Interview with Hog meets Frog
Hog meets frog are an Austrian band who mix genres. All answers by Petz.
Photo Credit @vicky_vansane on instagram
Alicia
Can you introduce the band
Petz
We are HOG MEETS FROG, and internationally mixed power trio based in Vienna (Austria/Europe). The music we use to play is some kind of progressive-rock-metal-jazz-punk-funk – or simply said: some kind of weird metal-funk or weird funk-metal… or something like that. We like to call our music SQUEAQUACKmusic.
Alicia
Where did the name come from
Petz
The inspiration for the name ‘HOG MEETS FROG’ was just a joke about the band ‘Dog Eat Dog’. As soon as I made the joke, I had the story of a pig and a frog meeting and having fun with each other. But it should take some time before a band was gifted with the name and the story of the pig and the frog was told for the first time.
Alicia
You have an album coming out, can you tell us about the recording process
Petz
‘humANIMALization’ is a 5-track mini-album - an EP, so to speak. Because of the recording process… as much as I do prefer to record the songs together in the studio. Doing that in the rehearsal room can also work well. We did it once - without big equipment. Ariyan managed and mixed it - the song (Black Lives Matter [like all others do] turned out very well. Unfortunately, since thats not always possible, e.g. because of Corona or for financial reasons, we had to go another way. So - for humANIMALization- first we recorded the drums in the studio, then Ariyan (guitar) and I (bass) recorded in our apartments and finally I went back to the studio to do the vocals. We did it this way for three songs: ‘of snakes ‘n’ moles ‘n’ bulls ‘n’ dough’, ‘stuff(ed), cage(d) & enslave(d)’ and ‘ZIGGY the unpigcorn’. Two of the tunes that are on the EP we had already recorded some time ago (‘peeping-bears exegesis of not peeping’ and apes don’t smoke cigars - just pipes). These two were recorded live in the studio. Only the voice was done separately.
Album cover
Alicia
Do you have plans to tour this release
Petz
Unfortunately not yet. At the moment we don't have a booker. So we’re doing it on our own and...we can’t focus on it as much as we would like to. But we’re working on playing some festivals in the summer. We’ll see what comes out of that.
Alicia
Can you tell us about the music scene Where you’re from
Petz
We have a very big music scene here in Vienna (actually in all of Austria), so many interesting and outstanding bands, and a great and loyal fanbase, but unfortunately no real media support for it. Okay, Austria is - besides the classical music influence (Mozart, Haydn, etc.) - a pop music country, and not only the big labels but also the smaller ones are hardly interested in metal. That’s also because Austria is a small country and most A&R’s don’t want to do anything new here. You can see that also in the fact that most of the famous Austrian bands (and also composers like Mozart or Haydn) were played by the media here in Austria only after they became famous abroad. The few exceptions that exist are simply not enough to give the metal fan community what they want.
Alicia
Was music something you’ve always wanted to do?
Petz
Ever since I can remember, music has been all around me. So music became an important part of my life. My father and also my mother(s) loved music very much. At home, we listened to a lot of music – whether opera, pop, rock, country, singer-songwriter, or chanson. And when the music didn’t come from vinyl, CD, or cassette, the radio was on. And I remember singing children’s songs with my mother and my older brother. Another very important influence was my father as a social role model. When I was a kid, he played guitar even more often, and sometimes my big brother and I played and sang with him. What I’m saying is - to answer your question: ‘Yes, I’ve always wanted to make music, at different stages in different ways - but music has always been a central and important point in my life.’
You can check out all of Hog meets frogs music and social media below