Butch Vig

A Wisconsin native who made his name producing records for bands that would come to define the alternative movement in the 90’s with Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins and then came to know rock success as the drummer and producer of multi-platinum artist, Garbage, Butch Vig is known as a sonic virtuoso who makes some of the best sounding rock music around. Playing in Madison bands through the 70’s and 80’s and founding Smart Studios, Butch has as of late relocated to the sunnier climes of California and started a family, but that hasn’t slowed him down. After recently producing records by The Subways and Against Me! his latest project is GREEN DAY’s newest album, 21st Century Breakdown.

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Steve Vai

Just as the guitarist in bands like Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth to his sideman work with bands like Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, STEVE VAI has been the guitar hero’s guitar hero for three decades. He’s been leading his own band since the early 1990’s, creating one of that generation’s most influential instrumental guitar records, the epic Passion and Warfare. He’s releasing a new DVD in September called Where The Wild Things Are documenting a show on his last tour in Minneapolis. He’s just finished getting it ready and he took a few minutes to talk about the DVD with us.

MI: What compelled you to make the new DVD set?

SV: It’s what I do. Traveling musician, composer, and rock guitar player. It’s always nice to capture little moments in time. I put this band together, that’s sort of a unique band. My music is 80% instrumental, very compositional rock music. It’s a very different kind of a show. When I do a show together, I put together something I’d like to see when I go to a show. I want to see great musicianship, I wanna feel emotional dynamics, and see people that have an investment in what you’re doing.

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Vanishing Kids

Keeping alive the torch of post-punk and new-wave, VANISHING KIDS started making noise when guitarist Jason Hartman and vocalist Nikki Nads met in Madison in 2000 and decided to form a band the following year where they could indulge in their love of artists like The Cure and Siouxsie and The Banshees. That path has since taken them to Seattle, back to Madison, and finally back to the West Coast to Portland, Oregon. They’ve achieved a good deal of success along the way, signing a distribution deal with Rykodisc and having industrial pioneer Martin Atkins take the producing reins on one of their albums.  This summer, they’ve released a brand new single, “Mother Earth”, and are hitting the road on a tour that will take them through the Western and Midwestern states.

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VO5

To call VO5 a band may be slightly misleading; born four years ago, the nine-member collective is comprised of playwrights, engineers, film-makers, a firefighter and a doctor with musical resumes from Cherry Pop Burlesque to Swim Team and the Merkins. More than dance floor sequins and day-glo flares, VO5’s nostalgia is dipped in twenty-first century irony, their cheesy chic a release valve from reality. Strong with the power of the boogie, amateur ornithologist and band guitarist John Feith says, the band “simply aims to make people dance.” Vocalist Kelly Murphy says, “Come down to a show and see for yourself.”

MAXIMUM INK: How did the band name come about?
Kelly : We are called VO5 because the world wasn’t quite ready for Nanopussy. 
John: We do still own www.nanopussy.us (try it, type it in...) if anybody is interested in renting that name for a high fee, along with www.boobatron.com
Kelly: The name also serves to call attention to our full, lustrous heads of hair. 

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Voivod

Voivod blasted thru the late 80’s and early 90’s with a unique and evolutionary stretch of conceptualized sci-fi progressive thrash metal albums. “Killing Technology,” “Dimension Hatross,” and “Nothingface” are all extremely influential and classic thrash-era albums.

Now after several years of difficult times, harsh realities and semi-obscurity, Voivod has returned, revamped and reenergized, sporting an impressive new band member, Jasonic (Jason Newsted formerly of Metallica). There is also an exciting spring tour with Sepultura and a summer tour with Ozzfest. In fact, it was Jason who performed much of the revamping. The incredible new album, “Voivod Voivod” was recorded at and released on Jason’s own Chophouse Records. 

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The Von Bondies

Hitting the mainstream with their single, “C’mon C’mon” in 2004 (used as the theme to Denis Leary’s popular TV show, Rescue Me.) They also appeared in the popular and controversial (due to the actors’ naughty and real sex scenes in a love story set between live-music performances) 9 Songs. THE VON BONDIES rode the Detroit garage rock wave (even getting their first record, Lack of Communication, produced by The White Stripes’ Jack White) to success in the early part of the century. On the way, they lost a few members (the only original ones being vocalist/guitarist Jason Stollsteimer and drummer Don Blum.) Stollsteimer got in a highly-publicized fistfight with the aforementioned White, and the band went into hibernation. In 2008, with a sans record label they are getting back into touring. They’re self-releasing two EPs in preparation for a full album in the fall. The first, We Are Kamikazes, is only available from the band at their shows.

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The Von Ehrics

Seemingly effortlessly mixing the speed and aggression of punk rock music with the structure and twang of country music, Dallas trio, THE VON EHRICS, (named after the infamous Texas professional wrestling clan) write and play memorable cowpunk that veers between the heavy and the heartfelt in equal measure without ever sounding an untrue note (as one of their songs mentions, when you see a VON EHRICS show, you have an equal chance of hearing Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Rancid, or Bauhaus.) The two founding members, lead vocalist and guitarist Robert Jason Vandergryff (is there a more regal rock name in existence?) and bassist Jeffery Wayne Mosley (name checked in a song for being known to cause trouble south of the border), have been playing together since 2000. After a string of drummers, finally solidified the lineup in 2005 with San Antonian Gabe Aguilar on the drums.

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