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). Violent Femmes are considered to be an integral part of the then-underground folk punk and alternative rock scenes of the 1980s, and remain influential or inspirational to the subsequent movements, particularly on folk rock, indie rock, grunge, pop punk, emo, and the late 1980s and 1990s alternative rock scene.
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, currently consisting of guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac.
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, and Theodore Steinmetz. 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.
BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin who 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 women's first names.
Lovehammers is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago. Their sound is best described as a combination of pop-punk with grunge influences.
Flatfoot 56 is an American Celtic punk band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 2000. Known for their use of Scottish Highland bagpipes, the group performs an Oi! and Celtic punk sound similar to Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. They have released seven studio albums and seven extended plays; their fifth album, Black Thorn (2010), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 160 on the Billboard 200 at.
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.
Toby Jepson is a singer and songwriter, and is the lead vocalist and guitarist of British rock band Wayward Sons. He was formerly the lead vocalist and guitarist of Little Angels between 1984 and 1994. Between 2008 and 2015, he was the lead singer with Scottish rock band Gun.
Semantics was a 1983 EP by Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl. The album marked a change in the line-up of the band as Bill McDonough (drums) was replaced first by Graham Bidstrup to record the EP. The more permanent replacement, after the EP, was John Watson.
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.
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.
Call to Arms is the sole album by American heavy metal band C4, a one-off group consisting of guitarist Michael Angelo Batio, vocalist Dan Lenegar, bassist William Kopecky and drummer John Mrozek. Recorded and self-produced by the guitarist at Monster Mix Studio in Chicago, Illinois, it was released in March 2001 on his own label, M.A.C.E. Music. The album contains recordings of songs originally written for Batio's earlier groups, Holland (1984–1986) and Nitro (1988–1993).
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 Filipino rock band formed in Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines in 1995 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.
of Verona is an indie rock group that was formed in Los Angeles in 2010. Their first album, The White Apple, was released on 10 July 2012.
Into It. Over It. is an indie rock band founded in 2007 as the solo project of Chicago, Illinois-based musician Evan Thomas Weiss. It is considered a leading act of the early-2010s emo revival scene.
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.
