Artists from Wisconsin:
Built for durability, prepped for snow storms, maybe even a bit isolated from the corporate business of music. This separation allows artists to create out of pure joy and creativity allowing honesty in the lyrics and melodies and performances. Its all worn right their on their flannel-covered sleeves.
VOLUME THREE ARTISTS (2019)
BASCOM HILL
Bascom Hill is a trio of lager-loving, joke cracking, Wisconsin-raised musicians in the truest sense of the word. As veterans of the music scene, a lot has changed for them personally and in the biz over the course of 4 albums. But through it all, one thing has remained constant: a commitment to their music, which is known for its effortless hooks, memorable choruses, and clever lyrics.
KEROSENE KITES
After years of co-writing sessions, festival planning, sporadic performances, and overall "big idea" cultivating, Beth Kille and Erik Kjelland will now perform as a duo under the group name "Kerosene Kites" and will also play shows as a full band when rocking out is deemed necessary. These prolific songwriters and co-founders of Flannel Fest began co-writing in the fall of 2013 after both were members of the Nashville Songwriters Association - Madison Chapter. Shared experiences of life on the road and supportive families at home allowed for a common lyrical bond and a basis for their holiday-themed North Star Sessions album released in December 2014. In December 2016 Kerosene Kites released "Under Cover Holiday" an album of re-imagined holiday classic holiday songs. They finally out ran of Christmas spirit in November of 2017 when they released their first non-holiday album "Float Away."
DEREK PRITZL AND THE GAMBLE
Derek Pritzl is of the Town and the City. A sound that is of cement and the soft earth below. His band follows this ethos of subdued grit, as there is beauty to simplicity. After all, a band is just a voice with wires and wood weaving their own lyrics between. Coaxed wails, thumps and rumbles carry the words of this drifter from door to door, town to town, and the city to your open ears.
LOST LAKES
Lost Lakes is a collaboration between Corey Mathew Hart and Paul Mitch. The two met during a songwriting competition held by a local radio station. The collaboration has grown over the years, developing into a strong songwriting and production team with a focus on well-crafted tunes and tight vocal harmonies. Lost Lakes' self-titled debut record bears witness to their talents and the fact the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.
MADISON MALONE
Madison Malone grew up in Portage, Wisconsin, where after playing around the Midwest region for 8 years, Madison relocated to Los Angeles. She has been in Los Angeles for the last two years where she is releasing new music, writing for artists & commercials, and has packed venues & festivals such as the Troubadour, Hotel Cafe, The Roxy, SXSW, & Summerfest (where she was named Emerging Artist).
CHRISTOPHER GOLD
Christopher Gold is a songwriter from Owensboro, Kentucky. These days he does most of his writing in Appleton, Wisconsin where he lives with his wife and son, works with his band The New Old Things, and constantly complains about the weather. He has released a bunch of records and some cool stuff has happened and he even won an award once. He would talk about them here but he hates bios and he would much rather just direct people to his website so he can stop writing in third person and go listen to the Clash.
LASKA
Formed in 2016, Midwestern based LASKA crafts music with a blend of intricate vocal harmonies, sweeping instrumentals, and profound lyricism. Sisters, Hannah Mae, Bex, and Mookie Morton balance ingenuity with classic storytelling to create a unique sound that blurs lines between genres and resonates with listeners from any background. In Spring of 2019, LASKA will push their sound into a new chapter with the release of in the blossom of this, an EP exploring the sisters' ever-evolving understanding of the people they love and the world around them. The Mortons along with Evan Middlesworth (producer/guitar), Noah Kittleson (percussion), and Robbie Weisshaar (bass guitar) will spend the remainder of 2019 touring in support of the EP. The band is currently at work on a full length album slated for release in 2020.
THE BELLE WEATHER
The Belle Weather is a hurricane. We are acoustic guitars, stories, and melody. We are the resonant, pounding beat of a kick drum, the deep pulse of a bass guitar, and the siren's wail of an over-driven tube amp. We are open fields and skyscrapers - equal parts modern folk and indie rock - a fusion of inspired anthems and the art of simple storytelling.
Over the years, we've taken a great many influences and blended them into a sound that is uniquely our own. We've built a reputation by approaching every stage we can find with a rare combination of gritty, sweat-drenched energy and honest, heart-felt sonic grace. We love doing what we do, and feel very fortunate to have a fan base that is as musically adventurous as we've always tried to be.
