Brett Newski could be the first singer/songwriter with his own Travel Channel show. He touches down in Milwaukee, however, for a show with KT Tunstall, Chris Porterfield of Field Report, Goran from The Gufs, and Willy Porter tomorrow night. We tracked Brett down to ask him about his travel and Saturday’s show:
B&E: You’re sort of an international man of mystery. When were you first bit by the travel bug?
Newski: When the Argentine peso crashed in 2008, I went down to Buenos Aires and backpacked around. I was living like a king, eating primo steak dinners for $5 and seeing the craziest old Spanish architecture. That was my first trip out of the USA, and I realized you could actually save money traveling. The USA is expensive.
B&E: Part of your album, “Land, Air, Sea, Garage” was recorded in Sri Lanka(!) How did you hook up studio time there?
Newski: There was no studio whatsoever! We set up our gangster recording gear at a surf camp in the middle of the jungle. I think you can hear giant lizards if you listen close.
B&E: Do you think that you do more writing when you’re traveling, or when you’re back in Wisconsin?
Newski: Wisconsin is the best. I like to digest coffee beans to get buzzed and write hot super hits for bigger artists like Rihanna, Madonna and Ron Artest.
B&E: What is the craziest thing that’s happened to you while traveling?
Newski: I got chased by a gangster in the Philippines that tried to stab me.
B&E: Do you have any ideas as to where you might want to record your next album?
Newski: LeBron James’ private gym or in Oakland at Tiny Telephone Studios. I think if I sing real good on this one, I could be the next lead singer of Journey.
B&E: Lastly, who are you looking forward to playing with most at Turner Hall on January 28th?
I just found out that Willy Porter and Chris Porterfield are not related. What!? Both those guys are awesome.
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:
Milo, winner of the Critic’s Choice Award for Scallops Hotel
Album of the Year winners Soul Low.
D’Amato closing the night with a funky dance party.
For the past nine years, 88Nine RadioMilwaukee has given out awards honoring some of the top names in Milwaukee’s local music scene, and for the past decade they’ve excelled the city’s local music scene by leaps and bounds. So it’s no surprise that their Walker’s Point studio was packed on Thursday night for an award show that not only featured honors for local artists, but also featured a stacked performance lineup, as well. Milwaukee’s music scene was incredibly well-represented on Thursday night.
The night was accented by DJ sets from Ian Ewing of Noh Life, and he kept the party moving, as what felt like most of the big players in Milwaukee music were in one room mingling with one another. An early performance from NO/NO kicked things off, giving the room a jolt of energy with their addicting synth pop-rock. Soul Low later kept that energy going, with a set that included singles from their “Nosebleeds” album, as well as a brand new song that according to frontman Jake Ballistreri, had just been recorded. Milo brought some hip hop to the party with an aggressive set that showed off not only his style and abstract rhyme scheme, but also a gritiness to his approach. At one point, he requested that the sound man keep “all that ugly shit” in the mix, referring to some technical glitches onstage. GGOOLLDD gave us a preview of new material as well, and managed to bring the entire room together in their set, which is surely a good sign for the band’s Turner Hall Ballroom show on Friday night. Lastly, D’Amato closed the night, turning the RadioMilwaukee studio into a funky dance party. One of the coolest aspects of this set, though, was the local-music star cast that surrounded D’Amato; members of New Age Narcissism, Airo Kwil, Rocket Paloma, SistaStrings, and likely more local acts made up his backing band. Truly a testament to the amount of homegrown talent that makes up the city of Milwaukee.
The night’s award winners made our predictions look, well, wrong. Very wrong. Which, in hindsight, is great. We should be wrong, because that means that there is so big of a talent pool now that the awards for local music aren’t predictable. Both new and familiar faces in Milwaukee music brought home awards on Thursday night, meaning that while established artist are gaining traction here, there’s a whole new wave of music ready to make things interesting in their own right.
Local hip hop was the star of the show on Thursday, as Scallops Hotel and Mike Regal received some much-deserved recognition. New Age Narcissism was well represented, as Lorde Fredd33 and Lex Allen took home trophies as well. However, in what feels like an upset win, Joe Quinto and Miguel Diaz took home best music video for “Black Magic”. Gloss Records can rest easy, as they have both the Band of the Year and Album of the Year in GGOOLLDD and Soul Low’s “Nosebleeds” respectively. It was a diverse array of winners, and nobody took home more than one trophy, which feels like an ideal outcome for many.
Check out the winners below, and if you’ve looked at our predictions, feel free to snicker at how inaccurate we were. One thing is for certain, though; if you were in attendance at RadioMilwaukee’s Music Awards Thursday, you can be proud of the local music scene. The night was exceptional, and it was really just the tip of the iceberg. Kudos to 88Nine RadioMilwaukee for their efforts, because they are clearly paying off when you look at the music being made in Milwaukee.
Awards:
Critic’s Choice Award – Scallops Hotel
Best Disc We Missed – Mike Regal – “Premonitions”
Best Album Artwork – Lorde Fredd33 – “Dead Man’s View”
