Meet the band:
Liz Hanley – Vocals, keyboard, violin. From a Boston Irish family Liz expanded on her roots by studying classical violin at NYU and now lives in Brooklyn. She is a member of various traditional folk ensembles and can often be found at sessions around the globe.
Tom Hanley – Vocals, bass, composition, production. Pendular between Sheffield, UK and Brooklyn NY he collaborates with engineers and studios on both sides of the pond in order to achieve the stylistic variety which has become the hallmark of Frogbelly and Symphony.
Ben Trott – Guitar. Ben studied classical and jazz guitar in Sheffield, UK and is an integral member of the traditional folk music scene in the UK. He cross-links traditional playing, jazz rooted improvisations and brutalist rock barrages into a sound that is as distinctive as it is versatile.
Ray Rizzo – drums. From Louisville, KY to Brooklyn, NY he has lent his skills as a drummer to artists like like Julia Stone, Trixie Whitley, Bonnie‘Prince’Billy, Glen Hansard, Ben Folds and Michael Shannon. He is also the initiator of Louisville’s Motherlodge festival.
For Liz, Tom, Ben and Ray this band has become a canvas of their collective experiences and intellectual exchange. Often their ideas have previously been articulated by great writers throughout the ages. Frogbelly and Symphony idiosyncratically appropriates, shares and recreates words and tunes. They are not afraid to quote what has already been said perfectly:
John Clare's An Invite to Eternity, Rumi's Ache and Confusion have left their imprints on their writing as well as fragments of Joseph Heller's Catch 22 and Langston Hughes' Vari-Colored Songs.
Tom Hanley: " ... nowadays we're blessed with the possibility to take the inspirational tint from centuries of musical and lyrical repertoires. You may describe our work as a subjective look on an inexhaustible miracle."
