VANITY METRICS is the newest project of indie music journeyman Brett Newski. Calling Milwaukee home, Newski is deeply rooted in the D.I.Y. rock scene through his band NEWSKI—other collaborations include a 2019 Summerfest performance alongside Courtney Barnett. Newski refers to his stripped-down sound as “bedroom alternative” on the EP, featuring splotchy vocals, charming dissonance between guitar tracks and his signature blend of humility and passion. At the intersection of early Weezer nerd-rock and the self-deprecating allure of prime Barenaked Ladies, the Vanity Metrics EP! is another stop in Newski’s sonic exploration of the human experience.
Tag: DIY
AUDIO: Josh Trimble – “Life Inside”
Milwaukee native musician Josh Trimble brings the funk on this newest single of his. For the bulk of the song, his clear voice rides easily over sultry guitar and jittery drums. His lyrics shift back and forth between statements about the hands of creation and other such abstractions and definite feelings like the urge to get to know someone. As such, the ear and the mind alike stay engaged. Watch out for about 2:15 on the track where Trimble really lets it rip with his vocals.
Soon after this point the song takes a turn in both mood and lyrical content towards the introspective, the guitar now picking single notes, a flute and chorus vocals coming in to create an entirely different mood than the first two thirds or so of the track. Josh Trimble shows with this single that he’s got a lot of feeling to express and quite a talent for doing so.
Fellow Kinsman Closes Out Fat Charlie’s
Indie rock outfit Fellow Kinsman played a sweaty, vigorous set alongside Minnesotan rockers Mister Wes and Lapdogs as well as Milwaukee’s own North Warren at recently-begun Eastside DIY venue Fat Charlie’s Friday night. Although they had been the last to play, the crowd endured the basement heat and stayed put the entire time.
Fellow Kinsman is the brainchild of Nathan Kinsman; he sings and plays guitar while Isaac Repinski plays bass and Joey Miller is on drums. He dropped a debut self-titled album in 2017, which brimmed with surf-pop and summery guitar vibes combined with Kinsman’s soulful vocal delivery. His latest single “Joystick” dropped this past May.
“Joysick was one of the hardest songs I’ve made…when I was in the studio recording it, it took us fifteen takes. We did it all live on record – we wanted to capture that live energy on tape. After fifteen takes I lost my shit…I took my shirt off, my pants off, ran outside and smoked a cigarette. It came from playing too many video games in my basement. I wanted to bring this narrative of being who I wanna be, even if I’m being in a video game.”
Kinsman says his greatest inspiration in songwriting is his mother.
“It’s all about the love. The songs can be good but I want to take you somewhere, like a journey. I wanna create emotion, I wanna create fun. Dan Auerbach too, but my parents mostly, and my brothers too since we were in a hardcore band together.”
Kinsman describes the recording process of his debut album.
“When I first recorded I was eighteen. I did it all by myself – I recorded bass, guitar, drums…almost ninety percent of my songs weren’t finished, so when I decided to record in the studio I took the time to write and have fun since I wasn’t in school. Now that’s become more of a lifestyle. When I look at my writing, it’s about creating a story and relating it to people, and being super intentional with guitars and creating scenery with music.”
Fellow Kinsman is working on recording three songs in addition to Joysick, which will all go on an EP.
“The whole team came out on a Friday night,” Kinsman said with love. “They could be doing anything else but they came and partied with us.”
AUDIO: Juiceboxxx – “Coinstar Song”
Veteran Milwaukee artist Juiceboxxx doesn’t just fly under the radar, he’s made himself a local legend there. His latest is “Coinstar Song”, an alt-rock singalong that cuts deep, as the artist that has made his living on the road from a young age is now questioning his choices at an older age. While his sound and exuberant self-confidence may have evolved over time, the energy from Juiceboxxx is ever constant, as he does still put an enthusiasm into his work. Juiceboxxx is at a point where it seems like he could either stop everything tomorrow, or never stop at all on this track. Let’s hope for the latter. Check out “Coinstar Song” below:
Apollo Vermouth Plays Nausicaa And Speaks On Ambient Music Expression
Riverwest DIY venue Nausicaa hosted an ambient music night Friday evening and had performances from Milwaukee artists So Zuppy and Apollo Vermouth, in addition to NYC touring acts There Are No Thieves In This Town and Johnnie Baker. Nausicaa opened as a venue this past fall.
