Clovis Mann

MAXIMUM INK:  Can you give me a quick history of the band?

DANIEL WALKNER:  Well, I had some gigs lined up and everybody quit the band except for Stosh. This was about 2004. Ethan moved back from New Orleans.

ETHAN NOORDYK:  The Polish Mound Of Sound.

DW:  That’s right, Stosh Jonjak, (our) former bass player. We had a bunch of songs written up, and we had a gig Friday. There was a Battle Of The Bands on Thursday in Whitewater. So, Ethan came back, we practiced on Wednesday, we went into the Battle Of The Bands, and we won it. Then we went and played our gig at the Waverly in Two Rivers, and that was it.

EN:  We recorded in Milwaukee that weekend too.

DW:  Oh, that’s right. That was Saturday, at… wherever that place was. Then, about 1,000 shows later, here we are.

MI:  So you knew each other already.

DW:  Right, I knew Ethan from playing in blues bands years ago, and from doing pick-up stuff. Then we were in a bigger band and we kinda separated because we wanted to do a three-piece, because we were writing our own stuff and getting sick of doing that “Mustang Sally” routine. Stoshie and I had written some material together, “When You’re Gone”, “Stone Moses”, “War Child”, some of that stuff, and then we just started playing out. It kind of grew from there, and we rocked it as a trio. We did the first Clovis Mann album, and then the second album was Dues. Now we’re moving on to the Metamorphic album, with Danny Plourde on bass, Vince Farris is playing keys on almost everything, Craig Baumann from Fat Maw Rooney is playing guitar on one, and Pat Ferguson from Smokin’ Bandits is playing guitar on our gospel rave-up manic insanity church picnic theme song “The Light”.

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Cracker

Formed in 1991 after David Lowery left cult icons Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker’s core consists of David and ace guitarist Johnny Hickman. The band’s relentless touring and sparkling wit have forged a guitar-driven style that incorporates blues and country with punk and rock -  most recently documented in the smart and invigorating, “Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey.” Playing the Wisconsin State Fair August 14th, Johnny was kind enough to answer a few queries via email.
 
MI: Sharp writing and solid guitar work have always been stock in trade for Cracker who are your six string idols and literary heroes?

JH:  Thank you. Being a songwriter as well, I have to say that I can’t stand most guitar players. Most seem more concerned with showing off than with what works for the song. The most enduring guitar riffs have 3 or 4 notes. I like guitarists who sound a little disturbed like Joey Santiago from The Pixies or Jeff Beck. As far as literary heroes go, I’m attracted to a little madness there as well. Kurt Vonnegut, Cormac McCarthy. David is fond of Thomas Pynchon and McCarthy. 

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Dead Sara

Los Angeles based Dead Sara is made up of Emily Armstrong (Vocals, Guitar), Siouxsie Medley (Guitar, Vocals), Chris Null (Bass), and Sean Friday (Drums). The band offers rock done right: uncompromising, heavy, and soulful. Their self titled debut album, produced by Noah Shain is due out this summer. Maximum Ink recently caught up with them to talk about the latest happenings with band.

Maximum Ink: Since there isn’t that much out there about you yet, can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Emily Armstrong: Sioux and I met through a mutual friend when we were about 16 and with passion for music primarily in common, it didn’t take too long for us to start a band. We just loved hanging out, listening to music, and writing together. It wasn’t up until about a couple years ago that we decided to really do this the right way. Thus, we got our current drummer and bass player on board. It has been really solid and very fun.

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Drummer

In this unsettled world, it’s important to treasure all your feel good moments.

That’s the mentality members of Akron, Ohio, band DRUMMER apply to their music and lives. As the frigid winter kept their state tightly in its grasp this past February, the five musicians of Drummer - including Patrick Carney, drummer for critically acclaimed band the Black Keys - set out in the settings of Carney’s basement to renew old friendships and have a good time making music.

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Everclear

The album that finally broke EVERCLEAR (and made them the vanguard of first post-Nirvana alternative generation), Sparkle and Fade, is actually part of Wisconsin music history. It was recorded right in Madison at Smart Studios and the band has great memories of the city. “I love Madison,” Art Alexakis (founder, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band) starts saying, “I love the sound of that record. I got to know State Street pretty well. It was a while ago and we made friends. The kids that graduated are probably professors now.”, he laughs. “I remember during the making of that, that was in ‘94. MTV was big at the time and one of the big videos on MTV at the time was ‘Black Hole Sun’ by Soundgarden. It was really funny because there was a hurricane warning.” Then he realizes that he’s talking about the Midwest and chuckles a little. “Wait, not a hurricane warning, but a tornado warning!  It was the summertime. We were up at the top of Smart and the smoking guys in the band were smoking cigarettes and we’re watching this cloud up above us swirling toward us. There’s no sound, the air was totally dead, and it totally looked like Black Hole Sun. And people were like ‘get inside, idiots!’ And we’re like ‘Wow, that’s really cool’. Because we’re from the West coast, man, we don’t know about tornadoes.”

16 years later, Art is the only original member still with EVERCLEAR. In August of 2009, the band signed with 429 Records and by October released an album of re-interpretations of their older material called In A Different Light.

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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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The Good Natured

The Good Natured (aka Sarah McIntosh) is not the typical work you’d expect from a 19 year old, especially with songwriting that tends to lean towards the darker side. The band is also includes members Hamish McIntosh and George Hinton. The new single Be My Animal is due to be released on November 1st by the indie label KIDS with Prisoner being the B-side. Both tracks were mixed by Adrian Bushby, who’s also worked with Foo Fighters and Muse.

Maximum Ink: There isn’t much about you out there yet. Can you tell us a little about where you are from? How does coming from where you have impacted your musical style?
Sarah McIntosh: I’m Sarah, I am 19 and I live in a village called Highclere in Newbury, Berkshire. Highclere’s a nice little village. It has its own castle where Peter and Jordan got married. Nice. I wouldn’t say where I live impacts my musical style at all, it’s probably impacted more by the way I have been bought up around my grandparents and parents record collection.

MI: How would you describe The Good Natured sound?
SM: I would say its electronic pop with a darker element, that’s how I see it anyway.

MI: What led you to form this band?
SM: I have always enjoyed music, I used to play the violin, the drums and sang in a youth choir when I was younger. I formed the band out of a love for music, but also a need to express myself.

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