Jake Serek, independent bass builder and founder of Serek Basses—used by artists like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Lucas Harwood, Phish’s Mike Gordon and many more — has assembled a new band, Mostly Frogs, set to release their debut album, Cookin' Cousins, on October 11, 2024. The album will be available on all major streaming platforms.

 Mostly Frogs consists of:

• Jay Pullano: Guitar, vocals
• Jake Serek: Bass, synthesizer, vocals
• Rich Lombardo: Drums, vocals
• Corey DiGiovanni: Sampler, SFX, live visual synthesis

The band self-recorded the album in drummer Rich Lombardo’s garage, with production credits shared between John Dieterich (of Deerhoof), Jay Pullano, and Jake Serek. The DIY nature of the project reflects the band's homegrown, community-driven spirit, creating a sound that blends the spontaneity of jam sessions with polished production.

 From Gear to Grooves: The Origins of Mostly Frogs

Serek is best known for building custom basses for high-profile musicians, including Phish's Mike Gordon, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Lucas Harwood, Tedeschi Trucks Band's Brandon Boone, Mt. Joy's Michael Byrnes, IDLES' Adam Devonshire, Deerhoof's Satomi Matsuzaki, Gov’t Mule's Kevin Scott, Bobby Wooten (David Byrne) and more.

The idea for Mostly Frogs came about organically when Serek, his friend Corey DiGiovanni, and his longtime collaborators—cousin Jay Pullano and friend Rich Lombardo—sought a new creative outlet. Various combinations of Jake, Jay and Rich had previously played together in projects like Stache, The Gold Web and Bad City (the last of which supported KISS on their Kiss Kruise in 2012 and The Smashing Pumpkins on multiple tours).

The group, who all lived within walking distance of each other in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood during the recording of the album, began jamming together and playing small sets (at Café Mustache in Chicago and during DIY garage parties for friends, for example). The album’s creation was unintentional at first, growing out of jam sessions that evolved into structured tracks. It was an extremely collaborative process where each of the members rotated in the role of taking the lead on bringing song ideas to the table or getting them across the finish line, often passing the baton back and forth.

Release Details

Cookin' Cousins will be available on streaming platforms on October 11, 2024. It is also available for digital download on Bandcamp here (pay what you want model), with merch available here. However, the band has asked that in lieu of buying the record or spending money on merch, fans consider making a donation to Hurricane Helene relief and those that need it most, instead. So many folks still don't have basic necessities and if you can help, the community really needs it. Of note, Jake Serek recently relocated to a town outside Asheville and is in the process of assessing damage to his “Bass Barn” (the new HQ for Serek Basses) after a tree fell through the barn’s roof during the storm. Jake, his wife and their animals are safe, send their gratitude to the folks who have reached out to check in on them, and despite damage to the new shop, count themselves amongst the lucky in the aftermath of Helene. Resources in the area will go to those who need it most for the time being, and Jake will rebuild stronger and get back to doing what he does best ASAP. Please be aware that Jake is entirely focused on helping the community with resources to rebuild, as well as doing rebuilding of his own to get back to bass orders in the queue, while the rest of the bandmates support the promotion of this album. In fact, Jake spent the weekend of 10/4 collecting donations in order to fill a Uhaul with supplies and drive it back to WNC, and thanked supporters (including jam fans) for their generosity and inspirational outpouring of support.

 Lava Lamps & Blacklight Posters: the role of VFX in Mostly Frogs

The musical trio leaned on Corey to tailor an approach to live visuals as a core part of the band’s identity. Jake’s original pitch to Corey was based on the notion that a “VJ” is typically a hired gun, out of sight and relegated to the sound booth, but why not flip that model on its head, bringing the VJ on-stage as a full-time member of the band, with the audio/visual experience being an essential component of the group’s DNA. Rather than relying on elaborately pre-planned sequences, Corey’s answer to the sandbox Jake tossed out was to assemble a rig that suited the organic aspects of the project, combining manual triggers and cues mapped to MIDI controller pads to jam on in real time, digital video synths with audio-reactive effects chained to audio signals from the band members, and analog glitch gear at the end of the chain for some final retro “damage” and feedback.

 Album Title, Band Name & Inspiration: All Born from Inside Jokes, Homegrown & Community-Driven

• The album title, Cookin' Cousins, is a nod to a moment between Jay and Jake, who reheated chicken sandwiches for the squad after a Phish show at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park back at their Airbnb and passed them through the open kitchen window like a drive-through.
• The band’s name, Mostly Frogs, stems from a humorous misinterpretation while the group was eavesdropping on someone under the influence of nitrous oxide who mistook (and over-confidently identified) the sound of crickets for frogs.
• This is explored at length in their first single “Foma Guys.”
• During promotion of singles from the album, the band leaned into scrappy, groan-worthy publicity stunts, such as the social media contest: “win a date with the guitarist from Mostly Frogs” which Jay (the guitarist from Mostly Frogs) didn’t learn about until the contest was live and submissions started filling the band’s DMs.
• Jay has until EOY to take the winner on a date and is contractually obligated to do so.
• The first thing they ever played together was an obnoxiously stretched out, fifteen minute rendition of the Seinfeld theme song.
• Corey sketched the original band logo by fingerpainting it on his phone and worked with his sister-in-law Kaleigh Murphy to help round out the design.
• The group noted that taking the project public felt like bringing one big, endearing inside joke outside, in the best way possible

Lyrically, the album captures the feeling of carefree antics “with the boys,” going cross-country to shows, generally screwing around and getting up to no-good. While lighthearted in spirit, the music delves into diverse genres, reflecting the band's eclectic influences.