Tiger Clutch

Tiger Clutch might be the greatest glam rock band you’ve never heard. With influences based on Judas Priest, Nirvana, and Kick Axe, Tiger Clutch are five local musicians who play the part of grizzled hair metal veterans, having rocked, partied, and screwed their way through decades of music history. When it’s time to rock, they take the stage names of Thor (singer and local comedian David Leon), The Blast (guitarist Derek Reinfried), Brick Johnson (guitarist Joe Cushman), Shredderella (bassist Jennifer Reinfried), and Beatz “Off” McKenzie (drummer Riley Heninger). With a rock fist in the air and their tongue firmly in their cheek, they release their latest (in reality, first) album on Thursday December 1st. We took a few minutes to discuss the new record with them.

Maxmas - Volume II

Christmas albums tend to be schmaltzy overblown affairs by aging artists looking to cash in on their demographically-changing audience as they move from the hipster stage to developing families. Scott Weiland’s latest bizarre big-band/lounge Holiday embarrassment is just another in a long line of overt money grabs by rockers as they struggle for relevance in the fluid and fickle morass of pop music popularity. Christmas albums are for guys like Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond, right? (Yes, he did release one and yes, I did see The Jazz Singer, thank you.)

Well, thank sweet Zombie Jesus that the Madison Area Christmas Compilation Vol. 2 (abbreviated M.A.Xmas) is the antidote to that kind of thing. 

M.A.X.-mas Volume II

We’ve all heard the lousy Christmas songs that get beaten into our head over and over every single year since our conception. The one’s that make you go just a tad bit crazy and one more step closer to that breaking point. If you’re from the U.S., you know all about the corporate sponsored shopping spree we as Americans partake in, despite whether or not we have money. Now, I’m no Scrooge. But if I’m going to have to suffer through another year of thousands of meaningless dollars spent and seeing family half of us don’t like as it is, I want some kick ass music to dull the pain.

Big John Bates to cure Madison music fans with hellfire remedies

The doctor is in. Big John Bates will share his hellfire remedies for ho-hum music with audiences at The Frequency Nov. 10. When Big John Bates plays in Madison, audiences can expect to hear new material featured on the band’s upcoming release Battered Bones.

Bandallamas

Bandallamas realizes the superhuman talent of the DC Comics Justice League. Members of the collaborative ensemble don’t wear capes and leave the crime fighting to law enforcement, but they do conquer the doldrums of cookie-cutter music by blending punk, folk, jazz and rock elements. Bandallamas will perform at the Barrymore Theatre in Madison Nov. 11 and the Radisson Hotel in Green Bay on Nov. 12.

Bandallamas combines the skills of legendary performers to craft their eclectic sound. Members include frontman Chris Aaron; President Bandallamas LLC Lisa Bethke, founding member of the Violent Femmes Victor DeLorenzo; Wally Ingram, former drummer for Sheryl Crow; Jane Wiedlin of The Gogos; urban blues artist Bobby Bryan; Pauli Ryan, who has recorded with Garbage and U2; pianist Ken Saydak; and Rob Wasserman, who continues his creative collaboration with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead.

UW-Madison Professor of Bass Richard Davis is also a member. Over the course of his career, Davis has played with Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and Barbra Streisand among others and appears on over 1,000 recordings.

Hank 3

Shelton Hank Williams is the closest thing that country music has to a crown prince. The son of Bocephus himself, Hank Jr. (The Artist Formerly Known as the “Are You Ready For Some Football?” guy), and the grandson of one of the most popular country artists of all time, Hank3has charted a path entirely his own. Starting his career drumming for punk bands in the early 90’s, he’s spent his music career freely ignoring the genre lines of metal (he was in two bands with PANTERA’s Phil Anselmo, ARSON ANTHEM and SUPERJOINT RITUAL), cow-punk (he calls it “hellbilly” with his DAMN BAND), and punk (leading the band ASSJACK) After years of fighting with the Nashville country music system (just listen to “Dick in Dixie” or “Trashville” for his opinions on the current state of country music) as well as his record labels, Hank has just released three(!) new albums on his own, Hank3 label. Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown is a double country-tinged album, Attention Deficit Domination is doom metal, and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’ is a mashup of speed metal and spoken word by cattle auctioneers that has to be heard to be believed!