)

"Originally a bluegrass trio, Frog Holler has expanded to a septet as their sound has expanded to embrace heartbreak ballads, shitkicker shuffles and barroom boogie. They play and sing just fine, with a kind of "good buddy" blend of tight and loose, as the situation dictates. What sets them apart from the alt.country pack, though, is the presence of one of the finest songwriters in the field. Singer/guitarist/songwriter Darren Schlappich does a first rate job of looking out at the world through the eyes of his proudly insular Berks County, PA, neighbors, while simultaneously looking back in at them through the eyes of a friendly but bemused sociological spectator. The resulting songs provide a fascinating blend of the personal and universal, with great good fun lurking around every corner. This is another review delayed by constant replay. Sorry it took me so long to tell you about this spring release. Don't take too long to get yours." - Shaun Dale, Cosmic Debris

"Never has a band been named so aptly. If you think Frog Holler is some hick pond-water town that has a coal mine, where all the big fellers get together on Saturday nights at the local bar and let themselves go with all the free-thinking locals in town, well, you have a fair picture of the good time that crops up in all 50+ minutes of this Idiots' delight. While the lead friend, Darren Schlappich, is the central focus (singer, writer, acoustic band leader), there is a tiny army behind him, grabbing whatever instruments have affixed themselves to the walls of the cabin. Banjo and fiddle and guitars of all artistic moods and wine glasses and spirited mandolin and runaway drums. All poking Darren's real-world voice into a great jammin' soup kitchen of folk pop rock. They're somewhere between The Band and the Stones. You find yourself listening, and sitting in at the same time. 'Stray' catches harmonies seemingly from the air, picking that banjo slow enough to recognize, guitars just drunk enough to believe in. Remember some of those 70s Beach Boys years when the gang thought they'd go country a bit and bring some folk folks into the fold? That's what I hear when 'Who Will......?' crashes into life with the simple electric guitar, helped on by the glad horn section. I love it. This is when the Frogs are jumping best. The power of Idiots comes from its simple, but handheld recording of rural America, the kind all 90% of us can get down with. Screw the rich 10%ers, they wouldn't know 'Bitter Blues' from an AAA card. Frog Holler knows. Hot off the Michael Nesmith Tribute cd, gaining Americana airplay by the bagful daily, this is a group to watch, to wash your car to, with doors wide open." - Ben Ohmart, Music Dish Industry E-Journal

"A few months ago I caught these "good young boys" in a tight New York watering hole and they blew me away.. I've since traveled to their home state of Pennsylvania to see them and have worn out their CD's including the most recent and enjoyable Idiots. Their sound is a link between American folk and Country-alt with a dash of rock. Sorta like the Dead meets the Counting Crows, after a nightwith John Prine and Creedance." - Andrew Aber, Village Voice

"Pennsylvania might not seem like the most fertile musical spot in America, but Frog Holler have been mining its feel and history for a little while now, with songwriter and singer Darren Schlappich finding inspiration in everyday life. It's true Americana, driving along with a beer in its hand, looking at the landmarks he's known all his life, and genuinely loving them. For all the praise Whiskeytown's Ryan Adamas gets, when Schlappich gets serious, he's the equal of anyone around, and Frog Holler have developed into a band to hold their own against everyone in alt-country - "Adams Hotel Road" is a perfect little gem, for example, memorable and evocative, but devoid of sentimentality, while the loving portrait of "Stray" is nothing less than glorious. Why they're not famous is a mystery, but they deserve to be - and it's a wake-up call that superb writing can get sadly ignored. If you believed alt-country began and ended with the big names of the genre, do yourself a favor and look more deeply." - globalvillageidiot.com

“The Song is King.” Amen! Pennsylvanian sextet Frog Holler viz. John Kilgore, Mike Lavdanski, Ted Fenstermacher, Darren Schlappich, Josh Sceurman, Toby Martin and Todd Bartolo are good old country boys – the titular “idiots” celebrated in the title of this rustic gem of an album. The band has an instinctive sense of how to complete Schlappich’s root pop songs. Alternating bluesy riffs (“The Kingdom of Bocephus Klein”), bluegrass guilt ballads (“Happy Hour,” “WJKS”), horn-blasted hillbilly rants (“Bitter Blues,” “Who Will….?”), pedal steel enveloped confessionals (“Adam Hotel Road”), pleasing jaunty rockabilly vignettes (“Choose A Path,” “Spiders & Planes”) and offbeat marching instrumentals (“Native Trout”) with consummate ease. Celebrating small town life succinctly - as indicated by sentiments like “…well, I’m PA Dutch and I ain’t learned much but I’m willing to try” in the shuffling “Pennsylvania,” Idiots is a well-crafted snapshot of the life and times of “a small group of creative, intellectual, strong-willed, open-minded, non-conformists…” Indeed. - Power of Pop

