Rock
Ben Nichols
Ben Nichols, frontman for gritty rebel rockers Lucero, presents his first solo release, Last Pale Light In the West, a self-dubbed “mini-LP.” The mini LP is seven story-songs, pulling their tales from Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian (1985), a bleak, violence-ridden novel, packed full of historical and religious references. Each song Nichols pens in Last Pale Light in the West is built around the novel and its characters; the title track sets the scene as Nichols leads, “Dark clouds gather round me / to the West my soul is bound.” The next introduces the novel’s protagonist, The Kid. In “The Kid,” Nichols sings, “Your mother died night you were born / her name you never knew / look away, look away / nothing to lose / left East Tennessee at fourteen / wandered to the West / look away, look away / born into death.” With Lucero, Nichols has proved himself a natural-born storyteller, tales of bars and brawls narrated by his raspy drawl. This time around, his stories are not just of bars and brawls; those bars and brawls are scenes for something far deeper and more sinister, echoing McCarthy’s unblinking, soulless style. The music itself bucks up and simply tells the tales, not overdrawing a dark mood but lending a stripped down and plainly pretty backdrop, letting the lyrics do all of the novel’s dirty work. Nichols, on acoustic guitar, paired with Rick Steff (Cat Power) on accordion and piano and Todd Beene (Glossary) on pedal steel and electric guitar, rolls ballads out slow and sure, like the rising and setting of the sun in a dusty Western sky, while the musicality of the songs shine up the rough pages within. Although more of a novella in terms of length, Last Pale Light in the West is all-encompassing of its original source, embodying a sense of history and depth and issuing an effect that’s fresh and endlessly intriguing, as the best stories often are.
Jan 1st, 2009 by Erin Wolf
The Secret Machines
The self-titled third full-length release from The Secret Machines is just about the best collection of new music released this year. Within eight jams stands one of the most towering monoliths of sound I’ve ever cast my ears upon. From these three gifted New York (by way of Texas) musicians thumps a mighty beat of dance/pop and a noisy cinema of aural images. It knocked me on my ass. The party gets started with huge drums and distorted guitar melodies on the dance-floor beacon “Atomic Heels,” and then seamlessly slides into “Last Believer, Drop Dead.” There, Brandon Curtis settles into the contemplative crystallization of being a “dream enthusiast” in a “graveyard of hopes.” Throughout, there is the faint realization that much more is going on than just stellar music, but as the melodies and delivery are so subtly intertwined, the lyrics are felt more than understood. “Underneath The Concrete,” a total vamp with hooks via synth and voice, is the last glimmer of levity. Henceforth, “The Walls are Starting to Crack” and the closing “The Fire is Waiting” are huge, cataclysmic draperies of dark emotion and production. Every moment of these recordings has impact. In all of the songs are touches of many influences, which are never groped, just caressed, innovated and invigorated – in the true spirit of artistry – by The Secret Machines’ own formidable creativity.
Dec 1st, 2008 by Troy Butero
Quinn Scharber and the …
In one of his SubVersions columns several months back, our boy Matt Wild declared the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of Quinn Scharber and the Electric Youth a refreshing novelty, or some similar turn of phrase — the implication being that bands in the Beer City have become so obsessed with attaching extra bells and whistles to their music (like, for instance, actual bells and whistles) that the simple effectiveness of a well-crafted guitar-pop song is overlooked. Maybe that’s the rationale behind titling their debut disc Being Nice Won’t Save Milwaukee; in a city where every new band is determined to throw their housemates’ thrift-store toy pianos on stage, playing a no-frills guitar riff is an act of defiance. If there’s rebellion in these songs, it’s not the type that comes screaming. Scharber is a graduate of the Pollard and late-Replacements-era Westerberg Academy, more “Can’t Hardly Wait” than “Fuck School.” In fact, the opening “Latest Flame” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Pleased to Meet Me, as blasphemous as hardcore ‘Matheads may consider that. It’s all boxed wine and “Don’t you wanna be my latest flame/don’t you wanna make a big mistake,” delivered in Scharber’s conspiratorial half-whisper. It’s quite a feat to sing a refrain like “Keep it Legal” and sound like you’re getting away with something, yet there it is. Quinn Scharber and the Wrath of Khan (they change their name every show, so why let them have all the fun?) are doing little more than playing extremely well-crafted pop songs cobbled together by a dude, his guitar and a few of his drinking buddies backing him up. In a town overrun with banjos and glockenspiels, maybe an Epiphone will save the day after all.