Apollo Vermouth is Alisa Rodriguez, who has been performing and releasing music for about nine years. Her last album “Crashing Into Nowhere” came out in summer 2017.
Because ambient music often has sparse lyricism and focuses on immersion into soundscapes, it can be difficult for listeners to discern the subjective meanings behind an artist’s compositions. Rodriguez explains that her music is communicated less through words, but through feelings evoked by her material.
“It’s a very therapeutic thing for me. I was diagnosed with anxiety back in 2013, and making Fractured Youth and (Crashing into Nowhere) have been therapeutic experiences compared to going to see a therapist and talking out my problems. I have a hard time talking out exactly how I’m feeling and sometimes it just makes more sense to make music to express that. I’ve always been a very shy person growing up and music has been a way for me to do that instead of conjuring words that make sense in a therapist way. Doing Apollo, even playing out live, is a great experience and it means a lot to me when people are able to get something out of it. That means the world to me.”
Rodriguez explains how her songwriting is different in other projects she has been involved in.
“A lot of songs I’ve written in other bands are usually about something I’m going through or are about someone but twisted in a way. I wrote a song with my band Sundial Mottos, and it was about my friend who ended up passing away from drug addiction. The song is about how much he hurt his significant other because of it, and how everything in Milwaukee makes me think of him. A lot of those songs deal with how I feel about someone or myself.”
Despite how outlandish her music might be to some, Rodriguez has played a number of pop-oriented venues and has periodically breached from the “underground” nature of playing ambient music.
“I’ve played Cactus Club and I opened for John Maus at Turner Hall. That was such a surreal experience considering the music I make, and it meant the world to me to open for him. It just goes to show that the more you work at it and put yourself out there, you never know what could happen. It’s so cool to think that your music can influence someone in a way that they’re typically not exposed.”
Rodriguez believes that while genres will always be used to describe music, all music is capable of having some form of pop appeal.
“Almost everything can be slightly considered pop music if you think really hard about it. Like you can think something is slightly catchy. Not like I’m saying Apollo is Britney Spears or anything, but we all grew up listening to the radio and eventually you get to a point where you don’t like what’s on there so you want to listen to something different. Then you go on the Internet and research and find whatever niche you’re into.”
Apollo Vermouth is debating on what direction to take her sound next, and plans to take her time doing so.
St. Patrick’s Day Show at the Downer House
Friday evening on the Eastside of Milwaukee, local DIY space Downer House put together a house show to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with local bands and artists Christian Porter, Sunkin Suns, Fellow Kinsman, and Dogbad.
It takes a community to put together a show. Christian Porter and Milton Rodriguez were the main contributors of this St. Patrick’s Day Show. I sat down with Rodriguez one day and asked him what inspired the Downer House to even start doing shows now? He told me “it was the work that the Murray Attic was doing and they wanted to continue that even further”. That made me smile, he asked me to help him with a show and I agreed.
Support your local DIY spaces, no matter how small. They’re are important
New East Side DIY Venue Debuts, Action Jelly and So Zuppy Perform
A new basement venue on Milwaukee’s East Side hosted their first show Wednesday evening, having Action Jelly and So Zuppy being the home-turf acts. New Chicago emo project Thank you, I’m sorry and Minneapolis “chill bop” band Getting By also played, the former of which playing only her second show ever.
While the venue’s official name is not set in stone, it is currently known as “The House in the Middle.” The address is not currently being disclosed.
“I put this show together and I was a bit scared,” Action Jelly drummer Josh Ehlke said. “I’ve been very anxious today and seeing people come out is very relieving.”
Action Jelly is the brainchild of Ray Allen, who sings and plays guitar. After putting out two songs with Ehlke in 2016, bassist Cassidy DW came on board. Their most recent project, “Wipe Yr Tears,” dropped two January’s ago and is on Bandcamp.
“It’s been a project I’ve had for quite a few years,” Allen said. “On and off I was battling through depression and it wasn’t a priority for awhile. I met Josh outside a show and said we should jam sometime.”
Ehlke added that they were outside Cocoon Room, which is also where he and Ray met Cassidy.
“Statures was playing and Cassidy was playing drums. We were talking and then Cassidy came out and I said “nice set dude!”, and then right after Ray and I released the two songs (Cassidy) was like “dude I really dig the Action Jelly stuff.” And then a year later Cassidy’s in the band.”
