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WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS
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 What Made Milwaukee Famous may unashamedly wear their pop on their sleeves, but that new-wave sheen is stretched taut over a muscular frame of sweaty rock. Milwaukee’s energetic, forceful, and impassioned music feels immediately familiar. Michael Kingcaid’s laid-back vocals swoon and swagger in and out of the band's rolling melodies, and although sonically polished the music maintains just enough rough edges to keep things interesting.
When the time came to cut a new record, Milwaukee holed up in an Austin studio with producer Chris Michaels (Chris plays in Sparklehorse) to make their first album helmed by a non-band member. Having an objective, outside set of ears paid off, and with what doesn't kill us they’ve managed to make a record that pulls together the band's disparate influences and from start to finish stands as a singular piece of art. What Made Milwaukee Famous trade in a genre full of archetypes, and with a practiced hand they deftly weave sentimentality, a reflective, wry wit, and an ear for the timeless into a sonic basket carrying the best of indie rock, 70’s power pop, and modern rock radio.
 WMMF's Drew Patrizi, with his brother and two friends from Austin, recently took part in the 2008 Drambuie Pursuit, a 100-mile race across the Scottish Highlands comprised of archery, speedboat racing, white-water rafting, dirt buggy racing, hill climbing and other feats of endurance. Drew's team ("On The Rocks") finished in an impressive 3rd place against 9 other teams, which included actors/brothers Jerry and Charlie O'Connell, and the 2007 Penthouse Pet of the Year, Heather Vandeven. The competition retraces the voyage of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who fled British capture in 1745 and left to his aides his secret recipe for the scotch-whiskey liqueur, Drambuie. Congratulations Drew!
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 What Made Milwaukee Famous have just announced tour dates with the Whigs, starting in early May. They've also recorded a cover of Billy Joel's you may be right — listen to the cover and scan their tour dates over at Stereogum.
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Tune your television knobs to your local PBS station this weekend to catch the re-airing of What Made Milwaukee Famous' Austin City Limits performance on 4/26. Details can be found here. |
WMMF's performance on WXPN's World Cafe will be broadcast tomorrow, April 10th! Find your local NPR station here, or learn more about World Cafe here. |
The new What Made Milwaukee Famous video (for the song sultan) is up now on the MTVU Freshmen site, competing against four other videos to win video of the week (and be shown on MTVU). Vote now! |
If you missed What Made Milwaukee Famous' performance on KCRW's show Morning Becomes Eclectic, have no fear! The entire show and interview can be listened to and/or watched here. |
The new album from Austin-based What Made Milwaukee Famous hits stores next Tuesday, March 4th, but you can preview selected tracks and watch their brilliant new video (with a special guest star) for the song sultan here. |
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What Made Milwaukee Famous are: Jeremy Bruch (drums, vocals), Jason Davis (guitars, vocals), John Houston Farmer (bass, vocals), Michael Kingcaid (vocals, guitar, keyboards) & Drew Patrizi (keyboards, vocals, guitar) |
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