Hometown Flavor: Local bands are taking the stages at Summerfest, giving the music festival a taste of Racine

By LEE B. ROBERTS
Journal Times

Thursday, June 19, 2008 2:21 AM CDT

With more than 700 bands on 11 stages — including this year’s headliners from Stevie Wonder to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — Summerfest is billed as “The World’s Largest Music Festival.” True or not, the annual entertainment extravaganza that takes over Milwaukee’s lakefront for nearly two weeks every summer is definitely a great place to hear music. And, with an average annual attendance of about 900,000 music fans (it reached 1,022,250 in 2001), it is also a great venue for bands to be heard.

That’s why local musicians such as Paul Tadder are excited to be able to play there. This summer will mark Tadder’s ninth time on a Summerfest stage. For the last eight years the guitarist played the festival with the metal/rock/funk band Wheeliebar, which has toured extensively throughout the United States, and opened for groups including Incubus, Papa Roach and Sevendust.

This time around, Tadder (along with Wheeliebar bassist Joey Talbott) will play Summerfest with a new band, American Uprise. It will be the “Big Gig” debut for the group, which has been together for about 18 months, Tadder said, and they are glad to be able to show audiences there what American Uprise has to offer.

“American Uprise is more melodic in its singing, where Wheeliebar has a more aggressive sound,” said Tadder, who teaches guitar at Racine’s Lakeshore Conservatory of Music. “We are playing hard rock, but it has more melodic tones and more personal lyrics.”

Along with Tadder and Talbott, American Uprise features Racinian Brent Nimz on drums and vocalist Billy Nugent of Chicago. To get a taste of what you might hear from them at Summerfest on the afternoon of June 27, go to http://www.myspace.com/americanuprise to sample tracks from their debut CD.

Even after years of performing at Summerfest, Tadder said it is still a “really big rush” to be up there playing for 2,000 to 3,000 people. Wheeliebar (which is taking a band break) may have played for bigger crowds in New York and Kansas City, he said, but Summerfest was definitely one of their best gigs.

“It can be difficult to get in to Summerfest, but once you are in it is great exposure.”

Foot in the door

Rock guitarist Lyden Moon was just “a kid” the first time he got a shot at the Summerfest crowd. As part of a Mayor’s Talent Show held at the festival in the late 1980s, the then-18-year-old played two songs on the Miller Oasis stage with a band called Lyxx.

Moon, who lives in Kenosha and plays regularly in Racine with his current band (Lyden Moon), has since gone on to play the festival four times and will return for round five on July 2 this year. One of his most memorable Summerfest performances was when he opened the show for Kenny Wayne Shepherd in 2000.

“It was July 3 and the place was just packed,” said Moon, who has been playing guitar since he was 12 years old. “Until you come out on stage, you don’t really realize how many people are out there waiting to hear you.”

Seeing such a huge crowd before him was a scary feeling at first, he said.

“I don’t think I ever looked up during the first song. I just looked at my guitar neck the whole time.”

Once Moon heard the crowd’s positive reaction to that first number, he loosened up and has been enjoying his performances at Summerfest ever since.

“The crowd really liked what I did and seeing all those people respond like that is kind of a magical,” he said.

Beyond rock and roll

Area jazz fans, too, can find familiar faces on the Summerfest grounds this season. Racine trumpeter Jamie Breiwick will being playing there with the Milwaukee-based Clamnation — a group whose mix of jazz, Latin and funk is influenced by music ranging from that of John Coltrane to Ben Allison.

“It is always exciting to play Summerfest because you know you will have a pretty big audience no matter what stage you are on, just by the sheer number of people who come through the festival gates,” said Breiwick, who has performed on a number of stages there with Clamnation and other groups in the last six to seven years. “There is also a very good chance that you’ll be playing for some people who might not hear you otherwise.”

Such exposure is important in an city like Milwaukee, where the club scene tends to be small, Breiwick said.

“It is definitely a big deal, getting a chance to play Summerfest,” he said.

These are just a few examples of Racine- and Kenosha-area musicians who will be sharing their talents with Summerfest audiences during the festival’s run (June 26 through July 6). Others include the Burlington blues group Sue DaBaco and Wise Fools (June 27); singer/songwriter Mark Harrod (July 5); and jazz saxophonist Jeremy Scott and Higher Groove (July 6).

You may also find some hometown stars among groups that are based in other cities. William Terry, for example, will be playing bass with the Grammy Award-winning Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience (June 27). And drummer Victor DeLorenzo (formerly of the Violent Femmes) will be playing with his new group Prestige Altantic Impulse (July 6). For more, see the accompanying list of performers, complete with web links that will allow you to hear their music.

If You Go

WHAT: Summerfest 2008

WHEN: Noon to midnight daily, June 26 through July 6

WHERE: Henry W. Maier Festival Park, 200 N. Harbor Drive, Milwaukee

COST: Advance tickets are $14 for one day or $23 for two. Tickets purchased at the gate are $15 for adults (adult tickets purchased between noon and 4 p.m. weekdays are $8), $3 for seniors and children (ages 3-10). Children younger than two are admitted for free.

INFO: For a complete list of performers and attractions, as well as directions, parking information and more, visit http://www.summerfest.com

Hometown music at Summerfest

The following are some of the bands playing at Summerfest that have ties to the Racine/Kenosha area. For a complete list of performers throughout the festival, go to

http://www.summerfest.com

June 27

American Uprise (with Racinians Paul Tadder and Brent Nimz): 3 p.m. at the Zippo Rock Stage, http://www.myspace.com/americanuprise

Sue DaBaco and Wise Fools (Burlington): 3:30 p.m. at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Stage and Pavilion, http://www.wise-fools.com/

Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience (with Racine native William Terry): 5:30 p.m. at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Stage and Pavilion, http://www.myspace.com/areyouzydecoexperienced

June 29

Stukenberg (East Troy): 3 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage, http://www.myspace.com/stukenberg

June 30

T-Man and the Young Guns (featuring Elkhorn’s Tallan Latz): 2:30 p.m. at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard, http://www.tallanlatz.com/

Christopher’s Project (led by Racine native Christopher Pipkins): 7 p.m. at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard

July 2

Lyden Moon (of Kenosha): 2 p.m. at the Cascio Interstate Music Groove Garage, http://www.myspace.com/lydenmoon

July 5

Clamnation (with Racinian Jamie Breiwick); Noon at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard, http://www.myspace.com/clamnationmke

Mark Harrod and Friends (Racine): 5:30 p.m. at the Cascio Interstate Music Groove Garage, http://www.markharrodmusic.com

July 6

Jeremy Scott and Higher Groove (led by Racine native Jeremy Scott): Noon at the M&I Classic Rock Stage, http://www.jeremy-scott.com

Reconstruction Band: Noon at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard

Prestige Atlantic Impulse (with Racine native Victor DeLorenzo): 6:45 p.m. at the Cascio Interstate Music Groove Garage

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