Milwaukee duo, The Pulltops, released a new EP that showcases elements of alternative rock, classic rock, hard rock, and even a touch of country. Though the band’s tone sticks throughout, each song varies from the previous just enough to create a completely fresh listen, offering a variety of songs that any listener could find a gem within. The EP wraps up with with a new take on a classic by CCR, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” which slows it down to an ethereal tune and fits the vibe of their other releases quite well. Listening to this EP is sure to make you happy and your dad proud. Be sure to check it out here!
Tag: Classic Rock
INTERVIEW: Rick Springfield
When you hear the name Rick Springfield, you might associate the man with the 80’s, and you probably think of breakout hit “Jesse’s Girl”. However, over the span of his career, Springfield has released 20 studio albums, including his latest, “The Snake King”, which came out this January. He’ll also be hitting the US Cellular Connections stage at Summerfest on Sunday, July 1st. We caught up with Springfield ahead of the show, which you can check out below:
B&E: Welcome to Milwaukee! You’re touring in support of your 20th studio album. This album has a grittier, bluesy feel to it. How did material for “The Snake King” come about?
RS: Just stuff that was in my head. Things I have been thinking about/pissed off about/worried about and blues rock seemed like a good medium for the lyrics.
B&E: There’s a lot of samples and sound effects that work their way into this album to create an atmosphere. Did that idea come from you or someone else in the process of making the album?
RS: It’s all stuff I downloaded or recorded. I love links, and this album had an obvious attitude and lent itself to sound effects.
B&E: You have a talented ensemble as your backing band on this record. Are there any new additions to the band for this album?
RS: The first album with Siggy Sjeursen, our new bass player. Tim Pierce plays some guitar on this album, but he was in my 80’s touring band. And Windy Wagner did background vocals and it’s the first time I’ve had a girl singing on record since 1985.
B&E: Do you feel that it gets any easier to make a record after making so many, or does it feel like it gets harder?
RS: It depends on the songs. This one was pretty straight forward, and I knew how it was supposed to sound going, in so it was a blast to record.
B&E: Which do you prefer at this point in your career, playing live or being in the studio and creating a record?
RS: Performing live. I love recording new songs, but the live thing is a party that is hard to resist.
B&E: We always love a good tour story. What’s one of the most memorable things that you’ve had happen to you while on the road?
RS: Well just the other day, I got a little upset and punched out the flat screen in my hotel room. They wouldn’t let us take the TV at first, so we had to sneak it out of the hotel in my suit bag. I knew I’d have to pay for it, so we took it on stage that night, and auctioned it off with the money going to a local no-kill dog shelter. We turned a dumb thing into something positive.
B&E: Finally, if you could collaborate with one other artist on the Summerfest lineup this year, who would you pick?
RS: Is Paul McCartney in the line up? If he is…then, him.
James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt to Headline Summerfest 2018
And just like that, two more headliners are part of the Summerfest fold. James Taylor & His All Star Band along with Bonnie Raitt & Her Band will play the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Thursday, June 28th. This is the second headlining show to be announced this week, and undoubtedly more will be revealed soon.
Both acts are Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and are sure to put on a memorable show. Taylor has over 40 years of touring, and Raitt is supporting her 20th studio album. With that kind of longevity between the two acts, there will definitely be something to talk about by the end of the night.
Tickets for the show will go on sale on Friday, January 19th. Click here for more information via Summerfest.com
Announced Summerfest 2018 Headliners:
Thursday, June 28th – James Taylor & Bonnie Raitt
Friday, June 29th – Halsey & Logic with a Special Guest (TBA)
REVIEW: Toto at Summerfest
It’s no secret that Summerfest tries to cater to everyone. That being said, with the exception of Steve Aoki, Thursday night’s headliner lineup generally skewed a little older than most nights, capped off by Toto headlining the BMO Harris Pavilion. With a career that spans 14 studio albums and six Grammys, there was plenty of material for Toto to throw into a 90 minute set, and they visited many of those albums. The pavilion was packed, and a sizable, enthusiastic (read: slightly inebriated) crowd gathered outside of the reserved seating rails to watch the band rifle through 40 years of material.
