In 1987, I was 18 years old and arrived in Madison, WI to attend college at the University Of Wisconsin-Madison. Next year, will officially mark 30 full years that I have lived within this city and blissfully so (despite the presence of the state Governor, but enough of that). Oddly enough and especially with my music obsessions and four years DJing on WLHA during school, I honestly never had paid very much attention to the Madison music community over the years. This is not for any reason or for any prejudices. I have never held any ill will towards local musicians and local music. I just never paid attention and therefore, I was wholly ignorant of any sense of a local music scene.
SPOONER
And most of all, there is the band that really needs no introduction but has deep ties to the Madison music community through its members Steve Marker, Duke Erickson and Butch Vig, all of whom participated in Spooner and Fire Town plus created the legendary Smart Studios.
I reference all of these musical figures at this time to demonstrate a few examples of how Madison, WI is indeed home to a rich and seemingly bottomless musical history and tapestry. But even so, it still seems to exist as unknown territory in regards to the larger American musical landscape. We are all very much aware of the influences of Minneapolis, California, Chicago, New York, Seattle, New Orleans and so on have had in our nation's ever continuing musical history, but I would be hard pressed to think that anyone would notice that Madison, WI was, and continues to be, a tremendous source of musically creative and inventive individuals the equal of any of those aforementioned cities. It feels as if this city exists as the nation's best kept musical secret...even to its inhabitants, like myself.
I was never really aware if Madison ever possessed a musical "scene" or even its own musical "identity," so to speak. Does Madison possess a signature "sound"? Honestly, I still do not know but what I am now happily aware of is that the next generation of Madison based bands, songwriters and musicians are more than deserving of some extra attention in any discernible spotlight that I am able to help place upon them.
For the past year and a half now, Synesthesia has become a bit of a home for news, updates and music information concerning the young musicians that have made up the local bands Post Social, Modern Mod, Dash Hounds, Trophy Dad, Barbara Hans, Pollinators and ever more, each time that I have been able to see these bands perform live. And furthermore, it has been an honor having the opportunity getting to know these musicians personally, as well as having an outlet of Savage Radio on WVMO to play their music over the airwaves.
On the very late evening of Saturday, July 30th, I ventured out to the High Noon Saloon in order to celebrate the official release of Post Social's bar raising third album "Casablanca," an evening in which the band would serve as headliners with the aforementioned Dash Hounds, Appleton, WI's Cedarwell and Milwaukee, WI's Midnight Reruns all as opening acts.
I entered the Saloon close to the 9:30 p.m. start time, stunned with the announcement from the ticket taker who adorned my arm with wristband and hand-stamp that I was the first patron to enter for this night's event. Number 1?! How could that even be possible? While I quizzically looked around at the wide open spaciousness of the High Noon, I was greeted warmly once again by Post Social guitarist/singer Mitch Deitz and guitarist/singer Shannon Connor. I spent several minutes extolling my excitement over "Casablanca," which I had previously heard a few weeks before thanks to B-Side Records' Steve Manley, who possessed an advance copy via his son and Post Social/Dash Hounds member Brendan Manley.
Soon afterwards, I had the pleasure of meeting celebrated local folk guitarist Ritt Deitz, the Father of both Mitch and his brother jazz pianist/composer Wilder Deitz, who has not only just released his own new album entitled "Child's Play" (released July 15, 2016) but also studied directly under Richard Davis as well. Shortly thereafter, Steve and his wife Anita arrived with the cargo of Post Social's album, plus complementary buttons and custom designed Dash Hounds apparel in tow and I quickly made my way to their merchandise table to pick up a copy of the official release, fully supporting the band and their efforts. Dash Hounds guitarist/singer Alivia Kleinfeldt greeted me as did Post Social/Dash Hounds bassist Sam Galligan and before I realized, Alivia called Sam to the stage and the night began.
It has truly been a wonderful privilege to hear the evolution of Dash Hounds from its very first live performance last October to this point in time. Being this first post-Modern Mod project from Kleinfeldt and Manley, I am still amazed with their level of confidence and bravery with building a musical identity in front of an audience and consistently so, especially as Kleinfeldt admitted to me later in the evening that she really had no idea of what Dash Hounds could be when she originally conceived of the idea, and now the band is set to release their debut EP with their own release party at the High Noon Saloon at the end of August.
On this third time that I have seen the band perform live (albeit with some musical chairs within the personnel as Manley has returned to the drum kit and guitarist James Strelow has joined the fold), it was just fascinating to me to hear this short and initial collection of songs being worked over and over again, all the while finding the way in which the songs will be best represented. On Record Store Day, I described the band's performance as being "stormy." While some of that remained this evening, Dash Hounds took on a tighter, punchier dynamic to their dream state aesthetic, which found Kleinfeldt rocking harder than I had previously seen her, while still effortlessly displaying her strong melodics and the lush timbre of her singing.
With both Cedarwell and Midnight Reruns, I had never heard of either band, personally know none of the band members and therefore, I carried no ideas or perceptions of what I might hear, and as with every one of these events that I have been so fortunate to attend, I was again deeply impressed and often amazed with the results.
The music of Cedarwell proved itself to be not only a perfect companion band to Dash Hounds due to their equally hypnotic dream state qualities, they burst onto their own mesmerizing musical path through a presentation that had a decidedly more folk, alt-country vibe yet one that felt filtered through the likes of Neil Young, Iron And Wine and Wilco at their more experimental.
Drummer Jared Beckman, armed with a truncated and standing set-up masterfully sounded as if he was seated behind a full drum kit, and lead singer/guitarist Eric Neave crafted a pristine vocal harmony that sounded nearly lifted from the Eagles.
