The question that Frenzal Rhomb get asked the most, apart from "Can you wear your underpants on stage and still be taken seriously?" would have to be "what does Friends of Ron mean?" The answer is rarely the same, but to clear up any confusion here is an adequate response to the one question they never expect to be asked again. Early in 1994 the lads named the band after Jason's rat who in turn had been named after French scientist Augustus Fresnel, whose contribution to the world was the invention of a light refracting box - the Fresnel Rhomb.
In the dark winter of 1994 three boys and Karl enrolled themselves into the Sydney University Band Competition. They came second. The band took this as a sign that they shall forever more be underdogs and moved into a tiny studio in Camperdown to work on a tribute to themselves entitled "Dick Sandwich". The CD contains many classic tunes like "Chemotherapy", and "Richer Than You", the Depeche Mode (abridged) classic "How Can I Fuck The System When I Just Can't Get it Up?" alongside the beloved "Home & Away" theme.
1995 brought about the debut album, "Coughing Up A Storm". It had more tracks than Dick Sandwich, cost more and sounded better, although the artwork has not really stood the test of time but includes punk rock beauties like "Four Litres", "Kaan Kaant", "Genius", and the track that Fat Mike from NOFX plays to his children before bedtime: "Cones".
Thus began Frenzal's association with NOFX when the American s&m fetishists toured Australia in 1996 and took FR along for the party. Fat Wreck Chords head honcho and fattest man in the world, Fat Mike was so impressed with the unsavoury Australian quartet that he arranged the worldwide release through Fat Wreck Chords of the now highly collectable 7 inch "Four Litres". Frenzal Rhomb are the only Australian band to have tarnished the roster of this otherwise great punk rock label. The classic track "Run" was also featured on Fat Wreck's flagship compilation "Survival Of The Fattest" which has sold over half a million copies worldwide and become a staple in the CD collections of punk rock kids with spots worldwide.
The blokes continued to tear the house down throughout this period, touring Australia and New Zealand with bands like Offspring, Propagandhi, SNFU, You Am I, NOFX, and The Meanies, and appearing on the Homebake, Livid, Pushover & Big Day Out festivals. By the time the single "Punch in the Face" came out Frenzal Rhomb were the self-proclaimed "punkest band in the world".
Then came a deeply sad period as Ben Costello, co-founder of the band decided to leave the group after his dad forced him to. According at least to the remaining members, who happily rewrote history in their interviews. Ben now works as a director of Animal Liberation, retaining close ties with the band, who are all strong opponents of the meat industry and animal cruelty.
Lindsay, or Doctor Lindemans as he was immediately christened, replaced Ben and was declared by all to be much better looking, although not much of a guitarist. This didn't matter because no one in Frenzal had ever been any good at music, and the good doctor was right at home prescribing alcohol and no rest to his new-found colleagues. Up until this point Lindsay had spent his life on a remote desert island being raised by gorillas, eating dirt and scratching himself.
Not So Tough Now was Frenzal's first album with Shock and also the first album to be released in Japan. Their first Japanese tour was in 1997 with Rocket From the Crypt and Shonen Knife. Back home JJJ banned the new Frenzal anthem "Punch in the Face", after Jay asked presenter Jane Gazzo on air whether she liked chocolate. This did nothing to stop Frenzal Rhomb became the biggest selling independent artists of the year with Not so Tough Now reaching number 1 on the national independent chart and staying in the top 20 for over 100 weeks.
The band's continued interest from the U.S. culminated in two releases; "Once a Jolly Swagman, Always a Jolly Swagman", a compilation of early releases and "Not So Tough Now". The seppos took to it like ducks to water and Frenzal spent three months with Uncle Sam on a 72 date tour featuring Less Than Jake and Blink 182 and another 2 months on the 1998 US Vans Warped tour. Large festival tours were proving to be a regular caravan for Frenzal Rhomb. They went on to headline the inaugural Warped Australian leg in 1997/1998, followed it up with a spot on the main stage at the1998 Big Day Out, and returned to the U.S. for a second go on Warped U.S.A. in July.
While in the States the band began recording a new album, the impending release of album number three had legions of teenagers biting their nails and picking at their school sores in anticipation. "Meet The Family" was inspired by the breakdown of the band's own family lifestyles, and was greeted with unprecedented media coverage at home and not a week going by without the band's antics being reported in the press. Frenzal Rhomb's first effort at a radio hit "All Your Friends Think You're A Fuckhead" was only overshadowed by the intellectual genius of "Get Fucked You Fucken Fuckwit".
