ENCORE!!

So what's next on the agenda for Wisconsin Beef Commission you may ask? Well, here's what's up. We are still doing some last minute tweaks on the album, but as I may or may not have stated, the recording itself is done. All that's left is making it sound more better, mastering, then off to press. We should have something available for y'all by the end of July.

As far as shows, we went from nothing in the foreseeable future, to booking a slew in the last week. We'll be playing July 28th at The Borg Ward here in Milwaukee as part of a matinee show with bands such as Jones Island Flood, Outside Lions, Drumlins, and Revenge Society. Being that this is at The Borg Ward, I'm assuming this will be all ages. I'll get more details out as I get them.

We'll also be playing another battle of the bands at The Miramar Theater on The Eastside on August 4th. This also will be starting in the afternoon as well, and will presumably be all ages as well.

August 18th we will be heading back to Door County to play at our good friend Early Thomas' place; Sonny's Pizzeria in Fish Creek. Word has it that our bat-shit crazy style went over quite well at Steelbridge Songfest a couple weeks ago, so there MAY be a second show up in that area... rumor has it... maybe...

Also, I got a report from my buddy Joe Papke (formerly of X-Brand out of Sturgeon Bay WI) that WMSE 91.7 played some of our stuff. Now this is amazing, because there has been nothing released from the forthcoming album. The only ones who have access to the recordings are Shane (from Howl Street Recordings), Mike, Dana, and myself. We haven't released ANYTHING as of yet. This means that someone at WMSE lifted audio from our Youtube videos. That's AWESOME that they would go through the work to do that!! Theoretically, this was Milwaukee Rock Posters who were responsible, the group that did a podcast less than a year ago using the same technique.

So yeah, in a nut shell, we'll be playing some more shows for ya soon, and word's getting out about us as well. I have to thank all those who have given us a chance, and helped us form this band that a year ago was just so wild that I had no idea what it would become. We've played with a lot of great bands along the way, and have met some really great people as well. For me, this has been a great chance to get back to doing what I love to do and have been quite unsuccessful with for over a decade, and in new ways.

Recording

Well, we've finished up the drum and bass tracks for the premier album. We started on the vocals, but have quite a bit of work to do. The instrumental tracks are coming along great even before editing, and the sound is even better than I was hoping for.

The drums were recorded in one night, using your average kit micing, as well as strategically placed room mics; 2 in the room, 2 in the hallway. Mike used his usual Lidwig kit with most of the same cymbals he's been using live, but has added some replacements to the cracked ones. All cymbals being Zildjian A Customs.

The bass tracks (up to 4 in some songs) were recorded in a semi-similar fashion. The "bass" sound is my '95 American Standard Precision bass or my Fender Hoppus bass (used mainly because it had fresher sounding strings towards the end) running through my Ampeg SVTII, and SVT810E cab. I used my modded TS-9DX on a few tracks, and my vintage Rat pedal was used for "BFA". These were recorded with 2 mics on the SVT810E, 2 room mics, as well as the DI from my SVTII.

The next was the first "guitar" track, was the '95 Precission run into the Sovtek Mig 60 with my custome made 6x10 cab (with 6 Jensen C10Q's). This is the amp I used live until about 2 months ago. The last track(s) was (were) done with my '92 American Standard Fender Jazz Bass (with EMG J's) through my my Orange Tiny Terror and Orange PPC112 cab. This gave a great higher tone with a nasally chunch that holds the mix together.

One track on the album has my modded Gretsch G5120 running through the Orange in the chorus' rhythm, otherwise the album is all bass, drums, and vocals. We're running right on schedule with this project, and hope to have a CD release party before mid-June.

Steelbridge Song Fest 2012

                                                  The Michigan St Bridge, Sturgeon Bay WI

For those not familiar with Steelbridge Song Fest, this is a festival held annually in Sturgeon Bay WI, the town I grew up in. The event is a fundraiser to save and maintain the old Michigan St Bridge, which connects the East and West sides of the city in the downtown area. The bridge was built 1930, and is the last steel drawbridge of its kind left in the US. The bridge was to be replaced by a new bridge that was built about 2 blocks away (a bridge we call "the bridge to nowhere"). The Steelbridge Song Festivals started in 2005 with Jackson Browne, and pat mAcdonald as the main headliners, and over the years has continued annually with such names as Jane Wiedlin (of The Go-Go's fame), Eric McFadden, and Kim Manning. The festival is held annually in the early part of June, and Wisconsin Beef Commission has played this year, as well as last year. I personally have performed in other years, and have attended as a spectator.

The beauty part of attending this festival is the performers. As a musician, we get to perform with peers from Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago, as well as performers that come in from all over the world. The 4 day festival is set to offer access to the public for free during the day hours at specified locations, usually within a block or two of the Michigan St Bridge on its East end. At night, the local bars and coffee houses are used as venues for bands to play with passes sold to those who want to enjoy the festivities and contribute to the cause. This year's passes were $20 a piece, which gave access to over 10 venues for Friday and Saturday night (Thursday night was free, and passes were not required. Sunday has no night stages). This is a bargain when considering how much access a pass-holder has to diverse styles of music from musicians who pay well more than $20 to participate in the festival (musicians receive NOTHING for participating in the way of income, and any money they do make is done separately in way of merch sales). The other aspect is that there is no "rock star" vibe from the performers. When attending the concerts, spectators find themselves hobnobbing with musicians from all over the world, from every genre, and every level.

As stated we have attended this festival for the last 2 years, and I have attended for many more than that. The festival itself is a great addition to my old hometown. The main downside to the festival lies in the adversity. I take this time to discuss what many feel with the city of Sturgeon Bay, but never talk about.

The city of Sturgeon Bay has shown a complete and total adversity to the Steelbridge festivals. In earlier years, it was a great festival where First Ave would be shut down and vendors (both local and not) could offer art, food, crafts, instruments, and more. The festival revolved around a big stage where performers would play throughout the day hours, and you had a real festival feel. In the last 2 years, the festival has been dropped to having a much smaller stage in the parking lot of The Holiday Music Hotel due to city restrictions, and only about 1/4 the vendors were able to fit (night venues are unchanged, as they are private property). Last year, the city went as far as having a competing festival in a park about a mile down the road, and this year, there was a "walk for cancer" going on the same weekend.

As far as the local citizens of Sturgeon Bay, I AM EMBARRASSED to be associated with MOST of them in regards to the festival. The majority of the people I know from the city don't attend, or do by scheming their way around the fee for passes (sneaking in back-doors, barrowing passes from others, etc). Many complain about the festival, as it "blocks traffic" which is funny because there hasn't been any roads closed off for it in 2 years, and when the stage was set up on the bridge itself, the bridge was closed anyway. They go on about the "weirdos" that are in their town. What these people are not taking into account is that the festival is for the bridge. Musicians participating are not only not getting paid, but spend money HAND OVER FIST at the local bars, eateries, hotels, shops, etc. The festival also brings revenue from non-participants who go to enjoy the festival and spend money as well. The hotel we stayed at was at capacity that weekend, and some bar owners make more a night in those 4 days than they do in a week at any other given time of the year. It floors me how much the locals are afraid of anything that isn't mindnumbingly expected in everyday life in a city of under 10,000 people. As a former resident, I have to say, the people and government of Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin SHAME me. Why not embrace a great thing, rather than destroy it. The city can be a lot more than just a place to go fishing and listen to pop music or country at the local bars while seeing the same people you see every stinking week!!