CRAIG BAUMANN FEAT. OSG
Baumann is a warrior of song. Trailblazing through country, blues and Wisconsin Americana. With ample dexterity in his own driving homeward bound way. His voice, straining strong and alluring from Vahalla. To bear witness to an emotive soul inhabiting the blues for you is an immense blessing and responsibility. One wants to keep the secret for him or herself but the compulsion is to tell everyone you know. Baumann is a member of Overserved Gentlemen and the People Brothers Band.
MICHAEL PERRY AND THE LONG BEDS
Perry began writing songs in the early 1990s during long nights when he was struggling to survive on prose (he is the author of numerous books including: Population 485, Truck, The Scavengers, and the New York Times bestseller Visiting Tom). With no arts background (he has a nursing degree) he found himself drawn especially to the work of poets and singer/songwriters. (In interviews Perry tends to list his greatest literary influences as Dylan Thomas and Steve Earle – and not necessarily in that order.) “I remember writing late one night and hearing a Kevin Welch song with the line, ‘I whiskey’d up my coffee cup... sittin’ here tryin’ not to call you up,’” says Perry, “and I was floored by the rhythm and the story in that single line...” He began writing songs as a way to break up all-night typing sessions, and eventually he had enough of them that a musician friend invited him to play a coffee shop. “I’m not saying I was nervous, but I ripped out a sixty-minute set list in thirty-two minutes flat,” says Perry. By 2004, he had begun recruiting Long Beds. In 2006, he released his first album, Headwinded.
VOLUME TWO ARTISTS (2018)
TUNDRA BLOOD
A collaboration of award-winning singer/songwriters from the Madison, WI area. Featuring Corey Mathew Hart (Lost Lakes), Erik Kjelland (The Mascot Theory), Gabe Burdulis (FUTURE STUFF), and Brian Liston of Clutch Sound Studio.
BOOM FOREST
Boom Forest is the spiritual incarnation of John Paul Roney, a Nashville-based songwriter and an evangelist for a contemporary folk tradition forwarding humanism in the face of our looming techno-apocalypse. Begin with the acoustic introspection of Bob Dylan, add artful electronic production cues a la Kid A, and layer in multi-part harmonies that would be at home in a Southern Baptist choir, and you’re on your way into the sound Boom Forest makes from the Automated Woods of Tomorrow.
PHOX
It was in Baraboo that the six unlikely musicians attended high school together, some playing on the soccer field, others on video production sets. They did the thing that most people do when they are 18: they fled the coop, each going their separate ways (to film school, cosmetology school, a job with Homeland Security…). But promises were made that couldn't be kept, and as they fell in unrequited love and lost their respective jobs, in spite of themselves, each simultaneously pulled the ripcord and came home. The sextet promptly (-ish) got a house together in the Portland of the heartland, Madison, WI. As prolifically documented in their online video series, PHOX rekindled their onetime A/V production house while discovering how to live as a family (i.e. how not to berate each other about the hair in the sink). After receiving an honorable discharge from their service to Soft Rock & Roll, local musicians/wizards PHOX disbanded in early 2017. The track contributed herein was recorded by Brian Joseph in 2014 at April Base.
ZACH PIETRINI BAND
Nominated two years running for Best Band in Milwaukee (2014-2015, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee), Zach Pietrini is rooted in brutally honest americana, and delivers instantly familiar tavern tunes. His songwriting has "sharpened and become more focused" (Shepherd Express) on his latest release, Highways and Heartache. Zach cites Gram Parsons & Ryan Adams as major influences on his work, and is driven by his desire to connect with people through the beauty of story and song.
Peridot
We marry folk songs with pop melodies, drawing inspiration from elusive emotions that we all feel, but often struggle to articulate. They’re subtle and powerful and they aren’t easily described by familiar words like “love” and “heartbreak.” Most of the time, they are more complicated than that. Peridot is an exploration of universal emotional hues, and we hope every song is a fingerprint.
VIOLENT FEMMES
Violent Femmes came together in 1981 and were quickly applauded as one of the most inventive and original bands of the era, constantly pushing forward with their singular blend of folk and punk, sarcasm and spirituality. The Milwaukee-based band first attracted attention while busking in front of their hometown’s Oriental Theatre. The performance caught the ears of that night’s headliners, Pretenders Chrissie Hynde and the late James Honeyman-Scott, who invited the young group to open the sold out concert with a brief acoustic set. From there Violent Femmes released eight studio albums and more than a dozen iconic singles, among them such classics as “American Music,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” “Nightmares, “Add It Up,” and of course, “Blister In The Sun.” Violent Femmes’ remarkable three-decade-plus career has earned them cumulative worldwide sales in excess of 10 million, with 1983’s VIOLENT FEMMES awarded with RIAA platinum certification eight years after its initial release.