Dec 1st, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
Various artists
A few years ago, after attending a Christmas-charity show featuring several metal-styled acts, I posited a reasonable question: are rock ‘n’ roll and Yuletide cheer compatible? After all, this is the season of comfortable sweaters, chestnut visions, and a jolly old fat man who apparently helps remind us of the birth of Jesus Christ — none of which is exactly “metal.” Nevertheless, We Wish You a Metal Xmas attempts to introduce crunchy riffs, elaborate solos and headbanging tempos to the festivities. The success of the introduction is debatable, but there’s no doubt that it’s sort of fun, and most of the time it’s definitely funny. For example, a version of “Run Rudolph Run” features ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, Nirvana/Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, and Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister — the latter of whom navigates the lyrics with his usual death’s-door wheeze. And Ronnie James Dio rolls through “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as though he’s grandly shoveling dirt on the gentlemen’s graves. Some of the other tracks would count as sacrilege if we hadn’t all heard most of these songs until we’re well sick of them. Testament lead singer Chuck Billy vomits all over “Silent Night,” while Alice Cooper naturally finds the perverse breaking-and-entering side of “Santa Claws [sic] Is Coming to Town.” Yet even metalheads get all sentimental this time of year, something admitted here with the final track, in which Styx lynchpin Tommy Shaw gives all due respect to John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” This is only right and proper — and thus not very metal, so the answer to my question is a resounding No.
Dec 1st, 2008 by Jon Gilbertson
Chinese Democracy. LET’S DO THIS.
Fig.1: At least that godawful Asian-style font didn’t make it onto the album art, i guess If you’re on top of pop culture, you’ve probably already listened to the new “Guns ‘n’ Roses” album, as it’s been streamable on the “G’N’R” MySpace since Thursday. Me, i listened to it for the first time while at work on Friday, but since i was in an office environment, cranking the muthafugga wasn’t really an option. I did, however, hear enough of it to know that Chuck Klosterman is on crack rock. In his review of Chinese Democracy for The Onion, Klosterman (with whom i agree on some issues [the validity of hair metal as a genre] but disagree vehemently on others [the boneheaded contention that hair metal was valid essentially because it sold a lot of records]) attempts to mark the release of Axl Rose’s Citizen Kane Plan 9 From Outer Space as some sort of cultural turning point: Chinese Democracy is (pretty much) the last Old Media album we’ll ever contemplate in this context—it’s the last album that will be marketed as a collection of autonomous-but-connected songs, the last album that will be absorbed as a static manifestation of who the band supposedly is, and the last album that will matter more as a physical object than as an Internet sound file. This is the end of that. Uh…really? Says who? You? Fig.2: It’s called a camera, Chuck. When i click this button, it will create an image of you. Like magic! Oh, wait, i get it. Look at that photo…he’s totally stoned. That explains it. But still, i really did enjoy his musings on Motley Crue in Fargo Rock City, so maybe i should give the album another listen, at home where i can hear everything, yes? After all, it may be impossible to review the album in a vacuum away from the 17 years of anticipation, or whatever the hell else Chuck contends, but in the end, it’s about whether or not it’s a good record–or at least, a passable listening experience. Granted, with this much time gone, “almost as good as Use Your Illusion” would likely be a success. So, blah blah, enough with the buildup–i’m gonna hit “play” on the MySpace player and blog my thoughts as i absorb that which we thought would never see the light of day, and that which many of us plain didn’t give a shit about. But hey, that’s what obsessing about pop culture is all about–caring about shit that ultimately is pointless. So join me, won’t you? 1. Chinese Democracy Ok, opening reminds me of, like, “In the Beginning” from Shout at the Devil. I thought Axl hated the Crue? But in time, our nations grew weak, and our cities turned to slumswait, opening riff. Very processed. Ha! That first guitar lead totally sounds pasted over the top. …Man, this already doesn’t sound like a band…at least, it sure doesn’t sound like one playing live. Ooh! Big explosion at the […]
Nov 24th, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
a Well-Intentioned Rebuttal (Or: Oh! Matt! Gimme a Hug!)
