Interview conducted by: Lance Marwood
Following the release of their latest album 'Vol. 1' we caught up with rock band Detective Frog to have an in-depth discussion on all things movie-related, hope you enjoy!
If you could have your pick of any sort of projects that you get to do as a band, money's no object, tell me some of the projects that you guys would love to work on and make a reality.
Jacob: “Rick and I were always talking about just like an actual musical, like Goblin the Musical would be a good one. A movie somewhat like The Wall.”
Bill: “I think it would be fucking killer.”
Jacob: “Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna use the visuals from The Wall and just replace Pink Floyd with us.
Ricky: “Jacob and I both have a theatrical background and what I did before I fucked off to the army was I worked in film and tv for a while. So I would love to synergize visual mediums or do other things with our music.
Like, I don't want to say that we could be like KISS and have lunchboxes, but that's exactly what I'm saying. 100%. And I would love nothing more than to collab with Scooby Doo, which is top of my list.”
Jacob: “Bingo.”
Collab with Scooby Doo?
Jacob: “100%. Yeah, we're all really big fans of like anything cinematic. Getting to just kind of flesh out this universe in whatever way we can really. For me. It's an emphasis on movies and theater right? I mean fucking why not comic books, bottle openers, underpants?”
“Not to just rip off Coheed and Cambria, but one of the projects that [the band’s manager] Zandy and I were working on was a pilot for a TV show called The Odd Squadron. Which is kind of what I was wanting to base a little bit of Album 2, if we get to do it, kind of on on this, where, you know, chronicling, like, the events of, like, maybe some sort of ship crew that go into this place called the Ghost Zone that lets you... Kind of frees you up, anything can happen, right? So it's really good for bad writers like me.
“But yeah, just like having some sort of comic media, mostly for merch. To make some more money, you know what I'm saying?
“I think cinema, movies, all that stuff is a really good device to tell a story without coming off as too pretentious.
“You know what I'm saying? Like, we could be like other indie bands, it'd pop out like, something like, oh, my dad kicked me in the head. Right. And just have that out there. Or we could talk about being we're talking about being a mummy, you know, and cover the same sort of the same sort of subject matter, but like in a cool, fun way and not in the lame, emotional crybaby way.”
Ricky: “It's a way to just keep from at all costs being like you know, so genuine. Yeah. Well, nothing. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think, I think that's where nothing scares me more than like personal growth and like accepting, admitting faults. And this is a good way to do that where it's not, you know, I'm not the one doing this, it's the monster, the spooky monster, or aliens.”
Jacob: “Robots.”
Ricky: “I think the speculative fiction sci fi fantasy angle has been something that we connected on. Cause I mentioned films and TV. You've mentioned some screenwriting. My degree is actually in creative writing. And like, so like you have to pick a specialty with that.
“Mine was screenwriting as well. So. I'm a failed screenwriter, I guess you could say. No big deal. But like, I think connecting on... are interested in like those ideas. They're just like big, bold, fun ideas that you can build, build songs around and building, like building a universe of like characters. Obviously I don't know how much we want to put out there, but like, you know, Jacob Riddle is his real name, but Ricky Business and Bill Lizard are not our real name for the other two members.”
That's the sound of my heart breaking gentlemen.
Ricky: “As hard as it is to believe.”
So Jacob Riddle is your real name?
Jacob: “Yeah, 100%. I know that probably sounds sarcastic, but no, that's actually my real name.”
You mentioned sci fi and speculative fiction - what sci fi narratives, whether they're books, movies whatever, did you guys connect on?
Jacob: “Star Trek. Easy. Star Trek Next Generation, and DS9. Are you a DS9 guy?”
Ricky: “Not as much as TFG. Star Trek, we had like a lot of interest in similar books too, pulp like fucking Conan the Barbarian, and I mean what are books that we've both read? Like we've both read like a lot of the same stuff, like Asimov, and Yeah, we're going through like iRobot and stuff, very very dramatic, I mean Conan is essentially that's just an erotic novel talking about how muscly this guy is, but it's still cool.”
Jacob: “It's still cool, you can appreciate the physique.”
Ricky: “Yeah, I guess.”
Jacob: I definitely take Star Trek over Star Wars. What was it, what did we just watch, Hokkaido? Any sort of like B rate sci fi, any sort of like more obscure science fiction fucking, I'm drawing an absolute blank on it now that I'm on the spot.
Like Mystery Science Theater 3000?
Jacob: Maybe the movies that they're watching.
Right, okay.
Jacob: Like the old Clash of the Titans, that's a fucking big one for me with the robot owl. Or the clockwork owl, I can't remember what - Archimedes? Archimedes, fuck.
Like Jason and the Argonauts?
Ricky: “Oh, yeah. All that, like, Ray Harryhausen, like, special effects.”