. "So what of this band and CD that's been a fixture in my own boom box (not to mention the weekly radio program I host) for close to two months now (not to mention a recent roadtrip to the Philly suburbs to see them in person). Darn good is how I describe the music of Frog Holler and the latest release called Idiots. Hearing a banjo in the down-home mix of songs comprising this third recording from the band might lead one to think they're a bluegrass outfit, but they're really not. Comparisons to similarly spirited alt entities like Son Volt and Slobberbone aside, label them instead a bunch of working class, flannel-wearing thirty-somethings for whom jamming over a few beers in the comfort of someone's living room is no doubt a favorite past time. The songs of Idiots, all from the head of lead singer and left-handed acoustic guitar player Darren Schlappich, more than anything come off as an in-the-mirror reflection of the small-town lifestyle (i.e., Shoemakersville, PA) of he and his Frog Holler compatriots. Inspiration comes from a local color mix of the rural surroundings and people. There's Adams Hotel Road, the Idiots leadoff track, which takes it's title from the road on which Schlappich lived and where the band practiced. There's Pennsylvania, a Keystone State-styled old timey barndance romp on which Schlappich sings the hosannas of the home state upbringing and Choose A Path, another homey beer-drinkin' hoedown. There's characters in these songs too, like the pierced, hippie girl of the gorgeous-sounding Stray who wears her hair in dreadlocks, follows the Dead, pops a pill here and there and obviously is just at a way station on the road of life. There's the small-town big man of The Kingdom of Bocephus Klein, and Schlappich singing about himself on the bittersweet Thirty-One, and Native Trout where chasing a girl and fishing meet head-on. From the ragged-but-right melodies to the no-frills lyrics to the world-weary and soulful drawl of Schlappich on the lead vocals and the barroom sing-along backup of the rest of the Frog Hollers, Idiots makes for a rural blend of insurgency that wears awfully well on the ears. In all, Idiots is a compelling listen that finds it's groove time and again and where the pluck of a banjo and the din of an electric guitar co-exist in rustic harmony. Highly recommended." - Dan Ferguson (Rhode Island)

"This record by Pennsylvania natives Frog Holler was a delight. Starting out with the infectious opening track "Adams Hotel Road", which also happens to be the name of their also excellent previous album. The clever, fun and addictive mood continues with "Spiders and Planes" and "WJKS", the standard is solid throughout and ending with "Native Trout" which cannot hope but put a smile on your face. The style is blueglass stained alt-country and reminds me of the Gourds with occasionally strange echoes of Robert Earl Keen. Darren Schlappich is a clearly a talent to be reckoned with and with "No Depression" and the many also writing favorably about the sextet this could be a good point to find out who they are before you realise that you should know them." - Warren Owen Alt-CountryTab.com

Nesmith review "It’s not surprising that he would be the subject of a tribute compilation, given the ubiquity of such projects nowadays. What is surprising is that the record would be this good. Papa Nez is packed with respectful but distinctive readings of strong material. Many tribute albums feature better-known musicians performing better-known songs, but in terms of overall listening experience, few work as well as this collection of alternative country and power pop. Tom Gillam gives a tasteful, Allman Brothers slide-guitar treatment to “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.” A band called Frog Holler plays a low-key acoustic rendition of “Different Drum” that makes the hit version by Linda Ronstadt’s Stone Poneys sound silly and overblown. (Also, a male vocalist makes more sense of the line “I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty.”)" - Scott Hall The Daily Journal (Indiana)

Review for Nesmith tribute "this is not just a solid collection and one of the better tribute albums that I've heard in years, but most importantly, it proves that the work of Nesmith has stood the test of time, and although some of his songs might be a little too pretentious or ambitious for the usual country listener, the excellent performances on this disc are here to make you curious what what the original songs sound like. Of course, not all artists included on 'Papa Nez' can keep up with Calico Bind's interpretation of 'Propinquity' or Frog Holler's excellent remake of 'Different Drum', to name just a few highlights, but overall this is surely a loose salute to the work of Michael Nesmith." - Maurice Dielemans Kindamuzik.net

