Bringing midnight straight to my heart

July 5, 2023 10:37 AM

Rick Froberg, co-founding member of bands Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes has died at the age of 55, announced his long-time friend and collaborator John Reis. Appreciations from NPR ("Rick Froberg was the perfect punk vocalist"), Pitchfork ("5 Essential Songs"), and The Guardian ("Froberg was a lightning rod")

A key figure in the alt 90s music scene in San Diego, his first major band was Pitchfork (not to be confused with the music site) (YT, Spotify), followed by Drive Like Jehu, whose album Yank Crime (YT, Spotify, live set circa '92) is now considered a classic of the genre. He went on to co-found Hot Snakes (Bandcamp) and Obits (Bandcamp.)

One of his last interviews was with musician Jim Ward.

Froberg was also an accomplished visual artist and designer, who created most of the album covers for his bands and others.

posted by gwint (19 comments total)

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No Hands
posted by LionIndex at 10:46 AM on July 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Such a bummer. Drive Like Jehu was the last band on my "life would be complete if I could see them live" list.
posted by saladin at 10:53 AM on July 5, 2023

Shit, sorry about the typo. Ugh.
posted by gwint at 10:56 AM on July 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

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Another nice remembrance, from Sam McPheeters of Born Against and Men's Recovery Project.
posted by kensington314 at 11:10 AM on July 5, 2023 [4 favorites]

Oh, that sucks. 55 is young and his bands are fiery wonders.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:22 AM on July 5, 2023

Heard about this just after it happened and my friends and I were just devastated. A real original in a lot of ways. I saw him play up here in Seattle a few times and they always shredded, just as they have for decades. Sad as hell.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:23 AM on July 5, 2023

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posted by sauril at 11:51 AM on July 5, 2023

Love Hot Snakes, glad I got to see them a couple years ago. They were touring Jericho Sirens but they still managed to play just about every song off the first 3 albums that I thought I wanted to hear as well. And they fucking ripped it up, absolute banger of a show.
posted by rodlymight at 11:53 AM on July 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

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posted by equalpants at 12:38 PM on July 5, 2023

Ah fuck. 55 is ... man, what a profound sadness.
posted by penduluum at 12:38 PM on July 5, 2023

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Discovering Drive Like Jehu was a Damascus Road experience for teenage Taco.
posted by East14thTaco at 12:41 PM on July 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

And they fucking ripped it up, absolute banger of a show.

I saw them on the same tour in a small basement club in STL called The Duck Room and it was one of those nights where I just fell in love with rock and fucking roll all over again. Absolutely phenomenal.

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posted by Ufez Jones at 3:19 PM on July 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Was already bummed about the world losing Monte Cazazza and now this...

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posted by gtrwolf at 8:02 PM on July 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

yeah - Froberg and Cazazza, both. though i wasn't close friends with either, they were integral parts of my social fabric. it feels like that cloth is now rent, and cannot be mended. just thankful we still have the music.
posted by lapolla at 5:55 AM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

God damn. His voice, both literal and in his guitar playing, have been a huge part of my life since I was a teen, as well as a massive influence on my own playing. A great loss.
posted by Dysk at 7:04 AM on July 6, 2023

Oh, how nice, I didn't see this until now. I spent most of the past several days either a) actively listening to Drive Like Jehu (and a little Hot Snakes) or b) having their songs ringing in my head.

DLJ's debut album is one of those towering achievements that you almost can't believe exists, a stunning debut for a couple guys who had actually been doing stuff together for a while by then. Rick's intense, screamed vocals were a hallmark, but the band was fantastic by every other count too -- OMG that drummer was a powerhouse (and never played in another band, went on to sound engineering and production).

I saw DLJ play back in the day, and then they broke up as the members evolved into their other bands. In 2014 they played a one-off reunion in their hometown of San Diego, and you know what that means -- reunion tour coming! And indeed they played in my town in 2016 -- at an outdoor festival, so that's another festival that I paid for just to see one band. And they killed it.

In later years, Rick was also in a band called the Obits, and I think I saw them too.

Their debut album, though, oh my god. It simply does not let up. Track names are in the timeline and in the description. R. I. P. Rick Froberg, 1968-2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnSkGoHEmOo
posted by intermod at 8:04 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Here they are playing in 1994 -- this would have been in support of their second album (Yank Crime, super popular but not my favorite). They opened with the two fantastic songs from their Merge single (Hand over Fist and Bullet Train To Vegas) and I can't imagine a more electrifying way to start a show.

Usually I'm annoyed at cameramen who stay on the lead vocalist, especially in the case of this band, but we're recognizing Rick's passing here, so alright then.

In fact I pretty much saw this exact show in person, because two weeks prior I saw them on this tour at a club in Texas. I was working a job out in South Texas (near Bay City) and drove the 90 minutes into Houston to see them -- on a work night. They were on a bill with Superchunk! 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiXDDFns0ik
posted by intermod at 8:06 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

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Ugh, I still can't believe this. Terrible.

Yeah, you're the one who died.

Ugh.
posted by SystematicAbuse at 11:55 AM on July 7, 2023

Yeah, I've been watching old live sets for days and it breaks your heart all over again.
posted by gwint at 12:34 PM on July 7, 2023