Given their lack of a literal spine and their lifeless form unless a person picks them up, puppets are pretty, well, sad. So it should come as no surprise that someone decided to let puppets sing about their actual feelings.
Meet Fragile Rock, the first emo puppet band, who happen to be modeled off the denizens of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock. The performance art and rock group sees a group of puppets sing about all the depressing things going on in the world, starting with their own melancholic attitudes. Just listen to their hit song, “I Am Sad And So Am I,” above to get a better look into their downtrodden world. It’s not all bad. The songs themselves see some great rhythms and pretty on-point harmonies. Head to their website, however, and you’ll notice that every page is titled with a frowning face.
Fragile Rock is led by puppets, but the person actually leading the puppets is comedian Brently Heilbron and a loyal crew of puppeteers. Caught up in the dramatics uneasiness of the aftermath of a divorce, Heilbron began writing sad songs for puppets that his friend Shaun Branigan, an Austin-based actor who creates puppets, could bring to life. First there was one singer, then another, and then another. In a matter of weeks, they created a full band, complete with backup singers, that could mope about like actual humans. Suddenly Heilbron’s personal matters didn’t feel so lonesome.
Like any real band, there’s a series of complex relationships between its members, from friendship fights to offscreen romance. Onstage, that drama leads to the occasional discussion-turned-therapy session. Once settled, they launch back into their music to overcome misery… or try to.
Dying to see them live? You’re in luck. Trek down to Austin this March to see Fragile Rock perform at SXSW. Maybe if they’re in a good mood, you can get their autographs.
Don’t like it? Well, the band has two words for you: “Stay felt.”
Be sure to check out our music video with Ben Folds and the Fraggles
Image: Roy Moore