Fig.1: This image of a packed Cactus Club witnessing Call Me Lightning is sure evidence of a dying scene Matt Wild needs a hug. If you’ve read this month’s edition of SubVersions, Matt’s back-page column in the pages of VITAL’s print edition, you may have gotten that impression. Every year, to close the annual music issue, Matt gives his take on the state of the Milwaukee Music Scene, and he’s not in a very good mood this month. “You want to know my take on the state of the scene? It sucks. What’s more, I’m glad I’m out of it. And that HiFi lyric [NOTE: Read the article and you’ll see he’s referring to “Success! Success! Success!,” a rock song by the band I drum in. Do note that I found it totally flattering that Matt referenced us! Oh, Matt]? Oh, it’s true all right, though I would argue that in Milwaukee, no one hears you, period. It doesn’t make a lick of difference whether you’re 20, 30, or 48, because the only people that are going to give a shit about your band are your friends and girlfriends, and even they’ll piss and moan if you don’t put them on the guest list. Is the idea of a bunch of slowly graying adults playing basements and barely-attended clubs inherently ridiculous? In a world of few absolutes and rampant relativism, let me just come out and say it: Yes, yes it is. Give up now. Feel the shame.” Jon Anne Willow, our fabulous Editor in Chief, the Robbie Robertson to my Peter Parker, suspects what I am certain is true. She “has known Matt for many years and has believed for a while now that he was heading for that aspirations-vs.-reality wall most young artists collide with eventually.” Since Matt ended the music issue on such a downer, I thought I’d take a stab at a well-intentioned rebuttal to his contention that the current Milwaukee Music Scene is sucky and awful. I also would like to send Matt a small ray of hope from the other side of that wall Jon Anne is talking about, not unlike the black GI who peers over the Berlin wall and rescues Hedwig from cold East Berlin in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Only, ya know, with slightly less gay. (But only slightly.) Fig.2: Let me save you from all this strife and sauerkraut, Matt What I’m trying to say, Matt, is this: Jon Anne is 100% correct about that aspirations-vs.-reality wall. I know because I full-on smacked into it head first two years ago. The year was 2006. The Republicans were about to cede control of Congress to the Democrats for the first time in 12 years, and a little tv show called Heroes had caught the nation’s imagination before jumping the shark a season later (because, really…West? That kid sucked). And your humble narrator had just ended a 5-year relationship because he didn’t follow his lady love to grad school, choosing instead […]
Nov 12th, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
An interview with GIRL TALK (LIVE @ Turner Hall!)
