Rocking Out with Daniel Fromberg

Daniel Fromberg is an indie kid.

He hangs out at places like Chicago's Bottom Lounge and the Experimental Sound Studio, prefers vinyl to mp3's and likes Neutral Milk Hotel and Modest Mouse.

He's just 11 years old, and he's on his way to becoming a musician you're probably going to hear a lot about in the future.

"The more out there it is, the more Daniel likes it," said Phil Sheaff, 32 and Daniel's instructor and collaborator on the youngster's debut self-titled album.

Inspired by experimental rock, Fromberg likes to play with sound. On the album, he uses electric, acoustic, bottleneck, bass and bowed guitars, drums, keyboard and the musical saw.

"He writes music all the time. That's just what he does...He doesn't watch TV or play video games," Sheaff said. "I’ve never met a kid who’s written more than 100 songs."

Eleven of those numbers made it onto the album, which is streaming on Daniel's website, where it's also available on CD for $5. The album is also available as a digital download — buyers are asked to name their own price — and individual tracks on the 11-song album can be purchased for $1 each.

We caught up with Fromberg during a lesson at Sheaff's Lake Street studio, where the sixth grader at talks inspiration, Athens and experiments. 

What's the first instrument you remember picking up?

Probably the guitar. I got one for my birthday from my uncle when I was 4. It was an acoustic and it was really small, just a basic guitar. I kind of strummed it a little, then a few years later my [older] brother started playing and that made me want to start guitar more seriously.

Then later on, I started to actually learn chords and learn how to play. From there I started writing songs and recording them and then learning other things.

And what's the first complete song you remember playing all the way through?

I had lots of progression things. Probably Rural Route 9, which is the first one on the album. That was probably the first real complete song. But I've had other things before that, just riffs and things.

You're a musician, so you can expect to get this question a lot in the future. Who are your influences?

A lot of the newer bands out of Athens, Ga., like the Elephant 6 music scene. You may not know them. I found a website based on the Elephant 6 collective of musicians and I found other people who like that kind of really obscure music and also make music. I'm really inspired by that.

How'd you get turned onto Elephant 6?

Well my brother has a band and they covered a song by the band Neutral Milk Hotel, which has Jeff Mangum in it and I really liked the song and started to listen to more of them. From there, I started to find more bands that have similar members and similar music.

Do you have an iPod?

I use CDs. I have a portable CD player. There's something about iPods I don't like. ... You just don't get the booklet, you don't the get the art. It's not as personal.

Do you listen to records?

Oh, I have lots or records. There's this place in Chicago, Reckless Records. I'm actually going there after this.

Who is your favorite artist? And guitarist?

Julian Koster. He's in The Music Tapes. He'll play things like the banjo and the saw. And sometimes only in people's houses and they'll have a video with stuff playing off the projector.

My guitar idol would probably be Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse. He does crazy stuff. He may not know everything about guitar but he can make crazy sounds.

Besides music, what else are you into?

I like writing. I don't write a lot but when I have to do it for school it's really fun.

Have you played live in front of crowds?

I've played live ... with a band of other kids my age, The Noise Orchestra, and we've played a few shows, some of them were very early and under different names. I think my first is when I was 9 or 10. It was just guitar, drums and keyboard. Just weird acoustic stuff.

Do you think you'll continue to play music forever?

Yeah, definitely. It's fun. it's just a great way to express yourself.