"Darren Schlappich's songs are vignettes of melancholy and homespun good times translated by his friends in Frog Holler - what might be best described as one of the earthiest bands to come around in some time. By that, I mean they incorporate bluegrass sounds with barroom crooning; a bar where there is dirt on the floor and the barkeep might still buy the room a round. While many of the nouveau roots groups of the last few years ascribes to this rough aesthetic, Frog Holler is one of the few groups that achieve the genuine article, and with ease, it seems. It's very loose-feeling music from the Pennsylvania Dutch country of Berks County, and it sounds as natural as one of those old field recordings, with all the noise of the rowdy spectators still intact. Frog Holler's sophomore record, "Idiots," is a wonderful collection of porch-sitting fun and somber tales of love lost. The combination of the traditional banjo picking and electric rock guitar makes for a juke joint blues party, attended by some Appalachian folks and a bunch of friends who never play "out" but just sit around and drink beer and piddle. But it is Schlappich's songs that do all the talking here, and they vary from sad tales of breakup and loss ("Bitter Blues"), to the uplifting power of those trying moments ("WJKS"). Upon first listen to "WJKS," I thought title referred to some great radio station up in the Pa. Dutch country. After a few minutes, though, the first chorus came around with the line that opened my eyes to the anagram: "Where joy kills sorrow." It's hard to describe that feeling you get when a songwriter's words hit you in just the right way, but there it was. I can't stress how little this happens for me with so many alt-country or "insurgent" bands of today, where a western shirt and a deep voice suddenly make you honky tonk. But Darren Schlappich writes powerful songs, and the ragged frame put around them by the rest of Frog Holler (with trombones and bass included in the six-piece band) makes for a tear-in-your-beer music of a different kind." - Chris Toenes Triangle.com, Drums 'n' Wires

"You ever get all puffed up and pissed off after you listen to an album you take an immediate liking to? The they-should-play-this-on-the-radio-instead-of-that-other-crap stings your ears and makes your eyes red? Well, prepare to be indignant, because Frog Holler has made on of those albums. What special spell do these Pennsylvania boys cast to inspire such a rabid reaction? Well, their third album is passionate, fun, beautiful, sad, catchy, rocking, swaying, well-written, well-played. Lead singer and songwriter Darren Schlappich writes songs that reveal the darkness and lightness of the edge of town and the rest of the county. Small town sadness and pleasure, powered by Schlappich's all-purpose drawl, crawl through songs like "Spiders and Planes", "Thirty-One", and "Who Will.....?". Banjo player Mike Lavdanski provides harmony singing on several songs with such abandon, it encourages the listener to sing along, just like a radio song should." - Andy Turner Country Standard Time

"Sometimes it seems as if country music chases its tail with countless paeans to honky-tonks and wayward women, but Frog Holler's humble odes to Berks County and Pennsylvania Dutch pride open up a new can of worms for us Yankees to write about. While some alt-country acts stretch for "authenticity" by affecting Southern accents and feigning hillbilly roots, these local musicians write unpretentious songs about drinking past your bedtime and fishing holes that sound unforced and natural. Their sophomore effort, Idiots, might be one of the most warm and inviting records released in a while. You get the feeling you're eavesdropping on a bunch of friends jamming in a basement while swapping stories on a hot summer day. Sure, you can hear traces of Son Volt and Whiskeytown in their twangy tales, but Frog Holler seem uninterested in the dramatic rock 'n' roll sweep of those bands. In fact, they have more in common with unsung artists like the Drive-By Truckers and Slobberbone, who fly under No Destination's radar but share Frog Holler's devil-may-care approach to country music." B+ --Bill Cohen Philadelphia Weekly

"Next week is shaping up to be a big city hayride of sorts (minus actual hay), with a local alt-country charge. Driving the tractor is the pride of Shoemakersville, Frog Holler, who’ll be debuting Idiots (Record Cellar). The Pennsylvania-proud seven-piece’s third LP boasts a nifty musical tribute to their home state: On the chorus of "Pennsylvania" Darren Schlappich’s yawls wryly "I’m PA Dutch and I ain’t learned much but I’m willing to try." More jug-band thump and barroom bluegrass than actual country twang, Frog Holler’s sound incorporates folksy instruments (banjo, fiddle, lap steel) without a precious feel. For every traditional touch there’s an unexpected turn: horns on "Bitter Blues" or the intro of "WJKS," which feels like an acoustic treatment of Echo and the Bunnymen’s "Killing Moon." - Brian Howard Philadelphia City Paper