By Erin Wolf “People will be getting naked … having sex up onstage.” Just a day in the life of the MC of one of the wildest dance parties around – Girl Talk. Known otherwise as Gregg Gillis, the 27-year old former biomedical engineer has found Pavlov’s Bell for lewd behavior. Booty-bumping, pulse-thumping song arrangements in mash-up style, manned purely by laptop magic, have made Gillis’ Girl Talk nearly a household name. His latest collection, Feed The Animals, trips hip hop beats with classic and current rock and pop melodies, adding dance beats that make the hits more intensely catchy. Tom Petty, LL Cool J, Air, Dr. Dre, and Of Montreal rub shoulders without making jarring contact – Gillis even manages to smoothly match up Metallica’s “One” with Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss.” Gillis has been experimenting with different rhythm and melody combinations since he was a teenager. “My band prior to Girl Talk did a lot of experimental stuff – CD skipping, things like that,” he says. Gillis took these experimentations with electronic music and developed his skills alongside his studies at Case Western Reserve University. “I was never into turntables,” Gillis says. “It all started out with electronics, then I started mixing other stuff in. The indie blogs started to pick up on it, and it all snowballed from there.” Using his laptop, Gillis would test combinations of songs in the same key, checking out if beats matched up and if the vocals would be in proper sync. The formula has remained tried and true. “I’ll go through my CDs, songs I’ve heard in passing, stuff I’ve got on my computer – I catalogue a lot of stuff and save the loops and samples. If I have a loop or a vocal track I like, I’ll try to make it evolve [and] add new beats. Most of the arrangements are all thought out already … like any other kid, you’re surrounded by top 40 pop in the supermarket, wherever. Hall & Oates, Fleetwood Mac – my parents were into smooth stuff like that.” Bet Gillis’ parents didn’t see their son turning their Nicks and Buckingham folk reveries into fodder for maniacal bust-a-movers. “I usually cover my laptop in saran wrap,” Gillis mentions, as testimony to how things can naturally get a bit out of control. “I’ve also got a case for it – I’ve learned my lesson.” His drink-spilling beats inspire spontaneous behavior perhaps because he plays by spontaneous rules. “The transition [between songs] is free-form, and it changes every night. I know loosely what folder I’ll go to on my computer. I’m really stoked about the Grateful Dead remixes I’ve been playing recently! Sometimes, you’ll get a crowd where it won’t sink in. I really like to fine-tune my stuff until something hits. All my music has been an evolution. It used to be so much different from eight years ago – it’s something I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.” Early retirement could be a […]
Nov 3rd, 2008 by Erin Wolf
Under 500
By Brian Whitney Fun fact: In my pre-teens, I subscribed to Disney Adventures magazine, perhaps fulfilling a secret craving for pictures of the voice actors from Beauty and the Beast or Andrew Keegan’s thoughts on his three minutes of screen time in Independence Day, though I honestly don’t remember. One thing I do remember is a DA story about the potential for the nascent internet, which discussed in great detail how we would be doing homework, playing games, “instant messaging” friends and watching movies all at the same time, all on one computer. I immediately equated the article with stories about flying cars and personal space travel. We all know what happened next. Five years ago it would have been difficult to think of a world without the internet. Now it seems difficult to picture the internet without YouTube, the video sharing site that consistently averages about 14 million hits daily. YouTube makes it possible to fluster or celebrate – but ultimately publicize – anyone, almost instantly, from the insanely famous to – well, someone like me. It, and its budding counterparts like Google Video and Hulu, are the new, great playing-field levelers, and nowhere are their effects more manifest than in the music industry. Observe the case of OK Go, a marginally successful major label band who raised the stakes in the music world when they posted a video for the song “Here It Goes Again,” featuring a choreographed dance on treadmills. The video vaulted them to fame, earned them a performance on the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and ultimately won them a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. Not too shabby for a vid filmed by the singer’s sister on a borrowed camera. So, have local bands embraced this brave new world? Most web videos in general end up looking like local television commercials, replete with poor lighting, shoddy audio and bad performances all around. But several Milwaukee musicians have made compelling