There it is. Yeah, Harryhausen creature features. So pretty much like Turner Classic Movies, but not the fancy shit.
Jacob: “Right. That and the 1988 Blob remake. I don't know where you land on that one, but I fucking love that movie. That's a great thing.”
Ricky: “Is that a Cronenberg film?”
No way. Come on.
Ricky: “There was The Fly remake that came out around the same time. That was a Cronenberg film. Yeah, maybe I'm mixing that up.”
Charles Russell. Who the fuck is that?
Jacob: A hero. They didn't even go off screen for the kid deaths, and I respect that.
Oh, okay IMDB is telling me he did a Nightmare on Elm Street, Eraser, Scorpion King-
Jacob: “Oh, fuck yeah, I’m in.”
Ricky: “Yeah. Then we start getting up into like the four, five, six of the Scorpion King series, and now we're talking.”
Jacob: “Yeah, old school, like Hercules and Xena. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anything with Bruce Campbell. I'm a big Sam Raimi fan. I know Sam Raimi wasn't really Xena and Hercules, but Bruce Campbell was. “
Ricky: “I actually think that that serialized… like in the vein of Star Trek or Xena Warrior Princess, like the shows that we fucking grew up watching, that doesn't really exist in TV anymore. I mean it does, I guess, like Law and Order: SVU is the same fucking thing, it’s just a self-contained thing. But this idea like the Highlander TV show, where you're jumping through these different worlds. Like these different like time periods, or-”
Jacob: “Yeah, Highlander 1 & 2 are another Crossing point for us. Yeah.”
Ricky: “Yeah, I think that's an influence on the band and the characters and the universe idea of like these characters who are kind of like out of Quantum Leap. Yeah leaping through these different weird, high-strangeness scenarios.”
Jacob: “Yeah, I always viewed all the stuff that we're writing as like an anthology, if that makes sense? You know, like Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, all these stories that are separate from one another, but are all contained within the same kind of, what is it, cosmic gumbo - this kind of dude broth we've made between ourselves.”
Hmm. Dude broth.
Jacob: “Yeah.”
Tell me that you just made that up on the spot.
Jacob: “Yup. Dude broth. That was all me.”
That's so sick.
Ricky: “It'll make you sick if you have too much of it.”
Jacob: “Keep it outta your hair or your eyes. Yeah. [pause] Bill Lizard wears a size nine shoe.”
Bill: “Okay.”
Do you guys generally tend to watch films together?
Jacob: “It's usually Steven Seagal movies. Like, recent Steven Seagal movies.”
Bill: “Steven Seagal's been a huge influence on us, man.”
Ricky: “Yeah. Both his music and his acting, he's a recent filmmaker, he's at the age of 69 which was the end of last year that's when he really started to come into his own.”
Jacob: “Yeah. Prime time. I think we're entering a new kind of - I will be bold by saying, but: golden age? Sure. But I'm gonna say it. It is a golden age for the nation, right? I mean, he's bridging the gap, right? He's friends with Putin, like that's foreign relations, all being bridged by one man who is also a black belt in Aikido, and a helicopter pilot, and a cop, and a musician, and a poet, and what isn't he? A ghost.”
So all that stuff before 2020, or even 2022, that's just grist for the mill?
Jacob: “Well, except for Under Siege, with Tommy Lee Jones. That's the exception. So like, we're down with stuff 2020 and after, but Under Siege we make an exception because of Tommy Lee Jones, okay? And I'm speaking for all of us on that.”
What is the best movie that Tommy Lee Jones has made?
Jacob: “Under Siege.”
Ricky: “It's definitely the coolest he's looked in any movie.”
Bill: “Was he in the third Men In Black?”
Jacob: “No, he wasn't. But he's like Josh Brolin in the first one.”
No, I think Josh Brolin's in the fourth one.
Jacob: “There's four? Oh, no, the fourth one is Chris Hemsworth.
Oh, yeah, Men in Black 3 had Brolin, you're right.
Jacob: “We do, on a more serious note, like to watch really shitty movies.”
Bill: “Yeah. Really, really bad movies.”
Okay, what's... Like, you're talking, The Room levels of, like, bad? I mean-
Ricky: “I mean, The Room is high class. If you go on Tubi or Amazon Prime and you just start digging, you’ll find movies like Trump Vs The Illuminati or Shark Exorcist.”
Jacob: “Yeah, I'm definitely more of a Shark Exorcist fan. When things get topical, as far as politics goes or like current events, I kind of phase out. But if we bring in like Sharks and Exorcisms then I'm all the way back.”
So what would you say is the best bad movie of this decade so far?
Jacob: “Toxic Avenger. Wait, this decade?”
Yeah. You know what, let's go with this century so far.
Jacob: “I would definitely give it to Troma, but Troma’s not even, like, bad. I wouldn't consider Troma films bad. I think they're actually fucking excellent. That's… there's too many things to pick.”
