Robert J

A man who simply goes by “Robert J” fronts the band The Rowdy Prairie Dogs who jam on the Potawatomi Stage at Summerfest on its concluding day, Sunday, July 6 at noon. I had the opportunity to talk with this man who has been through so much just in the last year: dealing with a heart attack, forming a new band, and now, preparing to play Summerfest next month. When asked about the festival, Robert J said, “I’ve played there [Summerfest] about 6 or 7 times, mostly with the Moon Gypsies, I played with a band called Howlin’ at the Moon…I’m always excited to play Summerfest; it’s a big party.”

Robert J got started in the music industry at a young age, playing the guitar when he was just two years old. He is a guitarist and singer, but most of all a songwriter. When asked how he got started in the music industry, it was obvious it was a long effort, “Ohhhhh okay, actually I graduated from college and I had been playing in bands in Detroit. And I jumped in the band van and moved to Colorado in a van.  I had been playing a little bit, but that was pretty much when I decided okay, I’m just going to go be a musician for a while.” When he jumped into this van, he was also jumping into the band Happy Trails, merely one of about 20 bands that Robert J has been a part of.

Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock arrives November 3rd, 2007 to Madison’s High Noon Saloon, playing solo but carrying overstuffed bags of interesting history. From his post-punk Soft Boys beginnings to a three decade career mixing solo stretches with bands, films, published poems and painting, Robyn is a post-modern Renaissance Man who’s songs and speech dabble in riddles, scribbles, neurosis and culture. The newly minted five CD set, I WANNA GO BACKWARDS bonuses up three of his older solo albums and includes an incredibly strong double CD of rare works. We emailed Robyn to ask about his past and present state of affairs.

Baghdad Scuba Review

Political revolution through music and a spelling error are just some of the inspiration behind Baghdad Scuba Review.

The six man group got its start when guitarist, vocalist and former member of One Fluid Ounce John Schneider moved to Madison from California and began performing at weekly open mic nights at Pizzaria Uno, 222 W. Gorham St. The band said Schneider developed “comfortableness” with inviting guests and soon guitarist Chad Thompson, drummer Justin Gerstner and bassist Erik Riedasch began sitting in at the shows. Slowly, Riedasch said jam sessions and unrehearsed shows ripened at Mr. Roberts, 2116 Atwood Ave.

“Having no direction or goal we performed under such names as ‘John Schneider and Friends’ or ‘The John Schneider Project’,” Riedasch said.

The members of Baghdad Scuba Review all came from well-known Madison bands. Riedasch and percussionist Rob Bloch came from the band Groovulous Glove, Thompson from Green Situation, Gerstner from The Northern Pines Band and keyboardist Jason Krueger from Runga Kutta. “Since then, we all started taking ourselves a little more seriously, originating with the birth name of BSR, but we’ve never let it go to our heads,” Riedasch said. “I think we all agree that isn’t the objective of this band.  We’ve always had this underlining respect and closeness with each other which is simply not describable.”

Les Paul

‘Upgrade’ is a fairly new term in today’s society, yet it has sparked an international obsession. We need our internet faster, our cars bigger, our celebrities skinnier, and our televisions more…defined? Well listen up, Generation Next, because the man responsible for the original upgrade worked for it… Without the cheat codes.

There is no doubt Les Paul is a living legend of the twenty-first century. He not only invented the first electric guitar, but revolutionized the music industry with countless recording breakthroughs. Les Paul has played for kings, queens and presidents, and is revered by musical titans throughout the world. But one Monday night, on the busiest and brightest street in New York City, this legend sat on a moth-eaten, dusty couch, alone in a cramped dressing room, just a door-swing away from his audience.

A chill ran up my spine. I tried to imagine all the influential people that had gazed into those misty blue eyes, as I was doing. Every inch of his face was brimming with eagerness to talk about the past, perhaps wondering which stories I would conjure. He gently twisted the top of his cane as his eyes darted around before settling on an object across the room, and then back at me.

Asylum Street Spankers

An interview with Wammo of the Asylum Street Spankers

The Siegel-Schwall Band

The Siegel-Schwall Band first emerged in 1966 on Vanguard Records in the height of the Summer Of Love blues boomlet. Young Corky & Jim were students of the Chicago Blues and could be found cutting their chops in the Windy City’s clubs with legends like Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Hubert Sumlin on an average Thursday evening. Siegel-Schwall released nine studio albums and collaborated with conductor Seiji Ozawa and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra before parting ways in 1974. Their traditional routine of yearly reunion shows since their 1988 Reunion Concert album on Alligator Records has finally been broken, and the group has released Flash Forward, their first studio record in 32 years featuring all originals, and their most polished effort to date. Maximum Ink spoke with Jim Schwall and drummer Sam Lay about what lies ahead for them.

Originally starting out as a duo for small club gigs, Jim would play guitar, Corky would play piano, harp, and percussion, and they both would sing. A rotating rhythm section was added when bookings for larger gigs became standard. When they were signed to Vanguard Records, Siegel-Schwall released four records: The Siegel-Schwall Band, Say Siegel-Schwall, Shake and Siegel-Schwall 70. The group moved to RCA/Wooden Nickel in 1971 and released Sleepy Hollow, 953 West, Last Summer and the aptly titled R.I.P. before breaking up in 1974. Siegel went on to pursue a solo career intertwined with a fusion of classical music and blues and Jim Schwall earned a PhD in Music.