1 Photo courtesy of MySpace.
Band of the Month: Frauke
Refreshing rock from a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously
By Britt Julious
Published: November 28th, 2007 | 4:57am
WHO IT IS
According to Frauke, Frauke is, well, just Frauke — the band’s members don’t aim to flaunt individuality. With a little digging, though, we discovered that Tammy Duncan, Andrew F. Duncan, and David Obuchowski share duties on guitar, vocals, and drums.
LOCATION
Brooklyn, New York
FILE UNDER
Short, upbeat, humorous rock songs with seriously catchy melodies.
IN A NUTSHELL
The trio says it started as an accident. Tammy and her husband Andrew went to see Obuchowski’s band, Goes Cube, practice in January 2007. While Tammy took pictures, Andrew and Obuchowski made “awful noise.” Then, Obuchowski says, “We decided it wouldn't be amazing art unless there was the sound of a woman wailing and screaming. So Tammy put down the camera and picked up the mic.”
As for how the band got its namesake, that’s another random incident. A poster of model headshots hangs on the walls of the Goes Cube practice space, and one of the models is named Frauke. “Here is a model that you've never seen or heard of, and she has this name that is just fucking awesome,” Obuchowski says. “To us it sounded at once very blunt and powerful and also kind of beautiful.”
Frauke is the sort of group, it seems, that is constantly trying to incorporate a fresher tone to its performances and group atmosphere. The band’s influences include “Sexxxy Bone Jamz,” evident on songs like “Riker’s Island Boyfriend,” in which Tammy sings of conjugal visits and a teardrop tattoo underneath the eye. Frauke also is into androids, war, and turmoil. “Each thing represents a different thing for each person,” Obuchowski says.
Frauke is heavily inspired by dancing, which comes through in upbeat tunes ripe for sweaty, good times in cramped clubs like “Ken’s House” and “Emoticonspiracy,” a song that complains of a love interest expressing their feelings with “OMG” and “LOL.” “We each have our own and personal favorites, but Frauke music just ends up as whatever pours out at the end of the day,” Tammy says. Obuchowski adds, “That’s not cause we're just so fucking original, but because we're not that good as musicians, so we really don't have the skills to emulate anyone.”
GOALS
In terms of the future, Frauke approaches their music with one of the more refreshing, realistic outlooks on the indie music scene.
“The whole thing is ludicrous,” Andrew begins, “I just want to have fun playing music.”
The group will be releasing a full-length, self-released record that should be out in early 2008 as well as a split 7-inch with The Pointing Ginas out of Minnesota. Their progression as a band is contingent on one factor: having a good time. “Some people hang out and watch movies. Or play games. Or drink beer and bloody marys,” says Obuchowski. “We do that, too. But, we also happen to have some really cheap instruments on hand, so part of hanging out means we make a lot of noise.”
MORE INFO
Frauke Hates You
Frauke on MySpace
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Frauke is Venus Zine's "Band of the Month" for December 2007. Visit Venus Zine’s Sonic Bids page to submit your profile for coverage consideration.
Issue #35
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