Dennis Flemion, the founding member of controversial rock band The Frogs, has gone missing and is unfortunately presumed dead after going for a swim on Saturday afternoon at Wind Lake in Wisconsin (US). Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has reported that divers are still crawling the waters for any signs of the 57-year-old.
Dennis and his brother Jimmy formed The Frogs in 1980, releasing albums through indie label Matador. Their sense of humour and crazy costumes earned them many famous musical fans thoughout the 90s. Dennis was also briefly a touring member of Smashing Pumpkins, and collaborated with Billy Corgan, including Medellia of the Gray Skies from the album Tonight, Tonight, and on To Sheila and Behold! The Night-Mare on Adore. Corgan expressed his concerns in a tweet (below).
Matador’s Gerard Cosloy has shared a blog post, revealing the news and talking about their long experience with Flemion, saying:
Dennis was without question, one of the funniest persons I’ve ever encountered. Painfully so. It would not be an exaggeration to say there were several times in which his verbal evisceration chops were almost impossible to keep up with (those who’ve attended Frogs shows over the years know exactly what I’m talking about).
The Dennis that we saw onstage would’ve recognized this tragic event as a huge opportunity to plug some new recordings. Sans wig, drum sticks, etc. he might’ve preferred I’d not even mention it. The fantastic output and fleeting moments of near-fame aside, I hope he’s remembered as a really sweet guy first, and a hugely talented artist second. Our thoughts go out to Jimmy, the rest of the Flemion family, their friends and everyone who was lucky enough to know Dennis. Simply saying, “he’ll be missed” doesn’t come close to covering it.
https://twitter.com/Billy/statuses/222519706127568897