Lead guitarist Jeff Patlingrao was nothing less than astonishing, a true guitar gunslinger if I have ever heard one and even more deadly because I would doubt few, other than faithful fans, are even remotely aware of him. Now based in New York, and after enduring an especially arduous and overly extended flight to this particular show with his bandmates, the travails of his travels certainly never announced themselves during his piece of the performance which was stunning to behold due to his musical dexterity, flexibility and agility (even performing slide guitar with a butter knife), which often found him channeling the likes of Lindsey Buckingham, The Smashing Pumpkins' Jeff Schoreder and by all accounts from jaw dropped spectators afterwards, Wilco's Nels Cline!! Yeah...Patlingrao is that good!
Milwaukee's Midnight Reruns carried the power pop/hard rock flag of the night brilliantly! Guitarist/singer Graham Hunt, bassist/singer Brady Murphy, guitarist Karl Giehl and drummer Sam Reitman performed nothing but barn burners to say the least, as their specialized blending of Cheap Trick, The Replacements, Big Star and most definitely Thin Lizzy, with their exquisite twin guitar leads and blazing back and forth solos, hit me directly within my wheelhouse (and I was thankful to have been able to express as much with both Hunt and Giehl later in the evening).
But, then it was time for the headliners, the main event themselves, the full arrival of Post Social at the top of the bill and they indeed brought their "A" game to the stage. Performing nearly the entirety of "Casablanca," Post Social more than effectively mirrored the sizable growth and development showcased upon the new album with a exhibition that displayed the band at the tightest that I have had the pleasure to witness to date. Additionally, I also felt that on this night, the band really re-established their identities on stage to powerful effect.
Face it, Mitch Deitz is made for the stage! No matter what else may be happening around him visually or musically, he will always find new and invigorating ways to capture your attention solely due to the sheer jubilation he exudes. It is as if he is taken over by the music, the glory and wonder of every musical note, melody, harmony and propulsive beat that swirls around and through him. Even as a spectator in the audience watching other bands perform, you cannot help but to bear witness to his unabashed glee. Yet, when he sings and wields his guitar, his long hair flying vigorously, Deitz is a formidable showman. No easy feat and he makes every moment look and feel honest, natural and infectious.
The virtuoso rhythm section of bassist Sam Galligan and drummer Brendan Manley, more than ever, feel to be Post Social's John Entwistle and John Bonham, eliciting every song with fluidity, grace, power and wallop, so firmly "in the pocket" while open and loose enough to fly freely.
So...if Deitz is the consummate showman, Galligan the stoic, mysterious bassist, and Manley the beastly force of nature, then this would make Shannon Connor the guitar wizard. Observing his growth over the past 18 months or so has been wonderful to witness as he is exhibiting much more comfort and confidence on stage through singing more often (as well as on the new album) but his guitar playing has truly skyrocketed through extended, lyrical solos and an increasing skill with utilizing a growing arsenal of special effects.
As you can obviously gather, I deeply love this band and to see them perform so heroically just made my heart soar. It didn't matter that the audience during this entire night was more on the scant side. This band took it to the stage and by the time they reached their personal favorite selection "Ohio," they had more then effectively whipped the audience into a veritable slam dance frenzy that left the audience begging for more, which the band did oblige with one explosive encore of the track "Gentle Ben."
And so, after another epic night of live, local music, what have I learned about the Madison music scene? In some ways, I am still not terribly sure, especially in regards to our city possibly possessing a signature sound or musical identity. However, what has amazed me, and especially so, with this particular generation of musicians, is that these young people, who are all around the same ages, have taken it upon themselves to learn an instrument or several to various degrees of proficiency. They have also, most importantly, learned and are seemingly devoted to exploring the craft of being able to write good songs!!
Here is where these young people have placed much of what exists in the forefront of pop culture to shame. These individuals are completely guileless when it comes to creating music and being in the position to write, record, perform live and to possibly exist as working musicians, something I think that fully needs to be recognized and respected now that we live in an age where one could easily create an album upon their laptops and never learn how to play an instrument.
These people all seem to view their standing as a gift to be treasured and nurtured. As a community, the support and camaraderie given to each other is supremely warming to witness. They write together, play with each other's bands, direct music videos for each other, help with designing band logos and album cover artwork, trade roles of audience member and performer, watching and learning from each other without any sense of envy, jealousy or negative elements of competition. Hell, I have even observed them in the audience singing every lyric of songs written by other bands and excitedly so. They are each others greatest cheerleaders and confidants, all amazed by the process of collaboration and the bonds of community.
On this night, I spoke with not only the members of Post Social and Dash Hounds but also Abby Sherman (Trophy Dad bassist/singer), former Modern Mod lead singer/guitarist Emily Massey (now of the new band Melkweed as well as new addition to Slow Pulp--formerly known as Barbara Hans) and I even spotted former Post Social backing vocalist Siv Earley wildly dancing the night away in the crowd. Everyone only confirmed all that I had witnessed first hand: that the Madison music scene is now home to a vibrant, restlessly inventive and creative group of songwriters, singers, musicians, artists and producers, all of whom are devoted to their gifts and are fearlessly charting their own paths.
I may not have known terribly much about the local music scene but as I am learning, I am discovering happily what a deep and rich tapestry we have in Madison and this new crop is a great place to begin if you happen to be unfamiliar with the scene as well. And for all of us, the path these young people are blazing forwards will hopefully inspire all of us to look backwards to those who came before, ultimately revealing much about what makes Madison, and therefore, Wisconsin tick musically.
And whatever we end up listening to (in my case, it will be another luxurious spin of Post Social's "Casablanca"), always remember to...
...PLAY LOUD!!!!!!
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