Daniel Bateman :: The Frog Interview
New Rochelle, New York-based trio Frog has been building a whispery world of crystallized communication through soft, sentimental songs for well over a decade. Made up of siblings Daniel and Steve Bateman and Thomas White, the group has grown a cult-like following over the years while also creating an echoey environment best described as “Frognation.” With several albums and EPs resting on laid-out lily pads that bravely bake under the sizzling sun, the group has become a poetic phenomenon, casting simple spells into an otherwise complicated world that could really use a dose of melodic medication from such an intimate institution of song and dance.
Photo: Cheyenne Runner
For over a decade, the project has been releasing a steady body of work since its 2013 self-titled debut. What were those formative years like, navigating the indie music world? I’m curious what specific elements influenced the band early on, and how you and Tom White wove those influences in with the music on the group’s earliest recordings.
Photo: Regan Jones
I know nothing about the music business, past or present, other than it is filled with horrors. I’ve made every record in the same way — go in a room, preferably with a friend, and make noise until you have fun! Hopefully the mics are on, and then you can put it out. Tom moved to England in 2018, and the band was eventually just me for “Count Bateman”. I played all the instruments, which was fun, but a little lonely. What really made it awful was playing shows solo back then. I tried having an acoustic guitar and a drum machine onstage, and it was honestly an unpleasant experience to attend or play those shows. Steve liked the songs on “Count Bateman”, so I made him play drums live, and then he started coming to the recording sessions. Playing with Steve has been one of the great joys of my life, onstage or in the studio. He is so fun to be around, and he’s my best friend. Now Tom plays bass on our tours, and I couldn’t be happier. Music is a reflection of the relationship you have with the people you’re making it with. I love them both so much.
Photo: Andrew Piccone
The sonic silence between your 2019 debut solo album, “Count Bateman,” and 2023’s “Grog” held this magical material, released over the last couple of years. What was that period like for the band, as well as for yourself? When first discovering the band, I was honestly taken aback. There are so many Nilsson-esque moments throughout the discography that really make me smile when I listen. When you begin approaching an album, what are some of the base plots, or key ingredients that make a Frog album, a Frog album as you begin to lay out the bones of a project?
I don’t think anyone really cared about the records in those days, or who was on them. Frog was not very popular until late 2019-2021, if we were popular at all. 2019-2023 was how long “Grog” took to make, because of the pandemic and my children being born in 2020. Being a new father of twins takes up pretty much all of your time, and I was working full-time as a data scientist at a tech company back then. I never plan anything. Music is about having fun. If I can make Steve laugh, then the line goes in the record. If you get bored on one instrument, try a different one, or a different tuning, key, or time signature. The only unifying aspect of the records is that they are the best I could do at that time. There are only two qualities that are present in almost all the art that I’m drawn to: honesty and ambition. It has to be something that feels real and true, and it has to be attempting something that other people aren’t doing, at least not in the way that they’re doing it.
In 2025, the band released two albums, with an immediate follow-up in April. With the records so close together, I’m curious about their bond. Do you look at these works in a conceptual sense, or do they reside on the same street, but in different houses? What was the overall vision for bringing the blissful ballads on “Frogs For Sale” to life, and what kind of space do these particular songs occupy in your heart and mind?
Both records in 2025 were created during a very intense period in my life. I worked 60 hours a week as a set dresser, went on tour, cared for my children, and recorded albums whenever I could. I was either working or doing things that I would otherwise have to pay someone else to do 100% of my waking hours. I wasn’t really sleeping except on the couch for like 4-5 hours. In general, I’m a person who tends to be disinclined to listen to anyone else, which is a pretty bad quality, because it means that you are probably not being very nice to the people around you, and also that you have to personally pay for everything you learn in your own blood. For“The Count”, and to some extent “1,000 Variations On the Same Song”, Steve and I were experimenting with pulling back the curtain on the process of making records. Every song always starts as an improvisation — say you’re fucking around alone or with Steve on an instrument, and you come across something that grabs you, and then you hop onto it and see where it goes. If you are recording this moment, the moment where you first come up with the song, then this is always my favorite version of the song, but it’s not something you’d ever release to the public — you might be drunk, it could be on your phone, your kids are jumping on you, etc. It’s usually not pretty, as births rarely are. For these albums, we decided these were the moments we wanted to explore, for better or worse, so a large percentage of that music is improvised. “Frog For Sale” required something that was a little more presentable, and so we took pains to polish the stone, write down the lyrics, pronounce the words, do more than one take, etc. This is the first record that I ever made as a full-time musician, which takes a lot of getting used to, because now the clock is ticking on you. This used to be what you did to blow off steam and relax, and now people are frantically emailing you about it? You have to figure out how to approach things in a way that takes the pressure off; otherwise, you won’t ever make anything. I think it came out pretty good though! I think we get better at making records every time we do it.
“There are only two qualities that are present in almost all the art that I’m drawn to: honesty and ambition. It has to be something that feels real and true, and it has to be attempting something that other people aren’t doing, at least not in the way that they’re doing it.”
Photo: Regan Jones
I understand you guys are playing the highly anticipated Woodsist festival in September. That’s exciting! Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
We are going on tour in September and October; Frognation unite!! We’re playing the UK, Ireland, New York, California, Texas, and many more places!! Tickets are available here. This will be the best Frog tour in history.
