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."
