Ace Frehley

Legendary lead guitarist Ace Frehley is no stranger to playing Madison, Wisconsin, having appeared here no less than seven times with his former group KISS, but November 7th’s Majestic Theatre show will mark the first time Frehley has played MadTown as a solo performer. In fact, the Majestic gig will be only the fifth live performance he’s made since the release of his long awaited CD Anomaly this past September. Wisconsin’s Frehley fanatics are also lucky enough to witness a November 6th appearance at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Theater in Milwaukee. I asked Ace about his recently postponed Australian tour, which will be another first for Frehley as a solo performer.

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Faces For Radio

With a sleek, venturesome and well worn presence in the Madison and national music scene, the members of the capital’s resident rock supergroup FACES FOR RADIO see every show as a chance to show off their skills. Skills they’ve picked up over the past decades in some of Madison’s most successfully produced bands, namely Rapscallion and Last Crack. 

“Any opportunity we are given to play we appreciate it 150 percent,” says Chris Havey, who handles drumming duties. Havey is joined by an experienced lineup of musicians including singer Tod Schwenn, guitarist Jayme Poster, and bass player Todd “Reno” Winger.

Even though they started in 2006, their friendships are decades long. Faces for Radio marks a crossroads of the paths each of the members of the bands have taken. Winger and Havey enjoyed success in the widely popular Last Crack, which was signed to Roadracer/Roadrunner Records a label that now touts names such as CKY, Nickelback, Dream Theater and more. Last Crack enjoyed critical success nationally and worldwide, playing on and off over the last two decades, with classic albums such as Burning Time and Sinister Funkhouse 17, MTV videos, and shows that attracted thousands of people.

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Factory 81

Fiery conviction.  Justified rebellion.  Protest with soul.  These concepts amply describe the sounds of Factory 81.  Best described as a refined hybrid of Slipknot and Rage Against The Machine, Factory 81 combines violently convicted philosophies with blood curdling screams and aching melodies.  The four-piece band out of Detroit, Michigan was recently asked to contribute a track of their choice to the compilation “Take A Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute To Rap.” The cover they chose to perform?  Cypress Hill’s “Insane In the Membrane”.  Why?  Andy Cyrulnik, drummer of Factory 81, believes Cypress Hill closely resembles the sound of his own group.  That and he’s a long time fan.

On Factory 81’s full-length debut CD entitled “Mankind”, vocalist Nate Wallace states in the insert, “Not all the lyrics are submitted.  I decided to leave it open for interpretation”.  The inside cover contains a fantastic combination of thought provoking poetry, essays and lyrics of action.  The words written under the track “Peace Officer” tell a personal story of injustice and police brutality.  The story concludes, “This song is dedicated to all police & all the power tripping pigs.  How can I be free?  Slap the cuffs on me, I’m just a freak”.  Another powerful track entitled “Rotten Strawberries” has an accompanying tale of a man that died as he rescues a girl about to be hit by a speeding car.  “Hating himself as he thought others did, he did all within his simple mind & power to earn their love or at least a smile.  He died never knowing either one.” Through passionate words such as these, Factory 81 encourages fans to question their experiences, realize their beliefs and remain aware.

Their profound words alone make Factory 81 a band deserving of high recognition and merit.  What lies behind this furious and intriguing band?  Bill Schultz, guitarist of the band, recently took some time out from the hectic touring schedule to answer a few questions about the band. 

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Fear Factory

When a friend told me last month that she heard of some band called “Fear Factory” playing the House Of Blues in Chicago, I thought to myself, “That sounds odd.  A metal band playing the House of Blues?” Then, when I heard that Fear Factory was to be one of the only non-Country bands to headline the Wisconsin Dane County Junior Fair since I was in Middle School, I became intrigued.  I called my publisher almost the same day requesting to do a piece on the popular hard core, leather-wearing band performing in such unusual venues. 

Fear Factory’s fourth LP entitled “Digimortal” is a blend of cyber-metal screams describing in detail the unification of man and machine.  Burton C. Bell sings of an apocalyptic vision in which cloning and memory implants hold the potential of sustaining human life forever, while guitarist Dino Cazares, bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and drummer Raymond Herrera fuel the raging and powerful nightmare.  This latest project exemplifies a progressive effort for the band that originated back in 1992. 

Some facts about the fearless foursome--ten years on the road, four LPs and an EP, a gold record for their third LP “Obsolete”, a black T-shirt, long-haired appearance reminiscent of early Sepultura or Slayer and live shows that are said to radiate phenomenal energy and emotion.  Success of such a band is no small feat, especially given the growing popularity of generically formatted Slipknot/Limp Bizkit imitations. 

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Fermata

The band Fermata evokes a forgotten gothic era.  An era with a certain raw, earthy melancholy atmosphere permeating all it contacts. Upon consumption of their potent sonic brew, the listener is whisked off to a musical merry-go-round of passion and excitement. Vocal visions are painted for our ears to hear and see. As the visions clear, we find that these spellbinding tales are spoken through the various physical and musical voices of a far flung ensemble from Madison, WI.

After witnessing Fermata’s performance on Dec 15 at High Noon Saloon, time was set aside to find out more about this band. Now, through the modern marvel of e-mail, we have been granted a view into the workings of that which is Fermata.

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Fever Marlene

Bubbling with a feverish energy layered in melodies, beats, and laid back rock and roll, Milwaukee band FEVER MARLENE ambitiously unearth the limits of where they can take their sound. From a big pop-rock debut to a minimalistic approach and now entering raw rock and roll territory, singer/guitarist Scott Starr and drummer Kevin Dunphy let the situation dictate where their band’s music goes.

“It’s important with us being a two-piece to not put ourselves in a corner with what we can do,” says Starr.  “We can’t force something that’s not really there.”

With this mentality, Fever Marlene has rapidly grown in popularity in their hometown and the Midwest music scene, constantly adding fans, bands (both local and national), and media memorized by how they create such big sound with only two members.  Brian Kramp, morning show co-host on FM 102.1 in Milwaukee, is just one of these people.

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Filter

Coming back onto the scene after a six-year hiatus, Richard Patrick (Nine Inch Nails’ original guitarist) has reformed FILTER, who blazed through the late Nineties with hits like “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and “Take a Picture.” They’re back with a new record, Anthems for the Damned and its lead single, “Soldiers of Misfortune,” about the Iraq War. While Patrick plays most the instruments on the new album, bassist John Spiker (Steve Earle, Tenacious D, and Beck) was recruited to join the band in March of 2008. As he puts it, “When I got the audition, I had to do a double take. One of the craziest parts is that Filter’s sort of been disbanded for about six years. I definitely listened to Filter in high school and even covered Filter songs in bands that I’d played in. I’m really excited to be part of this group. We’re kind of calling this tour the ‘Re-Education Tour.’ There’s a whole new generation of fans that don’t know about Filter. We’re getting out to the streets to get the word out again.”

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