"Meet The Family" was certified gold by ARIA., the band's first trophy since Lindsay's sterling effort in 100 meters at the 1981 Little Athletics Carnival in Engadine NSW. Jason chucked his gold record into the crowd at a show in Bozeman, Montana, in the middle of a six month tour of the US and Canada. His indifference to the band's success at home was understandable, given that Frenzal were on a breakneck 13 show a fortnight schedule. Despite the schedule, or because of it, Jason and his compatriots were committed to a rigorous diet of non-stop partying, drinking and personal abuse, which led to the hospitalization of the singer on more than one occasion.
At the end of that memorable US tour master of boomsticks Gordon Forman, who hailed from the swamps of Gaven inland from Queensland's Gold Coast signed up as the new drummer. Frenzal Rhomb immediately removed him from his mother's apron strings and took him into the studio to work on their next album. The band were deeply impressed that they were in the same studio that Whitesnake and Guns & Roses had recorded their own masterpieces and celebrated nightly in what they believed was the manner the L.A. glam rockers would have wanted.
Fat Wreck Chords heard the songs and signed the band for worldwide release. The title, "A Man's Not A Camel", came about because Frenzal think it's best to stick to beer references when you're trying to honestly depict your life and values through music. "We're Going Out Tonight" and "Let's Drink a Beer" launched the CD in the hearts and minds of a fanbase that was almost approaching legal drinking age. The single "You Are Not My Friend" took Frenzal to commercial radio for the first time and gave the band their second ARIA trophy with sales of "A Man's Not a Camel" reaching 60,000 by the end of 1999.
All was well with the band ready to headline the Big Day Out 2000 and the guys packing their bags for the U.S. again. The momentum was unstoppable until the eve of the first Big Day Out show in Auckland when Jason decided it was time to become unhinged once more when he checked himself out of hospital and checked into his local.
Gordy picks up the story…
"As we walked up the minor incline of Erskineville Road, I noticed that Jay, still in his hospital robes, was clutching his chest and emitting a loud, low wheezing sound. I asked him if anything was wrong and he told me not to worry. At 2am, after a long night of imbibing, which has been recalled in many varying forms by that evening's patrons, Jason David Whalley succumbed to a massive heart attack and passed away."
As Frenzal's manager was rehearsing his press conference speech and remembering through tearful eyes the time when he stood on Jason's chest during a recording session, the good Doctor Lindemans was pounding on Jason's chest screaming "Oh the humanity!". Whalley was revived some minutes later, asking the attendant nurse for a spark so he could light a bipta.
Almost a year later, Frenzal Rhomb bring you just what the good doctor ordered, a new album entitled "Shut Your Mouth". Frenzal Rhomb have generously delivered another prized blend of aggressive punk rock and traditional Australian mayhem. Shut Your Mouth is available in Australia and NZ on Epitaph Records. The rest of the world can get it through Fat Wreck. Frenzal are the only band to be signed to the two best punk labels in the world simultaneously!
The band have been advised by their solicitor that "Shut Your Mouth" should carry the usual advisory sticker, and a note that the album should not be available for sale to the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard. Frenzal Rhomb are again asking the questions that others dare not broach: "Who plays keyboards in Killing Heidi?", "Who plays drums in Taxiride?" and "is our prime minister a BAA BAA BLEET WOOF?" are but a few of the razor sharp observations made by Australia's premier songwriting dynamo.
Frenzal have already spent the early days of 2001 playing the main stage of the Big Day Out. When they were asked to replace Limp Bizkit, Lindsay closed the giant rock festival in a pink sequined slip playing an acoustic set of songs by the Frogs, including "My Daughter's Missing" and "Where's Jerry Lewis When You Need the Man". After that tour ended they moved to Europe for two months, playing a sold out 45 date tour with good mates Less Than Jake.
Frenzal Rhomb have just completed a tour the likes of which no one has ever seen before, going to places they have only dreamed about - Mt.Isa, Kalgoorlie, Horsham, Mackay and Melbourne. With their good friends the Mad Caddies from Santa Barbara (home of Michael Jackson and Bubbles) the bands will be on a 3 month, 70 show rampage with all 16 people of the touring party traveling in style in Frenzal Rhomb's highly acclaimed HZ Holden Kingswood, more affectionately know as "the Kinger". It's a real head turner.
Now that people have become used to the name Frenzal Rhomb, a second question emerged: "How's Jay?". The answer is of course that Jay is very well indeed. It is important however to put this incident into perspective. Many of the nation's media organisations have reported the Frenzal Rhomb heart attack as if it were an unusual episode in the life of this outfit. Nothing could be further from the truth. The members of Frenzal Rhomb have always had an unhealthy disrespect for their own health, and for their lives and the lives of those around them. The question should really be: "what does san souci mean? The answer is of course, it's frog for "no worries"
Source: http://www.frenzalrhomb.com.au/frenzalrhomb/bio.html