“When releasing (Wipe Yr Tears) I was thinking about abandoning the comfort in sadness, because we all fall into social groups that bond over being sad all the time,” Allen said. “I’ve found myself around those people for awhile, and that’s what the project was for me.”
Allen is pleased Milwaukee is taking its talent more seriously.
“We’ve always had talented people in the city but there’s more efforts to help people succeed. It seems bars actually pay people now.”
Action Jelly played all new songs that are part of their upcoming record.
So Zuppy is the project of Micah Foust, who describes it as “music from a forgotten dream.” His sound can be thought of as lo-fi bedroom pop that plays with unusual time signatures and upbeat samples. His most recent EP “Shadow” came out last year; it is a departure from his full-length 2017 album “dream.avooo,” featuring more polished production and rumbling melodies.
“Shadow represents how we hide through social media and crop the shadows out of our lives and we present this sparkly image to the world. We envy other people for having such a crystal clear image of themselves, and those songs are birthed with that in mind. The album cover goes along with that too, it’s a guy that looks like he’s walking but then he sees his shadow and he’s actually holding a gun.”
Foust says he doesn’t take inspiration so much from other artists, but from life experiences.
“Through childhood you kind of learn things to cope and survive but I feel I’m in a state where I’m trying to unlearn those behaviors. I’ve been writing about hometown blues.”
The project’s name originates from a series of dreams Foust had.
“I used to go by a different stage name and I got tired of it. I was trying to come up with a different name and I had a couple dreams; one was where I was walking through this empty carnival area and there was a bunch of papers blowing in the wind and I was trying to chase and catch them but I couldn’t. By the end of the dream I had picked one up and it said “So,” and then I woke up. A little while later I had a dream of this little creature I was calling a “Zuppy;” it had the body of a horse but the head of a dog and it was bright blue, and it was running around this house and it had a really good spirit….so I wrote it down not really thinking it would come to anything but when I was coming up with the name I found it and decided on it.”
Foust said he has illustrated this “Zuppy.” He is currently working on a new record and plays Nausicaa MKE with There Are No Thieves In This Town and Apollo Vermouth April 5th.
AUDIO: Brett Newski – “Everybody Knows You Can’t Sleep With Your Eyes Closed”
To say that Brett Newski is a nomad is sort of a huge understatement. The Milwaukee born singer-songwriter quit his day job in 2011 to travel the world, playing music. Newski’s most recent album, “Land, Air, Sea, Garage”, which was partially recorded in Sri Lanka, received tons of acclaim, and he’s already followed that up with a new single, “Everybody Knows You Can’t Sleep With Your Eyes Closed”, which was released through German label Discos Del Demonio. The track is simply captivating, combining the simplicity of pop music melodies with a vocal delivery that hinges on emo at just the right times. This is a song that will pop in your head when you least expect it. You can catch Brett Newski as part of a (mostly) local acoustic dream lineup at Turner Hall Ballroom on January 28th with KT Tunstall, Willy Porter, Goran Kralj of The Gufs, and Willy Porter. Check out the new single below:
AUDIO: Seven Costazna / Brat Sounds Split EP
The underground/DIY punk scene is alive and well in Milwaukee, and a new split EP with two gems of that scene are a great example of that. Seven Costanza is known for playing many a basement show, and have gained notoriety from that, as well as Brat Sounds, who were recently nominated for a 88Nine RadioMilwaukee Award last year. Both tracks from Seven Costanza, “Dog Food” and “Finally The Pirates Are Taking Acid” are staples of the band’s live set, and Brat Sounds more than deliver on “Bowlcut” and “Gone & Done”. In a little over ten minutes running time, you’ll be blown away by these two bands. Check out the EP here:
Breadfest is Back for Year Two
Hey, Milwaukee, listen up.
You should all be excited to hear that Breadfest is back for its second year, and it bigger than before. Myles Coyne put the festival together with help from the Breadking music collective.
Last year, it took place over two days at venues throughout Riverwest. This year, it’s expanded to four days. Last year, it was mostly a punk festival. This year, it’s said to include a wider array of music. This is all according to Milwaukee Record.
