Photo courtesy of band.
Fightin' Bob
Fightin' Bob
I love it when a band makes up a name to describe their sound.
Frog Rock. What is it?
You can find out Saturday, April 19 at Linneman's when five-piece Milwaukee area band Fightin’ Bob takes the stage, after RJ Ziebarth and before Police tribute band Driven to Tears.
Fightin’ Bob is Jack Koshkin (manager, keys, guitar, flux capacitor), Rafael Gandre (lead vocalist), Brandon Furuta (lead guitar), Max Bird (drums) and Saul Dinauer (bass guitar).
What the heck is Frog Rock? Band manager Jack Koshkin proudly states, “We adopted 'Frog Rock' as our own musical style to reflect the balance we've struck between funk—known to get people moving and bring crowds together—and the prog(ressive rock) we started with to showcase more exploratory writing and intellectual musicianship."
We're talking about funk, danceable fun music that forces us to shake hips and tap feet. That's what these guys do. If you enjoy Umphrey's McGee, the Disco Biscuits or the incomparable Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, then get ready for some whimsy jammy funk from Fightin’ Bob.
Background
Koshkin spent some time at the Milwaukee School of Rock, along with Rafeall and Saul. Bird and Dinauer were classmates at Nicolet High School. An opening came up in the band and Bird joined.
Fighting Bob’s has had some changes over the years, with the current lineup in effect since fall of 2024. Bird and Koshkin have been core members, along with their musical ethos. When it comes to composing music it is a five-man effort—a collective process a collaborative process.
Not long after developing their sound the band got in touch with Jim Linneman, the owner of Linneman’s. An agreement for a gig was reached. Covid hit and things had took a different direction. Fightin’ Bob started recording shows from their front lawn. They called it a lawn tour, not a couch tour. The isolation of Covid gave Fightin’ Bob time to work on music and jam together and help the band get its identity.
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They were fortunate to be chosen for the Bitter Jester music festival in highland Park, Illinois, every year from 2019-2023. Bands are selected by judges—primarily younger bands, and put through the rigors of what it's like to be professional musicians
Recent Developments
The band's second phase may have started with submitting an audition to NPR's Tiny Desk concert series. Their song, titled “The Union Man,” was one of 7,000 entered. It was not selected, but the band was pleased. They were creating awareness.
Says Furuta, “Labor unions are the backbone of America, we take for granted so many things they’ve given us. The song is a fun, tongue-in-cheek nod to the working person who’s been forgotten.”
Their local pedigree, their large library of cover songs and originals, and their respect for history, set these guys up for a bright future.
I'm really glad I took the time to get to know a little bit about this group. I'm confident their show will be a banger. So get your dancing shoes on, start thinking outside of the box when it comes to music, and see something fresh and absolutely incredibly fun.
Fightin’ Bob from Milwaukee
The band's web page from ACA Entertainment: acaentertainment.com/artist/fightin-bob
YouTube link: youtube.com/@fightinbobband
Bandcamp link: fightinbobband.bandcamp.com/