BRETT NEWSKI
Living on four continents in five years, Brett Newski has existed on the fringe of society and avoided the “American Dream” at all costs. At age 25, he took matters into his own hands by quitting all of his part-time jobs and becoming a full-time nomad, posting up in the nooks and crannies of earth and sub-letting rooms in Vietnam, South Africa, Germany and Wisconsin to write songs and recharge between tours. Newski’s sophomore LP “Land, Air, Sea, Garage” was recorded at a surf camp in the Sri Lankan jungle, and at home in Wisconsin. The album is about diving into the world with no safety net and landing on your feet. It’s a smart indie rock n’ roll record with tongue-in-cheek moments that show parallels to Violent Femmes, Jonathan Richman, Mountain Goats, early Weezer, Frank Turner, & Elliot Smith.
J-COUNCIL
J-Council features music written by Jon Wheelock and Sam Farrell and produced by Grammy nominated Cory Chisel.
HORSESHOES AND HAND GRENADES
In 2010, the five Wisconsinites that make up Horseshoes & Hand Grenades found themselves in a living room in the college town of Stevens Point, WI, holding acoustic instruments and enjoying a hodgepodge of fermented beverages. Music and revelry ensued that evening and, while many of the party guests eventually bid their goodbye well into the morning hours, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades wasn’t ready to let the get-together fade. Many years later, the music still hasn’t stopped and the party is still going strong, from the mountain west to the river towns of the Midwest that the quintet calls home, and all across America.
SARA VOS
Sarah Vos is a Milwaukee-based musician and songwriter. She was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and grew up in northeastern Wisconsin. Raised on Bible hymns with her four siblings, Sarah has been expressing herself through music and song her entire life. In 2010, she helped form Wisconsin-based folk band, Dead Horses. Since then, Dead Horses have released three records and have performed with the likes of Trampled by Turtles, Elephant Revival, and Mandolin Orange. Years of touring tirelessly have proven to be a reliable and fulfilling muse for Sarah as she continues to travel, play music and write new material.
VOLUME ONE ARTISTS (2017)
BODEANS
Long known as one of the best live acts in the business, BoDeans continue to tour year round and continue to deliver amazing, high-energy performances. “I realized some time ago that the key to the BoDeans identity is the fans’ connection to our music–nowhere is that more evident or rewarding as when we come together–live. We love to connect with the fans who have supported us for so long and who have brought us so much inspiration,” says Kurt Neumann, the band’s founder and frontman. “We will continue to play as long as they continue to come out and sing along.”
THE MASCOT THEORY
A full-fat, high-energy dose of toe-tapping Americana folk-country rock drenched in tight harmonies spewing lyrics of love, loss, regret, death, and hope. With groups like Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, and Dawes setting the tone, the sub-genre of acoustic folk rock made its way to mainstream radio and captured an incredible and very loyal fan base. With the release of their Nashville-recorded album Hand Me Down Miracles and the follow up Esperanto EP, The Mascot Theory is set to be the next band in that category to make a major impact, as they have quickly moved up the popularity ranks of Madison's music scene with their infectious songwriting and live shows. They balance on an alternative folk influence and pull it together with a rootsy bluegrass blended Americana feel to give something that fits alongside their counterparts, but also has enough freshness to it to give it a unique spin and create their own sound as well, with a sonic backbone of 4-part harmony swells.
LOCKSLEY
Locksley is an indie four-piece pop rock/power pop band from Madison, Wisconsin. They are self-released on their own Feature Records label. Their songwriting is heavily influenced by early British Invasion bands with an instrumental style based more on early American punk bands and modern garage rock groups. The band describe their sound as doo-wop punk.