"There's no shortage of that Son Volt, world-weary alt-country melancholy going around. Berks County quartet Frog Holler, however, comes to it's beer swillin' laments honestly and, with each release, grows more comfortable and confident. On the new Idiots, the Darren Schlappich-led sextet eases back on a set of uniformly engaging front-porch pickers accomplished enough to deserve recognition beyond the pages of alt-country bible No Depression." - Dan Deluca Philadelphia Inquirer

"only a handful of releases each year will measure up to the heartfelt music played by this group of guys who take pride in their Berks County heritage. The good times (and sad times) roll on throughout the entirety of the album, with great songs such as "WJKS" (joy kills sorrow), "Stray", "Happy Hour" and "Adams Hotel Road.""Pennsylvania" kicks off the second half of the record in some sort of PA-Dutch hoedown. Now, I've never been to a Dutch hoedown in the Keystone state before, but damned if this song doesn't make me want to move to Berks County, Penn. "Choose A Path" is another song that's more fun than a cold beer on a hot day. Darren has quite a talent at wrapping a sad tale around a catchy melody. On "Bitter Blues" he sings "You left me with no choice/Silence you have earned/I finally found my own voice/But you ain't worth the words." He takes those bitter lyrics, however, and places them on a chorus that could make all the friends in the bar lift their glass and sing along - arm in arm." Steve Gardner Fresh Dirt

"That is the essense of Frog Holler- unassuming, talented and ignoring the battles that don't matter much. This is just another great album from this band. As Schlappich says time and time again, "the song is king". And Frog Holler, as good a band as it is (and the playing on the Cd is brilliant) lets the song (and, by extension, the intuition, the feeling,the emotion) define the music"- Jim Speese Reading Eagle/Reading Times

"Fear not, dear brother, 'cause your neck of the woods just got a lot better. Frog Holler's home state of Pennsylvania may be a good ways from Vermont, but it's close enough that my brother can take comfort in the glow of these stellar pickers. In the spirit of the Gourds, Wilco and Whiskeytown, Frog Holler's second CD laces great hooks with sweet harmonies. Some -- such as "Stray", which weaves an introspective tale of a lost hippie chick who, like Snoop Dogg, takes comfort in gin and juice, among other things -- lure listeners with their elegant licks and catchy choruses." - Rodney Gibbs Splendid E-Zine

****(4 stars) "Song is King, luidt de slogan van singer-songwriter Darren Schlappich van de band Frog Holler. Op de derde cd Idiots (Record Cellar) doet hij zijn slogan alle eer aan - want het is Schlappich en band op hun best. Kennelijk heeft hij zich de kritiek op beide voorgangers - te veel nummers, het kaf niet voldoende van het koren gescheiden - aangetrokken, want dit keer beperkt Frog Holler zich tot twaalf deuntjes alt country pur sang. Melancholie wordt gekoppeld aan een uitgelaten feeststemming, met de heerlijke pakkende stem van Schlappich als verbindende factor. Het is niet folk, niet rock, niet country, maar toch ook weer wel, in de vorm van een melting pot, en voeg daar tegelijk maar bluegrass aan toe. Heb je behoefte aan troost, draai dan aangrijpende songs als Adams Hotel Road, WJKS, Happy Road en Thirty One. Ja, hou de fles whiskey maar binnen handbereik. Niet alleen om de ellende te vergeten, maar zoals gezegd, ook om de stemming erin te brengen. Bezingt Rowwen Heze De Peel en Lazy Sunday Dream De Jordaan, Schlappich's liefde heet Pennsylvania zingt hij op het gelijknamige, weergaloze feestnummer. Frog Holler riekt naar aardappelvelden, dorpskroegen, snert, haardvuur en maartse buien. Het maakt van Idiots een heerlijke plaat." - Bart Ebisch Alt-Country NL (Netherlands)