The lineup has been set and announced, and it features local favorites as well as bands from out-of-state. Some of my favorite are The Island of Misfit Toys, Paper Holland, estates, and Soul Low. There are several free and all-ages shows in addition to 21+ shows.
As for the shows that aren’t free, there are different purchase options. Single-show passes run at $6 and a one-day pass will cost $10. They will be available online and at some local outlets soon. A pass for the entire festival will cost a meager $25, and it’s definitely well worth it. They can be purchased here.
Head over to Milwaukee Record to check out the lineup and set times. Support the local scene and come hang out at this cool DIY festival. Also, check out the 2014 sampler via Mine All Mine Records below.
Milwaukee Artist of the Week – 5/16/14 – Seven Costanza
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 Seven Costanza, a Bay View trio that embodies true punk rock, DIY spirit, with some well crafted songs to boot. With only around a year together as a band, the guys have managed to write and record their first album, which was recently released via their Bandcamp. While many bands seem to stumble out of the gate, Seven Costanza have found their sound, and this album is proof of that.
One of the things that I find interesting about this album was that it was recorded partially in a basement, but at no point does this sound like one of those infamous basement tapes that float around (or frequent MKEPunk). At least it doesn’t sound that way when it’s not supposed to. Mid-album track “What’s Eating Arnie Grape?” is based around an absolutely crunching guitar, but proceeds to become a heavy, trudging jam. Other songs have some buzz to deal with, like the intro to album opener “Ratty Pack Shoes”, but that’s also completely by design. One listen, and you’re first instinct is “that’s punk rock”. This is true DIY in spirit, and it doesn’t need to be completely polished to be awesome. A lot of bands miss that fact, especially with more and more tools coming out to alter recordings and clean up everything. Purists can relate to this album, but it’s something all punk and alternative fans can check out and enjoy.
At the end of the day, you can tell that this is the product of a lot of hard work. This album is full of well written songs, and I’m sure that this sound translate to the band’s live show perfectly. Seven Costanza has already begun to play several shows, and I’m sure you’ll see their name popping up on bills around Bay View and beyond this summer. You can check out Seven Costanza’s self titled debut below, and buy it for whatever price you’d like via Bandcamp.
For more Seven Costanza, check them out on Facebook.
Milwaukee Artist of the Week – 11/29/13 – Appleseeds
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 Appleseeds, a punk rock quartet with enough aggression and energy to knock you down in under four minutes. They’re everything that you could ever love about riot grrl punk; lo-fi guitars distorted to a listenable tone, breakneck speed, and just enough melody to keep you singing along. Led by frontwoman Flannery Steffens, their latest self-titled album is a garage rock thing of beauty. Rather than some of the wonderfully crafted recordings coming out of great studios in Milwaukee like Howl Street Recordings, the band opted to record their entire album in their basement on a Zoom portable recorder. I didn’t know that was an actual thing, but there was obviously the right amount of gear plugged into it to give the record a great sound with an overall gritty feel. Loaded with buzzy guitars and a surprisingly clean drum sound, Appleseeds manages to put together an 11 song party, which leaves nothing to the imagination.
Let’s be clear, this album isn’t a sonic masterpiece, but they don’t want it to be, and quite frankly, it’s better that way. This is the essence of what has always made punk rock records so great; the wall of sound is everything from a guitar to a cymbal to every other hissing, buzzing noise in the background. In fact, this album is reminiscent of the great punk albums (or homemade cassettes) that shaped the early days of legends like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. Appleseeds add an increasingly addictive component to their sound, as well. There is a good deal of catchy melodies throughout the album, which is the product of great songwriting no matter what genre you’re talking about. Their first release, August 2012’s “BOOM!”, is more of the same, and it’s all great. This is what you’d expect to hear come out of a basement party show, and with the energy in Appleseeds’ songs, that high speed atmosphere has to carry over to their live show. This is DIY, punk rock, the way it really was meant to be. Stream Appleseeds’ self-titled album below:
Freak Out Dude Featuring Washington State Park – “NJ” (Video)
This is cool to me. Freak Out Dude are just two kids from New Jersey, trying to show you that there’s more to the city than guidos and whatever’s on Jersey Shore. They sent me their “NJ” video today, an ode to their home state. It’s not perfect, but it’s not supposed to be. This is just a flat out cool DIY video. I like the vintage look on everything. It fits with the song. Watch this, and enjoy it:
