Hey, we try to keep things clean around here. I have no issue with F bombs, but I do think that you sound stupid when you use them too much.
Jem Godrey is the main creative force behind the prog rock band “Frost*”. He’s a keyboard player, singer, songwriter, and he does play guitar, too, but the main guitarist in Frost* is John Mitchell, another modern prog hero of mine.
The first Frost* song I ever heard was “No Me No You”, and based on that alone, I thought Frost* was a metal band with a very good keyboard player. Like if Tony Banks joined Metallica or something. But listening to the whole album (Milliontown), it was obvious that they were a modern prog rock band that skipped the Mellotron and organ and replaced them with modern cool synths and great heavy guitar work.
But this post isn’t about my love for the band. It’s about how Jem is a musical hero. Frost* is Jem Godfrey’s band. He chooses the members, and when drummer Craig Blundell was unavailable for the album “Day and Age,” Jem recruited some other drummers to play on the album. But Craig was available for the album’s tour, so he came back and is on the latest album.
This level of practicality is how you DO a band. The downside to being in a band is that you’re not fully in control – you have to accommodate the needs of everyone else. My college band didn’t survive because the bass player left and then the drummer and guitar player decided to leave. We’re all still friends. But I was never in a band again, because my music is too important to me to leave in the hands of other people.
But if Jem can’t get who he wants, he just gets other people. He’s the main composer, and on the latest album, he’s the only lead singer. It’s HIS band. The other guys are fine with that.
From the way I’m writing, you’d think he might be a “my way or the highway” guy, but instead he seems to be one of the happiest, goofiest guys out there. In recording footage while making the latest Frost* album, he can’t stop laughing at two ducks in the yard. In interviews his sense of humor and positive outlook are really endearing.
Jem took 5 months to write and record the latest Frost* album (Life in the Wires) full time. He works like I do, like many people do, in that he’ll get a good idea, record it into his phone, and when he has a lot of ideas, he writes songs.
As a singer, he’s great. But as a keyboard player, he’s amazing. When watching him play fast synth leads, it really does seem as though the video has been sped up. His speed is amazing, and his playing is melodic, with some very strange notes thrown in to emphasize that he’s really just having fun. He chooses amazing sounds, and the latest album is full of Yamaha CP70, which of course I love, being a big Genesis fan.
Watch an interview with Jem and you’ll see what I mean. The interview on the ProSynth Network YouTube channel is a great one to watch, where Jem talks about his entry into the world of synths.
If “Life in the Wires” is the last Frost* album, it’s a damn good one. I hope that Jem continues to make music in the future, regardless of what name he calls it. But if he doesn’t, we’ve still got some amazing music to enjoy for years to come.
Favorite Frost* Tracks – No Me No You, Black Light Machine, Numbers, Heartstrings, Hyperventilate, Day and Age, Island Life, Life in the Wires Part 1.