**** (4 stars)"Pennsylvania" het zevende nummer op de nieuwe CD "Idiots" typeert Frog Holler ten voeten uit: in een volledig akoestische bezetting met o.a. banjo en viool zingt voorman Darren Schlappich vol overgave "Pennsylvania is my home. Pennsylvania is where I was born. Wow, I am Pa. Dutch and I learn't mutch, but I'm willing to try." Dat Schlappich en consorten onder "Dutch" wat anders verstaan dan wat wij Nederlanders denken mag een detail zijn, wel is duidelijk dat de mannen van Frog Holler er trots op zijn uit deze Amerikaanse staat te komen. Let wel, ze komen uit het gebied van Berks County, m.a.w. ze komen van het platteland en dat is zeker niet gelijk te stellen met de grote-stads-jongens van Marah, The Rolling Hayseeds en Solid for Sixty met wie ze het label Record Cellar delen. Toch zijn er wat Philadelphia-invloeden op "Idiots" te vinden, zo laat men op "Bitter Blues" lgeheel onverwachts zelfs een blazers-sectie aantreden en dat klinkt zeker niet onaardig. Toch ligt de kracht van "Idiots" voornamelijk in "plattelands-songs met plattelandsteksten" neergezet in onvervalste alt-country met her en der een uitstapje naar de bluegrass. Meest memorabele nummers zijn, naast het al eerder genoemde bluegrass nummertje "Pennsylvania, het droevige "Where Joy Kills Sorrow" (geen relatie met de schitterende compilatie "WJKS" op het Australische W.Minc) en de problemen bij het meegaan in de moderne tijd in "Stray". Al met al is deze opvolger van "Adam's Hoetl Road" met recht een prachtplaat en het wordt tijd dat Nederland, in navolging van The Bottle Rockets, ook eens kennis maakt met deze "plattelands jongens" uit het land waar nog steeds geldt dat "Song is King" is." - Ronald Vos Netherlands

reviews for 'Adams Hotel Road' and 'Couldn't Get Along'

"From the beautiful opening track, "Least Most Wanted" to the closing track "('ll Tell the) Cows" every track is a gem……Adams Hotel Road may be the best Alt.Country album of the year" -Henning Kleiven The Rural Route

"Frog Holler has evolved into a sprawling, genre-bending sextet……….embraces regret and melancholy with such poetic grace that his aches and pains are somehow oddly uplifting" -Jim Musser No Depression

"Frog Holler's second release lands at the top of the stack. It'll stay there awhile too, this six piece (plus guests) from southeastern Pennsylvania pulls off a compelling, personal set of songs, and the album is cohesive while essaying styles from bluegrass to modern rock. It's all good." -Dan Aloi MoMzine

"This is one of the loneliest records (Adams Hotel Road) I've heard in awhile……..beats most by a country mile." -Gus T. Williker The Double Wide Hayride Show

"where a loud electric guitar happily exists with banjo and mandolin ….with scratchy guitar and fiddle low down together. The album succeeds this way, with old and new, abrasive and laid back, exuberance and exasperation, soulfully held together." -Andy Turner Country Standard Time

"The album's well-textured blend of country and rock frames the finely wrought and often sweetly melancholy songs of acoustic guitarist and main singer Darren Schlappich" -Nick Cristiano The Philadelphia Inquirer

"…both bitter and sweet; it goes down like that first glass of lemonade in the blaring August sun." -Brian Howard Philadelphia City Paper

"If Son Volt and Whiskeytown really do split up, don't fret, Frog Holler are more than ready to fill in their footsteps. And oh boy, what a wonderful world-weary voice Schlappich has to add to the songs……a wonderful ride down Adams Hotel Road." -Markus Rill Insurgent Country Homepage

"He sent me a copy of their self-released Couldn't Get Along right after the first edition of Modern Twang came out, and I was completely bowled over." -David Goodman Modern Twang

"Left-handed acoustic guitar player and singer/songwriter Darren Schlappich leads his band with vigorous lyricism and downhomecountry styling……Their laid-back instrumental exuberance and yingyang songcraft lead the listener down a dirt-road of melancholy insight and kick-drum rock and roll that satisfies on several levels." -BJ Weikert The Posh Rail

"Frog Holler released one of the best albums in Berks(County) history with Couldn't Get Along……Frog Holler has taken it's music to a new plateau. Adams Hotel Road is simply a great album." -Jim Speese Reading Eagle/Times

"Frog Holler is the best band without a record contract." -Jesse Lundy New Park Entertainment

"The insurgent country scene has been beat to death but there's still gems to be found here and there and one of them is the Philly area's Frog Holler whoose cd "Adams Hotel Road" (Record Cellar) is both beautiful and deeply moving" -Tim Heinley -Northeast Surfnews

"Vocalist/songwriter Darren Schlappich has filled this album with tunes worth hearing and his bandmates provide an outstanding ensemble effort in support." -The Durham Herald-Sun

"(surprise, surprise) beats the hell out of most major label entrants in the alt. country stakes." - Chris Nickson- Folk Roots Magazine (UK)

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