Jay Flash Makes Odd Production Feel Familiar

[this article was originally published July 5th 2010 for Examiner.com]

Much like Sebadoh and Wilco, Jay Flash (the performance moniker of Jeff Flashinski) enhances ultimately very simplistic songs with caustic production effects and unconventional mixes. It’s one of the main indicators of true “alternative” rock (otherwise, why label it alternative?), and with the Know, Alone album being so basic at its core, it’s just the exact dose of necessary dressing.

The Form Fits Their Own Mold

[this article was originally published June 26th, 2010 for Examiner.com] 

The Form’s appropriate and hardline categorization as a “jam band” could likely put off a few people curious about their debut album Smalltown. Generally, since smoking pot remains a legally frowned upon pastime, the bulk of the music consuming population tends to steer clear of any song that requires an attention span of more than four minutes - at most. It doesn’t matter how well composed the songs are, how detailed the musicianship or how unique it is in comparison to anything else - the fact remains that the average music consumer’s interest starts to wander around the five minute mark... unless they're high.

The Maze's 'Awakens' Album Is Acoustic Outsider Art

[this article was originally published June 16th, 2010 for Examiner.com]

As strongly acoustic as The Maze’s Awakens album is, frontman Robert Hansen commands a mastery over melodies that won’t settle for the standard issue you’d normally expect. The band runs in a similar vein to the kind of artists you might find on the renowned 4AD label (at least back in the day when bands like His Name Is Alive, Pale Saints and Dead Can Dance were active on it), capturing that same sort of trademark ethereal feel and haunted undertones. Accented by echoed out guitar bleeds, the ghostly wail of a musical saw, and the little spots of light brought on by delicate banjo refrains, the music instantly dives headlong into the realm of the uncategorizable.

Underground Oddities Stand A Chance Against The Odds

[this article was originally published June 11, 2010 for Examiner.com]

One of the most endearing qualities of truly underground bands is that a good majority of them have not self-applied that label. We give them that tag because they have the guts and the gumption to embark on a mission to bring something musically unique into a world that doesn’t always fully embrace that. While these bands’ songs might not be the most conventional, the acute ear can spot the significance in what they’re doing from miles away.

JAILL Reigns In Milwaukee At Verge Festival

[this article was originally published June 7th, 2010 for Examiner.com]

Though last weekend's Verge Festival on Milwaukee’s Summerfest grounds was more or less rained out on Saturday evening, local indie group Jaill, playing in the covered Potowatomi Bingo Casino Stage & Pavilion (called the Fringe stage for the event), “reigned in" the majority of the festival goers by default.

Behind The Curtain... and Into Arcadia

[this article was originally published for Suburban Bully, May 27th, 2010]

Into Arcadia won’t be playing the show they had scheduled this Saturday due to a booking mistake/scheduling conflict. The name of the venue they were slated to perform at will remain unnamed here, however, due to the fact that I’m holding a grudge against the place’s owner for not responding to an e-mail I sent him regarding some other business I’d like to discuss - yeah, that’s how childish I am.

Crash Test Dummies Wow with 'Oooh La La'

[This article was originally published May 15, 2010 for Suburban Bully]

It’s been 6 years since Crash Test Dummies’ last effort, Songs Of The Unforgiven, and seventeen years since their 90’s salad days, brought on mostly by their hit single “Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm” (one of few top 40 song in American history to contain no vowels in its title). Though the fame and dynamic of the band has changed drastically over the almost two decades since anybody really paid them any mind, the Crash Test Dummies still have a lot to say, and in an ever-changing representation.

I'm Not A Pilot ... Or Maybe He Is....

[this article was originally published for Suburban Bully, April 30th, 2010]

If you’re one that holds the accusation that Milwaukee doesn’t have much to offer as far as indie music talent goes, you may have, at one time, been right. I mean, sure we rested on the laurels of Les Paul in the 1950’s and didn’t really produce any real talent here again until The Violent Femmes shocked the world out of its complacency in the 1980’s. In the late 80’s we gave birth to The Gufs, and in the mid-90’s The Promise Ring. Though we did offer some good ones here and there, for the most part Milwaukee never really had the Seattle, San Francisco or Cincinnati level reputation for being a powerhouse of musical talent. This city has no shortage of ‘80’s cover bands and teenage thrash metal ensembles, and so one can hardly be blamed for not wanting to bother sifting through so many oysters for the occasional pearls.