Mr. Nice Guy Presents hosted a show at the Cactus Club February 14th making it the 12th volume. The line up consisted of Emily Zimmer, John Justus, Chris Haise Band and Soulfoot Mombits.
Singer-songwriter Emily Zimmer started the night off with her melodic, story-like songs. Even when she’s on a hiatus, Zimmer puts her all into her performances making it fun for the crowd.
When it comes to John Justus, you can really tell he puts his heart and soul into his music. The singer loves to get the crowd involved, such as a “choose your own adventure” by cheering to pick a “vibe”. He even asked for words from the crowd to make a song like, onomatopoeia, macaroni, geriatric and a few others. Justus truly makes people feel included and seen, especially with his song “All In Good Time” which talks about anxiety and an uncertainness of the future.
Having their first show at the Cactus club, the Chris Haise Band kicked off their set with powerful ballads and soulfull folk rock. The five piece shares their love for music in the most unique way, by blending their talents together to create a beautiful set list to get entranced in. We hope to see more of them at the Cactus Club in the near Future!
Soulfoot Mombits was the last band of the night, leaving their mark with their self proclaimed “Jiggy folk”. Enhancing their music with a trumpet (played by Mike Henderson) gives the band a ‘jazzy feel’. Throughout their set the Soulfoot Mombits radiated love and good vibes, perfect for valentines day. We couldn’t think of a better band to end the night!
In addition to great tunes and soul-filled energy, Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee joined in on the fun to help inform people on the importance of reproductive rights. R.J.A.M is a grassroots organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their main focus is to fight for reproductive rights and aid people in the steps of getting the help they need. Throughout the event, they kindly asked for any donations and the people delivered. For donations and other information on this organization, visit their Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to find their linktree and take action.
It feels like the music coming out of Milwaukee only gets more frequent with each week, and we’ve captured just a microcosm of that with this week’s B&E Weekly Jams presented by Bublr Bikes! This week, you can check out new tracks from Motel Breakfast, Ethan Keller, Lit Tiaa and many more. Don’t forget that for the full archive of playlists, you can follow Breaking And Entering on Spotify. You can also get our exclusive content on Patreon, and check out this week’s jams below:
Emily Zimmer, known for her singer-songwriter output in the past, has been going in a cool new instrumental direction lately. She starts with “Power Flow” – a track clocking in at one minute and nineteen seconds that evokes imagery of a blue sunrise. It’s a relaxing yet optimistic chillwave tune. Be sure check out the other tracks Emily Zimmer’s put out recently as well!
Milwaukee music is entering awards season, and there’s plenty to celebrate with this week’s B&E Weekly Jams presented by Bublr Bikes! This week, we’ve got new music from Buffalo Nichols, Jon Henry, Chicken P Featuring Yung Bleu and even more. Don’t forget that you can follow Breaking And Entering on Spotify for more playlists, as well as support us on Patreon, and check out this week’s playlist below:
Singer/Songwriter Emily Zimmer has a new video out to accompany her solo debut, “Seasons Of Trouble” which just dropped. “Little Pieces” is the lead single, and it’s a heartfelt collection of personal thoughts set to a driving soft beat and curling guitar lines. The song makes ample time for both elements to sell you on Zimmer as a writer, and it’s just a sampling of her work as a writer. The video from Wankaford takes you into the heart of Zimmer’s Riverwest home and around her neighborhood to give you a look at her surroundings while she performs. If you haven’t checked out “Seasons Of Trouble” already, make sure to do so, and check out the video for “Little Pieces” below:
Singer-songwriter Emily Zimmer hosted her “Seasons of Trouble” album release party at Quarters Friday night, sharing the stage with fellow singer-songwriter Alex Smith and The Rogue Electrics. The show also had a raffle benefiting the Riverwest Food Pantry, featuring prizes ranging from a merch package to a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Alex Smith is a guitarist based in Waukesha; he has a Music degree from Columbia College in Chicago. His inception into the local music scene was going to blues jams as a teenager in the 2000’s. He released two records last year, the latter of which was a funk-jazz album titled “Grey Space” – he gives the story.
“I went out to Namm in Anaheim one January; it’s a big music expo where all the companies showcase the new products for the year and the stores get to demo everything. I had been studying guitar with some different schools of musicians, like progressive styles. That led me to this guy Tony McAlpine, who comes from the Steve Vai and Frank Zappa school, and I went and saw him here in Milwaukee one night. The bass player was this real cool guy I talked to after the gig and I asked him if I could take some lessons with him and just pick his brain. His name is Pete Griffin, and he’s from a different school of thought than the blues world…he lives out in Burbank, CA. The drummer I met through the gateway into all this; this girl Nili Brosh played a show and she blew my mind too…which led me to her brother Ethan…and then I met the drummer Dan Whitley…and I told them I’d love to record with them and they were down to do it. So I booked three full days in the studio and said we’d make whatever we could come up with. The first morning I was vomiting blood and Dan took me to the hospital; I spent the first two of those three days there and I had three stomach ulcers that I didn’t know about. We only ended up having half a day – like four hours – and Dan and Pete just became total rockstars and showed me an idea that they nailed in just a few takes. So I had the bass and drum tracks, and I think it took me two or three years, and then during COVID I really focused on experimenting and rearranging and learning Pro Tools.”