The band got things going early, with “Hold The Line” making an early appearance in the set list. Following that, a myriad of songs that may have not been the most commercially successful, but were still solid nonetheless. The band, now anchored by original members Steve Lukather, David Paich, and Steve Pocaro, gave a spirited performance, and really didn’t show many signs of slowing down over the course of their set. The band played straight through, with extended versions of many songs, giving fans a variation on the tracks that they can hear on almost any classic rock station daily.
While the crowd outside of the rails were dancing throughout the night, many of the fans within the BMO Harris Pavilion remained seated, until the band instructed their crowd to stand up to sing “one that everyone knows”, before going into an extended version of “Rosanna”. The band didn’t seem to mind jamming on hits that some fringe fans were there to see, as solos and lengthy breakdowns were commonplace by this point in the night. The band also teased their biggest hit, “Africa” at least once before going into a different tune. They knew what many people were there to see, and maybe also knew that they had to hold that song for the final jam of the night.
One interesting portion of the show was the band’s history outside of Toto itself. Many of the musicians that now make up the touring act were once either session musicians or songwriters for some of the pop and rock classics of the late 70’s and 80’s. When introducing the band to the crowd, they would accompany their name with a snippet of what they had done as a credited musician that, unless you’re really into Toto, might not have known. This included vocalist Joseph Williams breaking off just a tiny bit of “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King, in which he is the adult singing voice.
The band managed to kick out a couple more early tunes following that point in the night, with the crowd still standing, and the evening culminated in a close to 10 minute version of “Africa”, complete with solos and a group singalong from the entire BMO Harris Pavilion. For a band that has been making music for 40 years, there didn’t seem to be any fatigue from Toto, and we’ll likely all be singing “Africa” with them for years to come.
REFLECTION: Favorite Moments of Summerfest
Now that the 11 days of craziness and madness of Summerfest is over, I’ve had time to reflect on what I just experienced these past two weeks. As a music lover, this festival is super important for me. It allows me to see bands I know and love, but also discover new ones . It is an exciting time of the year for Milwaukee as well because Summerfest is a place where you get together with your loved ones, make some of your favorite memories of the summer and enjoy music, which I did just that.
Within the two weeks, I had the pleasure of enjoying nine out of the ten days of Summerfest. I had quite the experience there, so I decided to put together my favorite memories of those days and share them. Here they are:
Seeing the dancing couple in the audience of the Decemberists
The Decemberists is a band I kind of knew. By that I mean, I knew one song and that they had Nick Offerman in their music video for it. As you could imagine based off of that, I really didn’t know what to expect from their show, which I kind of liked. When I got there, it was already much different than the other concerts I attended. It wasn’t super crowded. It didn’t have tons of super obnoxious drunk people bothering you. There weren’t people pushing and shoving you out of the way to get the spot they wanted. It was chill. The band had folksy tunes that had positive vibes and couldn’t help but put a smile on my face. Everyone in the audience was enjoying it as well. However, what really stood out to me was the couple in the aisle of the bleacher seating. Almost every song, they waltzed around the aisle, dancing and enjoying the music. It was great to see people just genuinely enjoying themselves and taking in the music. It just showed me how happy-go-lucky the band is and how just playing their music they can make people happier.
KT Tunstall singing that hit song you know and love
I was at Summerfest like a crazy madwoman because I intern at two places, OnMilwaukee and Milwaukee Radio Alliance, which is B 93.3 and FM 102.1. When I work for the Milwaukee Radio Alliance, I am pretty much one of their promo street team members. I sit at a tent and help the radio’s audience try to get opportunities to meet the musicians they love or see the shows they want to see. It’s a pretty cool gig. But anyways, one night I was sitting at the 102.1 FM tent and not a lot of people were coming up to us. Another intern and I decided that we should walk around and check out the shows. We looked at the lineup and thought that it would be super fun to see KT Tunstall sing “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.” We doubted that she would be singing it the time we got there, but sure enough the second we arrived she started singing it. It was crazy. We got a three-minute concert from her and heard everything we wanted to.