pieces of cinema on the cheap and utilized internet video technology for personal gain, notoriety and perhaps even minor fortune. Like Juiceboxxx. The Milwaukee rap wunderkind has made quite a name for himself on the national stage, performing frantic, sweaty shows around the country and appearing on MTV2’s Subterranean with the video for his song “Thunder Jam III.” While “Thunder Jam” cost more than some musicians make in a year ($11,000+, according to producer Lew Baldwin), the shoot for his follow-up video “I Don’t Wanna Go Into The Darkness” was a wildly unglamorous affair. The premise is simple enough: Juiceboxxx rocks a crowd with his usual stage antics. He packed sometimes-venue the Vault with various Milwaukee music scene mainstays and supplied them with free PBR. The production crew erected a makeshift stage that probably cost about $30, depending on how much duct tape they purchased. After the free beer was consumed and the crowd was visibly buzzed, Juiceboxxx took the stage, performed the single a few times, then blasted out a couple more songs. […]
Nov 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
A sort of venue guide
By Nick Schurk The good news: the laudable efforts of the booking talent behind large and medium-sized concert venues in Milwaukee have utterly negated our city’s former reputation as the fly-over zone between Chicago and Madison. Even better, Milwaukee’s ever-fertile local music scene now rests within the context of our newly-minted and fast-rising status as a “music city,” our name increasingly bandied about alongside Chicago, Minneapolis and even Austin. Seattle? So 20th century. Now is our time to shine, and in every neighborhood you can barely throw a rock without hitting a favorite spot to experience live local music in the best possible way – up close and personal. Just in case you don’t get out much, here’s a guide to some of the city’s best – or at least most interesting – intimate venues. Are you a poor college student? Does the thought of leaving campus via public transportation frighten and confuse you? The UW-Milwaukee Union Gasthaus (2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.) offers big-name performances most Thursdays by locals like Fever Marlene and Maritime as well as national up and comers like We The Living and Good Asian Drivers. Head up one flight of stairs and catch a show at UWM’s 8th Note Coffee House, which offers free, all-ages rock shows to students and the general public. Riverwest, the bohemian epicenter of Milwaukee’s East Side, supplements its basement-party reputation with a fair share of legit venues. For almost two decades, Mad Planet (533 E. Center St.) has been fueling the neighborhood’s subculture with every kind of music under the sun. From Midwest flavored hip-hop (Mac Lethal, Juiceboxxx) to sludgy, Japanese metal (Boris), Mad Planet books some of the best and most unique acts from around the world. Two things to keep in mind: All shows are 21+ and the club’s Retro Dance Party (held every Friday night) is the best way to get that earful of The Smiths/Split Enz/Bow Wow Wow you would never publicly admit to craving. And it’s just a short stumble to Stonefly, where excellent local and national rock acts regularly share a bill. For a more intimate evening, head over to the Jazz Estate (2423 N. Murray Ave.). This smoke-choked cube on Milwaukee’s East Side hosts weekly performances from artists like folk songstress Amy Rohan and the unruly, improvisational The Erotic Adventures of the Static Chicken. Still, the scene never stagnates thanks to an ever-changing lineup of jazz and jazz-inspired ensembles. Not far, on pretty, gritty Brady Street, the Estate’s kindred spirit The Up & Under (1216 E. Brady St.) offers some of the best blues performances in the area. Of course we would be remiss not to mention The Cactus Club (2496 S. Wentworth Ave.), arguably the crown jewel of Milwaukee’s music venues. This tiny Bay View club has managed to snatch some major headliners (Queens of the Stone Age, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, etc.) from the clutches of venues with more pull like The Rave and The Pabst. But more importantly, The Cactus […]
Nov 1st, 2008 by Nick Schurk
The Final Chapter
