ROBERT FENSTERMAKER: Bass
Born and raised in Bloomsburg, PA, bass player Robert Fenstermaker is better known by his friends, peers and musical cohorts as Frog. This talented fretless wonder has been laying down the grooves professionally longer than band leader, Teddy Young, has known life. Upon graduating high school in 1972, Frog opted to avoid the path of college and made music his full time profession.
Throughout the seventies he kept busy gigging and playing with different show bands. During much of the eighties he found himself in the studio, laying down radio jingles and lending his talent to others for session work. He admits that during that era he contributed mostly to artists that were known for Christian Country Gospel.
In the late 80’s he migrated to the Pocono region of NEPA and stayed busy with Blue Sparks from Hell. In the early 90’s he met up with Young and in November of 1994 he played his first gig with the band. A true test of his abilities to withstand the road ahead, he traveled to NYC, endured the rush hour traffic and took his place within the band while on stage at Manny’s Car Wash in mid town Manhattan. Since
that fateful gig, he has been playing next to Young for more than 16 years. He is the band’s steady, level headed, cool, calm and collected; behind the scenes genius. He’s the band mechanic and the tech support; he’s the builder of lights and fundamentally the most important key for Young to deliver his sound with such distinct essence. Frog always knows in what direction to take the rhythm section. He guides them successfully through the commonly known and often played tunes and those which they are working out for the first time.
When talking to Frog about the difference between this band and all others he has worked with, he was quick to point out that they really work well, “on the fly.” He said, “Since we don’t rehearse, there is no real structure, meaning, no set list or forum to follow. “ Given that approach, they don’t work things out before delivering them to an audience, but rather as they happen. Frog feels that with doing it this way, it allows every song to be delivered with their signature stamp of uniqueness. That approach is definitely what sets them apart from most bands. Even when covering other artist’s work, they always offer their own flavor and originality. Every night is a new show and you just never know what to expect.
Written by Tracey Stones
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