Meeting Fitz and the Tantrums
Like I mentioned before I intern for Milwaukee Radio Alliance, and they do giveaways for meet and greets. This was the first night of Summerfest, and I had no idea what to expect with working it for FM 102.1. As soon as I got there, I got thrown into helping people get registered for the Fitz and the Tantrums‘ meet and greet giveaway. Before I knew it, I was backstage helping people meet them and then met them myself. And to be honest, there is nothing better than meeting a musician love and enjoy. They were nice and friendly, and it was great way to start Summerfest.
Seeing the Passion Pit concert in the pouring rain
My two friends and I decided to see Passion Pit. I was writing a review for it, but I also thought it would be fun to enjoy it with friends. I knew it was going to rain, so I brought my rain coat, and my friend brought her umbrella. We thought we were set, but, boy, were we wrong. The rain poured so much that it didn’t even matter what kind of protection we had from it. I came home soaking wet and with a water damaged phone. However, I didn’t even care because I got to see an amazing show from Passion Pit and have a Summerfest memory I will never forget–that one time I saw a concert in the rain.
Gaining a new girl crush on the one and only, Bishop Briggs
First off, watch this video. It’s a little odd, but isn’t she so cute and perfect? She brings all my 90’s grunge fashion dreams alive. She wears her hair in two little buns, choker necklaces and overalls. Like how can you get more cool than that? Also, she has an amazing voice. It’s soulful, unique and pretty different from what I am used to hearing. Then seeing her perform was the icing on the cake. I was impressed by her coolness and wanted to be her. Basically, after her show she gained a new fan.
Showing off my rap skills at the Nelly Concert
There’s nothing better than listening to some throwbacks. Some of my favorite to listen to is early 2000’s rap. I grew up listening to it and loving it, thanks to my man NOW CD. Nelly was an artist that frequently appeared on this CD collection of mine, so I basically know every hit song he has ever put out. This made the concert super enjoyable. However, what was even better was the I got to show off my rap skills by laying down the rhymes on songs like “Grillz” and “Hot in Here.” Did I impress the whole crowd? No. Did I impress all my friends? No. Did I impress myself? Yes, and that’s all you need.
Paul McCartney moving the crowd and me with his performance of “Blackbird”
(This was not from Summerfest, but still amazing).
Blackbird is one of my favorite songs of The Beatles. I wasn’t really expecting him to play it, so when he hit that first note I was so excited. I love this song because it is just straight up beautiful, but also because of its meaning. I have always loved the message of the song, but then Paul McCartney explained it to the whole crowd, and now I love it even more. He talked about how they wrote this song during the civil rights moment when they had all those problems in Little Rock. They wanted it to give people hope. Honestly, I think we can all use a little of that in our lives especially now, so I appreciated it a lot. It is something I will never forget.
And Uhh… BEING IN THE PRESCENCE OF A FORMER BEATLEa PAUL MCCARTNEY
I grew up listening to The Beatles. Their one of my dad’s favorite musicians, so it was what we were forced to listen to in the car during road trips. I didn’t appreciate it as much then. But, because I was once forced to listen the dreaded “Dad Music,” I have now learn to know and love them. They are truly one of my favorite bands, so I was in shock that I even got to see one of them perform. It’s crazy because everyone will tell you that Paul McCartney is the best concert you will ever go to. I go to so many concerts, so I was very skeptical at first. However, by the end of it, I couldn’t even believe I questioned it. His show was magical he had fireworks, he told stories about him and the other Beatles as well made you fall in love with his music all over again. It is an experience I will never forget, and an experience I will forever be grateful for.
Brendon Urie back-flipping on stage and reminding me how perfect he is
Panic! At the Disco will always be one of my favorite bands. I’ve been seeing in concert since I was in 7th grade. I truly love them more and more every time they perform. This time was no different. Brendon Urie has such amazing stage presence and really knows how to perform. His pipes and high energy keep you excited from beginning of his set to the end. During his set, he did a back-flip, had a “drum off” with his drummer and just looked so damn good that it made you fall in love with pop-punk boys all over again. I am just so happy Summerfest gave me an opportunity to see him perform again.