By Matt Wild PART 1 If you’re a frequent victim of the Milwaukee County Transit system, you’re faced with countless indignities while riding the bus: hostile passengers, inane and never-ending cell phone conversations, a smell that could only be described as a mixture of B.O. and quiet desperation. Yet it seems to me that the most insidious evil one encounters is Transit TV, a dumping ground for cringe-worthy “moving entertainment” (I’m looking at you, Clever Cleaver Brothers), as well as a warm, fuzzy blanket for mouth breathers who like to play along with the Pat Sajak puzzle games. Mostly, Transit TV is nothing more than a series of out-of-context quotes from such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr., and, um, Steven Wright. Recently, one caught my eye. “I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that’s good taste.”— Lucille Ball Putting aside the fact that I’ve never cared for Lucy – placing her in the “Just Don’t Get It” category along with hardcore animal pornography and John McGivern – it’s a quote that really struck a nerve. For the past 18 (!) years, I’ve defined myself, in one way or another, by my band, Holy Mary Motor Club. Though I never really admitted it out loud (talking about your band is never in good taste), it’s defined me just the same. But in the last few months or so, I’ve taken the former Mrs. Desi Arnaz’s advice and owned up to the fact that being in a band is something I’m not very good at: I’m a terrible singer, a hopeless guitar player and a mediocre songwriter at best. So instead of subjecting myself (and others) to further torment, I recently decided to put my band aside and concentrate on things I’m actually good at, like, I don’t know … needlepoint? All of this is a long way of saying that here we are at VITAL’s annual music issue, and for the first time in three years, I find I have little to say. Looking back at my past “Milwaukee Music Scene™” columns, maybe I never did. If I could offer up any sort of analysis, however, it would be this: the MMS™ is fine, just as wonderful and lousy as it’s always been. The recent rise of Turner Hall and the Pabst Theatre has been something of a mixed blessing, bringing in top-tier indie bands that normally would have avoided Milwaukee while at the same time leaving local joints like the Cactus Club and Mad Planet booking the same local bands every other week (I’m looking at you, John the Savage). At any rate, the scene seems to be in need of a big change, as a lot of the old musical mainstays – as well as the folks behind the scenes – are getting a little long in the tooth. Put simply, things seem to be running on fumes. Or does it just seem this way […]
Nov 1st, 2008 by Matt Wild
Crossover Appeal
By Erin Wolf, DJ Hostettler and Amy Elliott Photos by Erin Landry No musician is an island, and in the music biz, it’s all about who you know, whether you’re a mainstream corporate unit-mover or a DIY street punk. Even the rare musician who does it all – writing, designing, photographing, recording, mixing, mastering, promoting, booking and fixing – needs to collaborate to stay fresh (and sane). And in Milwaukee, “it’s who you know” tends to take on an egalitarian, community-based context. You can have the songs, the chops and the style, but what do you do when you need band photos – and everyone needs to be in front of the camera? We caught up with four local musicians and the local artists, photographers, technicians and production teams that help them get the job done to discuss their working relationships and the friendships they’ve formed. We may not have built this city on rock and roll, but in the end, it’s all about the love. The mechanics of instrumental romance “I’ve screwed up my guitars plenty of times,” says Quinn Scharber, head of Milwaukee four-piece Quinn Scharber and The … “I can specifically recall winding my strings backwards on the tuning pegs multiple times in my younger days.” Quinn started playing on his brother’s cheap electric guitar, then got an acoustic, which he still uses, when he was sixteen. “I’m glad I started on electric, because all I really wanted to play at that time was ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin, and that song is pretty hard to rock on an acoustic guitar.” ‘Rocking’ a guitar can take its toll. Constant strummings, pickings, tunings, jolts, cable ins and outs, amp fry-age and normal bumps and bruises require maintenance and repairs. Scharber’s first experiences in instrument mechanics came up short. “I think the first time I had work done on my guitar was when I was in college and I needed the electronics replaced on it … They charged me a lot and I had to take it back in two times to get it done right,” he recalls. Scharber soon started to shop around, and found a trusty and skilled ‘guitar mechanic’ in Jeff Benske of Top Shelf Guitar Shop in Bay View. “I just stopped in there one day about five or six years ago with [bandmate] Thom Geibel when we were having a ‘let’s go check out some guitars’ day. I’ve pretty much been hanging around Jeff’s shop and pestering him with questions ever since.” Says Benske of his first impression of Scharber, “He started off buying the usual parts and then came in with some non-standard projects … some custom stuff,” he said. Quinn’s whip, a tricked-out Epiphone Casino, hasn’t changed over the years. “We’ve done the electronics in it, and it’s set up just the way he wants it.” Scharber appreciates the work that Benske has done with his Epiphone. “I take my guitars to Jeff because he’ll do it right the first time, […]
Nov 1st, 2008 by Amy Elliott