EMPERORS OF WYOMING
PHIL DAVIS- Lead vocals,acoustic and electric guitars
PETE ANDERSON - Bass, 12 string guitar,guitars,vocals
BUTCH VIG - Drums, electric guitars, keyboards,vocals
F L ANDERSON - Lead Guitar, pedal steel, lap steel, accordion, banjo
"Sweeping panoramic Alt-Country for the nu-generation" - No Depression
"And it's been worth the wait...It's a glorious, frequently life affirming blast of roots heavy American rock and roll with an eye on shiny chords, crafty hooks and stunning melodies." - Nick Churchill, - Fatea Reviews
Cory Chisel & Adriel Denae
Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons are an Americana, folk rock band that started in Appleton, Wisconsin.[1][2] The band consists of Cory Chisel and Adriel Denae. Past members include Rick Setser, Paul Mannone, Miles Nielsen, Daniel McMahon, Adam Plamann, Noah Harris, and Charles Koltak. The band gets its name from the wandering, fluid nature of the musicians that work with Chisel and Denae.
Cory Chisel is an old believer. You can hear it in his music – there’s a wisdom beyond his years in that voice. You can see it in his story – the son of a preacher, sheltered from pop music, raised on hymns and Johnny Cash. “Mom played piano and organ, my dad did the preaching, the thing that my sister and I could add to the service was to sing.” As fate would have it, the kid was born to do it.
KYLE MEGNA AND THE MONSOONS
Kyle Megna and the Monsoons is an original Wisconsin band with an ever-growing following locally and beyond. A tight-knit group of accomplished, charismatic musicians with diverse backgrounds, these guys know how to have fun while always keeping it professional. Best seen live, they feed off the vibe of the crowd as well as each other. Their “dark-indie-blues-folk-rock feel” is a magnetic force that’s ever-charged with surges of creativity and artistic experimentation. Fused with a healthy dose of spontaneity and humor, Kyle Megna and the Monsoons channel can’t-get-enough energy that’s good for the soul.
GABE BURDULIS
Gabe Burdulis is a young singer/songwriter based out of Nashville, TN. He was raised in Madison, WI as a self taught multi-instrumentalist. He started playing in bands, writing songs and performing at the age of 12. Burdulis grew up playing the and listening to pop music, although he has been described as a "country John Mayer".
Growing up, Burdulis played wherever he could, whenever he could, and with whoever he could. This expanded Burdulis' influences early on as he was playing in a hip-hop, a folk group, and a rock band simultaneously. Gabe had found his deepest passion in performing and in 2012 & 2014 Burdulis formed a band to enter in a statewide band competition called "Launchpad"; He won both years and was awarded the Les Paul Award twice. He was featured on the cover of well known Midwest music magazine, “Maximum Inc.” in 2014 before leaving town.
SEASAW
Seasaw is Eve Wilczewski and Meg Golz, who are the sea and saw respectively. Fate and a small-town restaurant in Freeport, IL brought them together for the first time in 2010. Seasaw collaborated through four years of long-distance until the summer of 2015, when Eve joined Meg in their current residence of Madison, WI. Seasaw has since grown their powerful and charismatic sound in a way that can only be accomplished when best friends are living and creating within blocks of each other.
TRAPPER SCHOEPP AND THE SHADES
Trapper Schoepp is a young man who’s befriended a strange and diverse cast of characters during his 24 years. That small army of rogues and rebels, drifters and dreamers, soldiers and schemers populate his songs, their tragedies and comedies, their lives and deaths recalled in his finely etched musical vignettes.
The Minnesota-born, Wisconsin-based tunesmith and teller of tales (both tall and true), returns with his second effort Rangers & Valentines (Xtra Mile Recordings). The record follows his critically acclaimed 2012 debut Run Engine, Run, with his band the Shades. That LP earned notices in Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and Paste, with the folks at Huffington Post calling him a “master storyteller” and PBS hailing his “story songs that explore and explode the conventions of rock and roll.”
BUFFALO GOSPEL
Building on a solid foundation of heartfelt and heartbreaking Country/Western and Americana arrangements, and featuring a stellar cast of local and national musicians, Milwaukee-based Buffalo Gospel delivers wholly original material that manages to feel utterly timeless. Buffalo Gospel’s music has been praised as “minimalist and masterful,” “musically arresting,” and “Milwaukee’s Best Kept Secret.” Their first EP, “Four Letter Words”, was written and released in the snow-covered part of 2009 and was soon followed by “The Good Land” in 2010. The first full-length release “We Can Be Horses” finds the band energized and pushing boundaries of rock and bluegrass with a collection of 12 instant classics.
Stone After Stone Records - Madison, WI - info (at) stoneafterstonerecords.com
WISCONSIN VINYL COLLECTIVE BENEFITS KEEP WISCONSIN WARM/COOL FUND