Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie, joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza, and drummer John Sparrow. Former members of the band include drummers Victor DeLorenzo, Guy Hoffman (1993–2002), and Brian Viglione (2013–2016).
Wisconsin was settled largely by European immigrants in the late 19th century. This immigration led to the popularization of galops, schottisches, waltzes, and, especially, polkas. Classical composers and conductors from Wisconsin include Hans Balatka, Hugo Kaun, Eugene Luening, Theodore Steinmetz and Sarge Boyd. Among Wisconsin's contributions to rock music were Les Paul, an electric guitar pioneer known as the "Wizard of Waukesha". The Steve Miller Band, with Milwaukee's Steve Miller, had three #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1973 to 1982. The Chordettes from Sheboygan, Bon Iver from Eau Claire, and Garbage from Madison all had albums on the Billboard 200.
Eric's Trip was a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative circles with the single "View Master", from the 1994 album Forever Again.
BoDeans is an American rock band. Formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin, BoDeans came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to date is "Closer to Free", which was used as the theme song to the hit TV series Party of Five. The band has been described as "one of the most successful, and best known, bands to come out of the Milwaukee area". BoDeans is included in a permanent installation at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
Material Issue was an American power pop trio from Chicago, Illinois. The band's trademark is pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak. A number of their song titles used girls' first names.
Trixter is an American glam metal band from Paramus, New Jersey. The band achieved major success in the early 1990s but disbanded for several years as glam metal lost mainstream popularity. The most recent lineup reunited in 2015 to tour and record new material.
Victor DeLorenzo is an American musician, actor and filmmaker who was the founding drummer for the folk-punk band Violent Femmes.
The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee, originally existing from 1981 to 1988, before reforming in the mid-1990s, and again in the 2000s. They were known for their outrageous stage antics and offensive lyrics. They reformed in 2008 and continue to tour and record.
Dovetail Joint was a rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1992. The band featured guitar/vocalist Charles Gladfelter, guitarist Robert Byrne, bassist Jon Kooker, and drummer Joe Dapier. After several years of playing locally, as well as independently releasing their self-titled album in 1995, the band started to garner interest after their song "Level on the Inside" was featured on an annual compilation disc of local radio station WKQX Q101. Columbia Records quickly signed the band and released 001 in early 1999. "Level" turned out to be the band's only commercial hit, and Columbia dropped the band before releasing a second album. An independently released EP released in 2002 would turn out to be their last.
The Gufs are an American pop and rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band's latest album A Different Sea was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster", which was the #2 unsigned artist download in October 2006 at the website www.purevolume.com.
The Good Luck Joes is a band originally from East Grand Rapids, Michigan and is currently on the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Third Ward Records label. The band consists of Andrew Martin on lead vocals and guitar, Andrew Krei on lead guitar and backing vocals, Joe Scheltema on bass guitar and backing vocals, Peterson Goodwyn on drums/percussion, and Andrew Citron on keyboards/piano.
The Four Hundred was an American indie rock band formed in 2006 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Dr. Shrinker is an American death metal band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, that formed in October 1987. Being obscure, the band only came to wider attention with the release of a posthumous split EP with Nunslaughter and a discography CD, released in 2004 by Necroharmonic Productions. Three of the group's members would also play in Phantasm, a group in some ways similar to Dr. Shrinker, and released their debut album "The Abominable". The band broke up by January 1991, only lasting 4 years. The band has reformed in January 2013.
The Mommyheads are an indie pop band who played from around 1987 through 1998, disbanded for a decade, and then reformed in 2008. Starting in New York City as the brainchild of singer Adam Cohen, the band produced a string of quirky and highly inventive releases on various independent labels, most notably Simple Machines. Their music has been compared to XTC. They relocated to San Francisco in 1990. The band signed to Geffen Records in 1997, producing a single album for the label before breaking up in 1998. They reunited to record a new CD in 2008.
Fever Marlene is a rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Originally a two-piece, made up of Scott Starr and Kevin Dunphy the band emerged into the "garage rock" revival scene in early 2003.
Polydream was an alternative rock band hailing from Madison, Wisconsin. Formed in 2003, the band released an EP, titled A Rigid Shard of Balance: 1, and released its first full-length album, titled Send Me to the Sun, on December 15, 2007. Polydream gained much of its fame in being named "New Artist of the Year" at the Madison Area Music Awards in 2007.
Verona Grove was an American pop punk band from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The band is signed to Pat's Record Company, a subsidiary of Universal Records. Members include singer/guitarist Tony Anders, bass guitar/background singer Charlie Wilhelm, and drummer Josh Helm. The Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards nominated Verona Grove for their 2009 artist of the year, and it won the 2009 Rock Artist of the Year.
Stonefree was a 4-piece Filipino band that consists of members Regie Mangubat (bass), Relly Mangubat (drums), Benson Tanoja (guitar) and Miro Valera (vocals). They were recently signed under Warner Music Philippines.
Direct Hit! is a Milwaukee-based punk rock band formed in 2007 by singer/guitarist Nick Woods. Its current lineup consists of Nick Woods, Devon Kay, Maura Weaver, Joram Zbichorski, and Logan Stang.
Juice is an American rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 2013. The band consists of Ben Stevens, Christian Rose, Kamau Burton, Daniel Moss (guitar), Michael Ricciardulli (guitar), Rami El-Abidin (bass), Miles Clyatt (drums). Juice draws from many influences, including rock, pop, hip-hop, and R&B.