Weezer singing all the songs I’ve grown to love by them
Weezer has been around for my whole life (I’m a 90’s baby), which has made them a band I have always loved. I have grown up listening to all of their albums and finding some of my favorite songs ever from them. Weezer was not as energetic as its co-headliner, Panic! at the Disco, but that doesn’t mean they were bad by any means. They just did their Weezer thing and, of course, you loved it. They sang their songs, had their witty banter and were their geeky selves. It is so wonderful. You can’t help but just be excited they sing all the songs you have grown up loving like, “Buddy Holly,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “Island in the Sun,” “Beverly Hills” and more. It’s what made seeing them so great.
Blink 182 reminding me that’s okay if you change things up
There is so much drama and stress about the band changing their lead singer to Matt Skiba. In all seriousness, the change is good. Even though Skiba is a new member of the trio, he still rocks just as hard and does his best to keep the Blink 182 sound alive. I had a great time jamming out to these pop-punk classics that we all know and love, and it didn’t even phase me that they had a new singer. The band still sounds great and is still great at doing their thing.
All Time Low proving to me that they will always know how to rock
All Time Low is one of those bands I kind of just always see. They are either openers for bands I like or a headliner of their own tour. No matter what the situation is they just rock it. Unlike most pop punk bands, All Time Low has stuck to their roots and their sound. They are always their fun selves and just put on a kickass show. They are definitely worth seeing in concert, and it was a joy seeing them again this past week opening for Blink 182.
Milwaukee Artist of the Week 8/2/13 – Eagle Trace
Are you a Milwaukee musician/band? You can submit your music to be the Milwaukee Artist of the Week by emailing links to info@BreakingAndEntering.net. We’ll check out every submission we get!
This week’s Milwaukee Artist of the Week is Eagle Trace, a band overflowing with youthful energy. That, in part, is because they’re incredibly young. Age aside, these guys know how to work a crowd. I first saw them at Summerfest a couple of years ago (and considering the band formed in 2011, that’s some quick progress) and they owned that opportunity. Even though I had only seen a portion of their set, I watched them pull in passersby with their blend of classic and modern rock. From a chemistry standpoint, the band is definitely experienced with one another, because they, well, have to be. 4/5 of Eagle Trace are brothers: Mitchell, Max, Cass, and Jackson Borgardt, leaving guitarist Broderick Conning as the lone non-Borgardt. Without that hurdle to get over, Eagle Trace can set their sights on moving the crowd, which they do well.
The sound Eagle Trace is frantic, to say the least. Most of the songs give you the feeling of a classic rock vinyl playing at 45 RPMs instead of 33 (Kids, that’s how vinyl works). That energy is needed, though, because it gives their vintage rock jams a refreshing kick, rather than other bands who try to rehash the favorites from their album collection. When you see that enthusiasm coming out of a young band, it means that something good is going to happen for Eagle Trace. Be sure to watch them polish their energy and raw talent in the future, taking their music to the next level. Check out some live video from a show at the Elbo room in Chicago below.
For more Eagle Trace, check out their Facebook, Twitter, and Reverbnation.
Milwaukee Artist of the Week – 3/1/13 – The Outliers
Are you a Milwaukee musician/band? You can submit your music to be the Milwaukee Artist of the Week by emailing links to info@BreakingAndEntering.net. We’ll check out every submission we get!
Imagine taking your four favorite alternative or indie bands, and throwing them in a blender. That is the best way to describe this week’s Milwaukee Artist of the Week, The Outliers. Formed in 2009, this group of guys has the classic garage rock sound figured out. Mixing elements from influences like The Strokes and Wolfmother, their sound is a refreshing hybrid of sub-genres. They manage to blend a mix of a classic rock style and songwriting with the grit and energy of a garage band. While they may borrow elements that different bands use, they mold them together to create something that is uniquely their own.
In only a couple of years, The Outliers have already put out both a 10 song EP and 12 song full length album, and are in the process of working on another LP. In addition to putting out new material, the band has also had the opportunity to play in a variety of places around Wisconsin, and will be making their way around to a variety of venues this year, as well. With an album on the way, 2013 is looking like it will be a big step up for this band. Make sure you’re looking out for them.
Preview their latest album, “Neon Leon” here, and make sure to purchase it via Bandcamp.
For more of The Outliers, check out their Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation, and website.