Ricky: “Equilibrium.”
Bill: “Expendables 3.”
Jacob: “I went and rewatched it and I was like, ‘Fuck, the dialogue is garbage.’”
Jacob: “Oh! Sniper Elite. I'll give it to Sniper Elite. Steven Seagal, Sniper Elite for me. [.7 seconds later] Oh, shit. General Commander. I changed my answer. General Commander. Final answer. General commander.
Ricky: “I think that's like 2019.”
Bill: “You should watch it.”
What do you think is the most overrated movie of all time?
Jacob: “Breakfast Club.”
Bill: “That's a weird answer.”
Ricky: “Real fast, too.”
Jacob: “Yeah, I think it got way too much hype. It's a fine movie, but like... I don't give a shit about the Brat Pack.”
Bill: “What the fuck?”
Final answer? You're speaking for everybody?
Jacob: “Well, for me. What do you guys got?”
Ricky: “That's a good answer, because I was just going to say Titanic or something.”
Jacob: “No boobs in Breakfast Club. I'm just saying.”
Bill: “Most overrated?”
Jacob: “Yeah. Too much hype”
Bill: “Fuck. I guess it might be Breakfast Club by default.”
Who's the most overrated director of all time?
Ricky: “Tarantino. I do like Tarantino. I just don't think he's that good.”
Jacob: “Zack Snyder. I don't know if that's of all time. I think people are aware of that one.
So that's, yeah. That's not it. But they keep giving him-”
Ricky: “Lars Von Trier can go fuck himself. Like Nymphomaniac and Dancer in the Dark and all that. He's the king of art house movies and he had that weird like, you know, whatever dogma 21 thing with all those other fucking Danish directors or whatever? They can all go fuck themselves.
All those movies suck dick.”
Jacob: “I'll give it to fucking Harmony Corrine.”
Ricky: “Oh yeah, Harmony Corrine. Throw him, throw him in there too with Lars von Trier, they can go both go fuck themselves. I take it back, Tarantino's cool.”
Bill: “Sick.”
You've explained how Steven Seagal is a luminary in terms of acting. Who's another actor or director who is totally underrated?
Jacob: Ooh, Sam Raimi.
Ricky: Underrated?
Jacob: Yeah. I mean, he goes on record calling himself a hack, but I'm a big fan of Sam Raimi.
Ricky: I feel like he's got a really solid cult following, you know?
Jacob: Yeah. I think a lot of people like the Black Rainbow. That was Raimi.
Ricky: Who made fucking - what the fuck - Thor Ragnarok? No. No..
Jacob: Wait, no. Not the Black Rainbow, which slaps.
Ricky: Then the movie with, I'm pretty sure it's called... um-
Jacob: Are you talking about with Nick Cage?
Ricky: Nick Cage, yeah. Color Out Of Space? Mandy! Mandy, Colorado Space. Mandy fucking rocks.
Jacob: Mandy, yeah. I just thought he also did Colorado Space, but it also has Nick Cage in it.
What's your guys' opinion on Nick Cage?
Ricky: Fucking Las Vegas local and I love every choice he's ever made in a film.
Jacob: I'm on board with the Nick Cage train.
Ricky: Is it Face Off where he tells the lady to suck his tongue on a plane? Yeah,
Bill: Correct.
Jacob: Well, he's like he's a he's a student of that fucking Weird German expressionistic, where it's like the hyper expressions, and that's where the outer world zaniness comes from, but I think it fucking works.
I think if you want a good performance out of Nick Cage, then just give him a fucking good script, because he's not going to say no to the role. He's gonna do it, but you give him garbage to act with, he's gonna do it.
Ricky: Like, at any point in his career, literally any point, you can take a sample of his movies and there's a movie that's really fucking good. Like, up until, like, what was it, Pig, last year? Yeah. Like, just, fucking all time great movie. Fantastic. And that same year he's doing, like, The Five Nights at Freddy's knockoff where he just goes and punches animatronics and shit-
Jacob: Oh my god, Willie's playhouse or some shit.
Ricky: He just does absolute fucking red box garbage and then also
Jacob: awesome shit I think that says more about an actor than like just like look at leo dicaprio Right?
It's like, oh, you just have only good except for Romeo plus Juliet. Baz Luhrmann, actually, I'm gonna cast him as my most overrated director. Baz
Ricky: Baz Luhrmann's definitely my most hated director.
Jacob: But yeah, so Leo, exclusively good roles, except for Romeo and Romeo plus Juliet, cause Baz Luhrmann sucks. Elvis sucks. It all sucks, but yeah, Leo only gives out kickass performances like, okay, cool. One trick pony, much?
Ricky: DiCaprio is overrated as an actor because all he does is get loud when he wants to show emotion, he just yells.
Jacob: So do I. But I'm not acting.
Listen to Detective Frog Vol. 1 below: