"JUST ADD MUSIC..."

FRESHNESS DATED: MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2006

Why should you support live music?
This quote is from Bailey Jones from the Sundilla Acoustic Concert Series:
"Somewhere, there is probably someone who lived in England in 1960s who turned down a chance to go to The Cavern Club because he had never heard of the band. "The band" in question was, of course, The Beatles. They went on to have a bit of success in the music business; enough success that the guy who didn't want to go see them play because he had never heard of them is still kicking himself black-and-blue 40 years later. So when you're trying to decide whether or not you want to drag yourself out to see some unknown play... just remind yourself that every musician was once an unknown, and that every musician who sells out arenas for hundreds of dollars per ticket once played somewhere for under ten bucks. And someone who paid hundreds of dollars to sit in the last row of an arena once turned down the chance to sit on the first row of a small venue for next to nothing.
Don't be this person!" Support live music!

(The above from the Lafayette Brewing Company, Lafayette Indiana website.)

"Just add music.." by Whispering Jeff
Ever since I started the Cream City Suds newspaper in February 1997, I’ve been itchy to add a music column (or 2). You don’t know how many people in how many music bars I’ve met and been pitched to about “I’ll write a column on music,” and then “pfft”, they vanish, or the topic vanishes from their lips.
OK. Enough of the negative vibes, Moriarity. Yes, I must have a positive mental attitude about this.

GASTHAUS ZUR KRONE MUSIC MEMORIES
Those of you that know me from my days as a bartender at Gasthaus Zur Krone, formerly Milwaukee's Import Beer Capital, know that I used to host live music on Sundays.
We had 2 house bands (I mean regular bands):
One was Bucket of Balls, which featured Rip Tenor (alias Art Kumbalek) on..tenor, Victor DeLorenzo (of the Violent Femmes), Johnny D on guitar (x-Helena Handbasket) and Dave Malacar (SP) on bass. What kinda music was it ? It was…jazz, man, some spoken word, some cigarettes, some great musical stuff. Sorta like the band Morphine. OK, you can see I’m not gonna be much help here with descriptions.
Does anybody out there remember that Halloween party at Zur Krone, when Victor DeLorenzo played his 2nd solo CD live, along with Jim Eannelli and Kim Zwick & Connie Grauer (Mrs Fun) on backup ? They played right after we showed 2 classic silent films, “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and “Nosferatu”. Pretty scary night, baby.

The other Zur Krone house band was the Western Box Turtles...

that late, lamentedly no-longer playing Bob Wills-styled Texas swing-style band led by fiddle player & crooner, Danny Smith
In fact, one of my customers, sitting in the "catbird seat" (end booth), said to me, "Jeff, I'm gonna be a drummer in the Box Turtles. " A million years later, that's just what Andy Pagel (x-Johnny on Washday drummer) was doing (Box o' Turds broke up this Summer.

The rest of the bands that played there are all..a joyous blur.
Lessee, I know there was Trance & Dance Band, the Gillies, Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra (at least a dozen of 'em), Johnny on Washday, the Brewhaus Polka Kings...
4.5 Volt Jubilee (Moselys prototype with Mike "Freddie" Fredrickson, Royce Hall Jr. & Dave Brown),... There had to have been a million others. It was a great party time, with great friends (disguised as customers) and great beer.

MY MUSIC PLAN:
But I really don’t want to talk about music after I saw it, because you’re not gonna see it, and it’ll just tick you off.
OK, maybe I’ll talk about stuff I’ve seen, put it on this website, but the newspaper will be more of a PREVIEW of music to come.
OK, I MAY talk about some old stuff, but just a little.

CELLAR DAYS
My "Music Addiction" really started in Arlington Heights, IL, where I was raised. Our local kids-bar was a place called...the Cellar. We had some terrific house bands, including a Byrds-style band (the Raevns), a soul band (the Mauds), a 3-4 part harmony country-rock band, doing originals & Dylan covers (Blackstones-Moppetts and finally, Saturday's Children), and a Rolling Stones-style band that had a #1 hit single in the US in December of 1966 of a Them song written by Van Morrison (it charted poorly for Them in the US), yes, I'm talking about the Shadows of Knight with Jimmy Sohns, doing Gloria ("G-L-O-R-I-I-I-I-A !")...
The Cellar. We had some great national bands for $2-3: Byrds, Muddy Waters, Buffalo Springfield (I STILL remember Steve Stills & Neil Young's feedback war that night), and a gozillion others. The Cellar ran from about 1962 to 1968.
In 1999, some of my Arlington Heights friends & I put together a "Cellar Reunion", getting 5 of the old bands together, attracting 450 attendees. The highlight was the encore song, "Gloria", with lead & rhythm guitar playing by Shadows of Knight originals Joe Kelly & Jerry McGeorge.

MILWAUKEE MUSIC:
Locally, I’m a big fan of Dr. Chow’s Love Medicine...

Fridays, head over to the Lakefront Palm Garden. The Brewhaus Polka Kings (who used to backup Frankie Yankovic) are jamming with Art Kumbalek at least monthly.
I agree with my friend Marsha, tho, Salt Creek, Frogwater, and anything with Tommy Schwark.

My run-on list continues…
Robbie Fulks (with our own x-Mosely's Mike Frederickson on bass); NRBQ, Polkacide, Los Straitjackets (in Chicago at Blues Fest with Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater")... Time before that, "Sing along with Los Straitjackets" with Big Sandy at Shank Hall.... Time before that, Summerfest, with the Fabulous Pontoni Sisters...David Bromberg, Black 47 (last at Gaelic Irish Park in Chicagoland),...

I’m a relatively liberal guy, music-wise, but like anyone, I'm gonna have my opinions, but I'm still open to your suggestions.

Hey, I guess I started a music column, eh ? Stay tuned for more.

POLKATIME:
Polkaholics: While I’m on the subject of Polka, don’t forget the Dandy Don Hedeker & the Chicago punk-polka band Polkaholics ("We play polkas on Guitarrrr...")

More Polkified stuff: stop off at Van’s Liquors in Manitowoc and pick up the new CD & DVD (recorded at Brat Fest 2003) of the Happy Schnapps Combo. “Raise it!"

Extreme Polka: Get yourself some Polkacide...

Big Lou's Polka Casserole, Brave Combo,...

Are we missing YOUR band, your venue or your event ?
Email us at milwbrew@execpc.com
We update DAILY !!