Tigernite, Beach Static, and Midwest Death Rattle Rock Out For 414 Day
Breaking & Entering sponsored the 414 Day Party at the Pabst Brewery & Taproom Sunday afternoon, hosting three of Milwaukee’s most cardinal live rock acts: Beach Static, Midwest Death Rattle, and Tigernite. Great Lakes Galley sponsored food and the Pabst tapped their enjoyable brew to Milwaukee’s music fanatics, all adding up to a wholesome day.
Midwest Death Rattle is a hard rock band consisting of vocalist Nick Perow, lead guitarist Chad Szopinski, bassist Ryan Peters, drummer Derek Mantz, and keyboardist John Dykstra. Their latest EP “Square Wave” came out in early 2018. While their 2016 LP “Post-Apocalpyso” had a Latin feel with horn arrangements, Square Wave was more cut-and-dry with less orchestration but more synths.
“This is our first show since August,” Peters said. “My wife and I had a baby and we took some time off. We’ve also been recording a follow-up EP.”
Peters expands on what this follow-up will look (and sound) like.
“We’re experimenting with more synths and it has a more upbeat feel, but still dirty rock and roll.”
The music helped everyone forget about the awful blizzard outside, which apparently is a recurring thing for 414 Day.
“Last year we played 414 with Tigernite too at Company Brewing and it was kinda the same thing…terrible weather but everyone came out and had a good time. The people that wanted to be there were there,” Peters added.
Midwest Death Rattle is known for their annual Milwaukee Boat Line show they do every August.
“We’ve done it for seven or eight years now. Essentially it’s just a two-hour jaunt on the boat. We play two sets and throw some covers in there. Everyone joins us on the boat and has some beers and we have a ton of fun. As long as the weather cooperates it’s our favorite show of the year,” Peters explained.
Tigernite is a post-glam rock quartet consisting of vocalist (“yeller”) Molly Roberts, guitarist Maxwell Emmet, bassist Jeff Van Dreel, and drummer Alex Becker. Inspired by the glittery 70’s glam movement, the band delivers hard-hitting yet dance-able melodies that are perfect to party with. Their latest LP “Sublunary” dropped last May, along with lead singles “Sunnies” and “Ray Gun Queen.”
“We love playing Milwaukee Day – this is our third Milwaukee Day (we’ve played),” Roberts said. “We love participating in this event and we’re very proud to be from Milwaukee.”
Roberts explains how Sublunary departed from the band’s self-titled debut.
“It was a lyrical content departure for sure. I think getting a little heavier and letting Maxwell really spread out in a lot of songs. I really personally wanted to focus on using different parts of voice I didn’t feel like I explored on the previous album. It got darker but there’s still a lot of energy.”
Tigernite is currently in “writing mode.”
“We released our record last May and we set an artificially short deadline to push the songwriting and get out of a slump,” Roberts elaborated. “We felt good about finishing that but we actually sorta missed the positive pressure to create so we’re working on a new batch of songs. We’re not sure if it’s gonna be an LP or EP at this point but it’s taking up a majority of Tigernite’s plans at this time.
Tigernite’s last time hitting the road on tour was in 2014. Roberts says the band does not see it as much of a necessity as it was back then.
“We found that for us as a band with what we have going on in our personal lives and professional lives outside of the group we are open to touring but it isn’t a priority for us like it used to be. We found that really where our love is is playing small shows for enthusiastic crowds and writing as much new material as possible.”
In the age of social media where sharing music has become revolutionized, Tigernite has acquired fans from far away.
“Most of our fans that we actually interact with don’t live in Milwaukee or even in the country,” Roberts said. “It’s a new landscape.”
Roberts weighs in on how playing glam rock now is different than playing it back when it was at it’s peak popularity.
“I think what we gravitated to with the glam rock genre partially was our personal interests but we didn’t want to be super derivative…but what drew us to it was the theatrical quality; the songs are narrative-based with a lot of room for different types of instrumentation. I think audience acceptance of the theatricality has actually waned in a way, so as a glam rock band you have to prove yourself to an audience…that it’s not just about costumes.”
Keep an eye out for Midwest Death Rattle and Tigernite shows this summer.
