1956 The Band

All too often, too much emphasis is put on those who create music rather than the music itself. Jim Morrisson saw it and performed whole concerts with his back to the audience. Trent Reznor saw it and performed most of his last tours’ shows behind a curtain. Slipknot saw it and began only going by band numbers behind masks. 1956 is an interesting paradox: similar, yet different.

Placing all the importance on the music, 1956 has been able to alienate the atypical image of the rock band whose visibility and publicity outshines the mediocrity of the music. That is not so with 1956. An assemblage of three men, all dedicated to the creation of strong rock music since 2001, 1956 enter the venue prepared for an aural, yet visceral, onslaught of sounds, pushed to the limits of conventional musicianship.

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A Tortured Soul

Sometimes you find a band by accident. A band that you’re expecting nothing from but at the end of the night, you’re so happy you saw them. There is that initial moment of doubt when you say to yourself “do they really sound as good as I think they do?” I found such a band in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and they are called A TORTURED SOUL.

They formed in 2001 when old high school friends lead guitarist Nate Gorenc and bass player Stefan Bohl put together a group named REZ. They placed an ad in Uncle Bob’s music store (where they buy most of their equipment) and vocalist Rick Black answered it. With a change of name and the additions of Ryne Schultz on rhythm guitar and Eric Gnant on drums, ATS does the business every time they step on the stage.

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Beatallica

an interview with Beatallica singer Jaymz Lennfield as the band headed to Europe for their fifth Euro-tour.

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Black Frog

Guitarist/vocalist Eroc explained to me how they came up with the name BLACK FROG. He had four carnivorous albino aquatic frogs in a fish tank. One day he noticed a frog was missing. The next day another one was gone. Mystified, he put weights on the cover of the tank but he came home and the other two frogs had vanished.

Months passed and the frogs were never found as Eroc concentrated his energies on building a recording studio in his basement and launching a new band. One fateful day, the furnace in the studio needed repair and as the technician opened the furnace, Eroc heard him scream. When Eroc entered the room he found the repairman holding four fist sized frogs as flat as pancakes and blackened from oxidation. They had made their escape through the heating ducts to an entire new floor of the house. In honor of these four brave souls, Eroc decided to name the band BLACK FROG. He still has their corpses today and hopes to shellac them into a guitar.

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The Buggs

A Milwaukee original, THE BUGGS have been punking up classic pop and rock songs since 1999. As lead singer and guitarist, Lane Klozier, describes, “We were all from original bands and we were just tired of playing shows for eight people in the audience. We got a couple sets together of music anywhere from The Beatles to Badfinger, played out and it went very, very well.” Similar in vein to Punk rock super cover group, Me First and The Gimme Gimmes, Lane describes THE BUGGS as Milwaukee’s only “original cover band” taking classic songs and makes them their own with a hard rock/punk sensibility.

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The Buzzhorn

“We just wanted to kinda get back to rock.” The phrase may be a bit of a cliché, but is the perfect description of what The Buzzhorn is all about.

Recently signing with Atlantic Records, the Milwaukee-based band is taking its first steps into the national limelight, with high hopes and realistic expectations. “As far as the national level and everything, you can keep your fingers crossed and hope that it all goes well. We just want to keep playing, and that’s really it,” reflects vocalist Ryan Mueller.

The Buzzhorn are one of Milwaukee’s hottest bands, but were relatively unheard of outside of the city until recently. Advertising extensively and barely getting by financially, The Buzzhorn developed a strong, energetic fan base in the Milwaukee area. Ultimately, this, in combination with the band’s musical talent, caught the eyes and ears of Atlantic Records, offering The Buzzhorn the opportunity every band dreams of. On August 6 of this year, “Disconnected” hits stores, with the first single, “Ordinary” currently being added to radio play lists nationwide.

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Carbellion

American Heavy Rock, it’s the title of southeastern Wisconsin band, Carbellion’s first EP and according to lead singer, Cameron Kellenberger, the most apt description of their music. “Thematically, a lot of the songs are pro-United States, American culture”, he says, “heavy rock is a tag we put that just kinda stuck.”

Formed from the ashes of Milwaukee metal stalwarts, the Carbon Parlor and Whiskey Rebellion, Carbellion is a mash-up of the two former band’s names. But Cameron likes to tell unsuspecting fans that it’s a Spanish ghost-ship, a matador-killing Mexican bull, or a Civil War soldier. Carbellion has already played many of the Midwest’s biggest cities in support of bands like Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch (who the band feels are musical brothers-in-arms), and Alabama Thunderpussy.

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