He’s incorporated visuals into his live set as well.
“That’s been encouraged by a great friend and big brother of mine in Decatur, IL. He’s got a pizza place called Donnie’s Pizza, and he’s a big Deadhead, and I just saw my first Grateful Dead show at Wrigley Field a couple weeks ago. He was always telling me that I could put together something cool, so I decided to try it for more sensory stimulation in my shows.”
Smith shares what he’s working on now.
“I’m working on new music and new ideas, especially songs with more vocals. I’ve always had a strong foundation in the blues community, and then COVID hit and now I’m thinking about how I can combine everything and still sell it.”
The Rogue Electrics are a blues-classic rock band consisting of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Kyle Rogahn, lead guitarist Kyle Stair, bassist Nick Vanderlinde, and drummer Mike LaPlant. They’ve been playing out shows since 2017 and are named after a play on Rogahn’s last name combined with his family’s electrical business. Their sophomore album “Strangers in the Moment” came out earlier this year in May; Rogahn shares what went into it.
“I had a large backlog of songs and I brought them to the guys. Our first record was very alternative rock influenced; this one we went more towards the 70’s sound with classic rock riffs and keyboards. That kind of sound is what made us all want to become musicians, so if we could do stuff like that it’d feel really good. The title just kind of came to me because it’s really hard to break into the music scene to be honest. I didn’t realize the hills we’d have to climb when we first started; I knew it’d be tough and hard work but we’ve been doing this four years and sometimes I feel like we’re still relatively unknown. The idea of “Strangers in the Moment” was like, if we get the moment, we will show that we belong and that we’re going to contribute to the culture. That’s what it’s really about.”
He shares what the band is currently focusing on.
“We’re just trying to get our live set in tip-top shape. Our next goal is just getting out of town more. We’ve had a few out-of-town shows but we’ve mostly been a Milwaukee area band, but we’re so proud of this album that we want to get this music to other people, so we’re trying to become more of a regional band. We’re actually learning more classic rock covers to really hammer our influences home with people. Some of these songs on our album are actually tough to perform because we did a lot of layering, so we’re still nailing down playing them really well.”
The Rogue Electrics are playing in Lake Mills on October 24th at The Pyramid.
Emily Zimmer is currently playing with bassist Ben Titus and drummer Mike LaPlant. She’s been performing since the early 2000’s and previously had a band The Zimmer Effect before dissolving this past year.
“The music industry is so different from what it was when I started. There were more reasons to stick together with the same group of people and that would be your baby, like your project together. And that’s not to say that it’s negative that that doesn’t happen as much anymore; it just doesn’t happen as much. Maybe it’s my age too; I’m pushing forty and a lot of the musicians I work with are as well. People have priorities and can’t be as dedicated to one specific thing as their main thing anymore. Gigs are different; I’ve kind of done whatever I’ve wanted with solo gigs but I can get gigs now that pay a decent amount enough where I can pay a band. When it’s a full band setting and I can compensate my people, it’s not because I’m in it for the money but this *is* my career, so to an extent that is important. Then I’m very easily able to find musicians, and it’s worthwhile for them to do their job and do it right.”
Her debut solo album “Seasons of Trouble” just came out yesterday.
“I wanted the sound to be a little more consistently united from song to song, whether it’s the same guitar tones throughout or the same lyrical sentiments. I just thought that those songs matched better than any album I’ve ever made as the frontperson of a project. I also wanted to try a couple of the softer tunes. It was the thick of the beginning of COVID, and I just wanted to sit in my studio by myself and feel the feelings I didn’t have time to feel otherwise. The title originally came from one of my songs “Blessings and Curses” and that song is about my 20’s primarily. It’s weird when you’ve been trying to be a musician since you were seventeen like I have, you go through a lot of different phases stylistically as a person. The music industry and the way recording works went through a lot of different phases too. I felt like my 20’s and the bands that I was in and the crazy shit that we did and the questionable tours we went on were a “season,” or “several seasons.” I’ve been in this transition into the new one for a long time, and maybe the whole world is in a new “season,” and the “trouble” part feeds into that too.”
She shares what she’s focusing on now that the record is out.
“I’m starting to book winter and spring gigs, and work the streaming circuit for a while. I plan to make a record with one of the artists I’ve worked with in the past; I won’t say who yet, but she’s a very good singer-songwriter. We’ve already sent each other ideas so I guess I’m onto the next record.”
Singer-songwriter Emily Zimmer has her debut solo album out today. It’s a record about going through changes, losing your way, and finding yourself again through homecoming. Zimmer sings with genuine conviction where it’s clear that she’s charted unfamiliar roads and cut detours to get here, all with a gentle and tender rock sound sweet like maple honey. These songs would fit comfortably on a 90’s alternative playlist for sure. Emily Zimmer’s album release party is tonight at Quarters and will be a benefit for the Riverwest Food Pantry.
