Rock Fest With Rachel

Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind

Brad Arnold of Three Doors Down Crooning Tunes

By Rachel Wick

It seemed fitting that KISS performed Saturday Night at Rock Fest, because the band's classic lyrics "I Want to Rock and Roll All Night and Party Every Day" serves as a festival way of life for many die-hard "Festers." My Rock Fest experience consisted solely of Sunday, but proved entertaining nonetheless.

The weather was ideal leading up to Sunday, but I awoke Sunday to dark clouds and the promise of Storms. My friend and I decided to take a chance on the weather and the skys erupted as we departed Eau Claire.

Once we arrived in Cadott, the downpour had slowed to a slight sprinkle that we could handle. Upon arriving, we took a tour of the campgrounds and discovered many sites decked out with the Fest necessities. These items included things like empty kegerators to broken lawn chairs. We then hit up the nearest beer tent, since the performance on the main stage wouldn't begin for a bit.

An ice cold beer and local cover band the Big Deeks proved an enjoyable distraction. The band performed a varied catalogue of tunes including The Whites Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds." At one point the singer jumped onto the bar, much to the surprise of the bartenders.

Hinder hit the main stage shortly after the Big Deeks and played the majority of their freshman effort Extreme Behavior;including hits "Lips of an Angel" and "Get Stoned." Singer Austin Winkler donned a neck scarf in a none too subtle rip off of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler; and tried unsuccessfully to channel Tyler's dynamic performance style.

The next band left many young Fest-goers wondering, "Who the Heck Is Third Eye Blind?" That's right, a band that had its last hit in the late 90s was chosen to help closeout Rock Fest 2007. This leaves me wondering, did Fest planners tap all their monetary resources in booking KISS? It soon became blatantly obvious that Third Eye Blind was promoting a new album and trying to claw their way back into the memories of fans. The band played many new songs, rather than songs that people might recall from their 90s discs.


As the show progressed, they eventually busted out such hits as "Jumper" and "Semi-Charmed Life," leaving the crowd (myself included) singing along with the lyrics like it was 1998.


Brad Arnold of Three Doors Down brought Rock Fest to a kickin' close. The band showcased a nice mix of radio hits with some newer material. Some memorable songs include "Away From the Sun," "Krytonite," and "Duck and Run."

My Rock Fest experience left me sun burned, hoarse and with ten-year old hits stuck in my head. Mission Accomplished!

Adema Rocks Eau Claire

By Rachel Wick

In recent months, Eau Claire music fans have exhibited a thirst for the tasty morsels that national acts have to deliver. Despite the talent of our area's own talented musicians, residents are clamoring for bigger names to play gigs locally and are bars such as The House of Rock and The Stones Throw are responding. Through the years, some skeptics have voiced that Eau Claire isn't a big enough town to support such shows. I think that recent shows such as the October 29 Adema show at the House of Rock help to prove these naysayers wrong.


Adema tore it up at the House of Rock following abbreviated sets by local metals acts Orestus, Mors Mortis Machinatio and No Loving Place. Their stop in Eau Claire is a part of the band's tour for its latest release "Kill the Headlights. Rock fans turned out at the House of Rock in masses with the attendance ranging right around 300 people, an impressive feat especially for a Monday night (a Packer game night at that).

The packed crowd waited eagerly shoulder to shoulder for Adema to take to the stage and the band more than delivered following the Packer's victory.
Front man Bobby Reeves took to the stage shirtless (much to the enjoyment of the ladies in attendance) bursting with energy that soon had the crowd pumping their fists, forming a formidable mosh pit and several people crowd surfing their way across the sizeable crowd of strangers.


Throughout the performance, Reeves passed around a video camera to fans, stating that he was "videotaping this stuff for his parents." The band rocked out 14 songs total including their 2001 hit "Giving In," a spirited version of Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child O'Mine" and new song "Cold and Jaded." Following the performance; the band took out time to chat with fans, throw back some Jose Cuervo and sign various merchandise and body parts. Overall, the band appeared to be very down to earth, and was more than willing to interact with their fans. Later in the night, Reeves got inked with 99.9 The Carp's Debbie Monroe.


Adema returns to Eau Claire on Wednesday December 5, to play a gig at The Stones Throw. This time the band is bringing Texan hard rockers Drowning Pool along for the ride.
Drowning Pool formed back in 1996 and rapidly became a household name following the band's stint on Ozzfest with Ozzy Osbourne himself. Drowning is probably the most remembered by their 2001 hit "Bodies" and are active supporters of the troops. Drowning Pool is stopping in Eau Claire on the "This Is For Our Soliders Tour" in support of the recently released album "Full Circle."


Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. with the show slated to start at 8 p.m. Eau Claire's rock music staples No Loving Place and Orestus are also slated to perform. Tickets for the show are $18 dollars in advance and $20 at the show.

Are you Ready to Rock With Garpike?

By Rachel Wick

Garpike has an important question to pose to the area music scene, "Are You Ready For The Rock?" This inquiry serves as a sort of a rally cry for the band and is also a song that the group has been playing throughout the Chippewa Valley since forming a year ago.

The band is comprised of Dan Comstock (vocals), Bill Cooney (drums), Todd Adams (Bass guitar), and Andy Sedahl( guitar). The crew celebrated its first show on New Years Eve of 2006, at the Bullpen and has since brought its high-energy performances to other area venues such as My Place Bar, The Stones Throw and The House of Rock. Outdoor shows they have played include "The Mid-Summer Meltdown" at Owen Park in July and a very loud show featuring DTS that was fined and shut down at Mt. Simon Park....But not B4 Garpike Rocked It Out! Although the band has received support from area venues, the band has a challenge in that they can find a stage in Eau Claire that really fits their style.

"We put a lot of folk, rock and punk into our music. The nice thing is that we all have expansive music taste," said Sedahl.

While each band member cites songs from their set that they enjoy playing, the group agrees that, more importantly, performing is all about having fun onstage and entertaining the audience. Most recently, on February 9, Garpike played My Place Bar and cites the show as one of their best shows yet. "It was a blast. We got to play out in the crowd," said Sedahl.

The band plays its next show, on March 9 at the House of Rock, as a part on the annual two-night affair, Decadent Cabernet. The event showcases a wide spectrum of local talent including the Jim Pullman Band, Orestus and Knowing Jobe. The Music begins at 7:30 p.m. and Garpike's high energy performance will provide an excellent contribution to the night's entertainment as the opening group.

"Once we got our full-throttle going and we start playing all our songs there's a lot of high energy and adrenaline just kind of takes over from there," said Comstock.

Garpike has recently been recording at Sound Works Studio with Mike Vlahakis, and hopes to have a five-song demo completed by late spring. So far, the group has recorded the songs "Sunny Side Up" and "Dark Glass" both of which are available for downloading and previewing at the band's website: www.myspace.com/garpiketheband

They are also developing a new tune entitled "Space Robots from the Future". The band describes the tune as a little bit grungy and says that it brings to mind "old school punk" reminiscent of bands like the Ramones.

Upcoming shows include: March 15 at Dibbos in Hudson and March 30 at House of Rock. The band also hopes to play Phoenix Park this summer and is exploring the possibilities of performing at Rock Fest and the Taste of Eau Claire.

Jaggernauts Battle Sharks and Zombies?

The Jaggernauts

By Rachel Wick

Individuals who have never considered, "who would win the battle between the shark and the zombie" obviously aren’t familiar with The Jaggernauts, and haven’t been privy to the band’s infectious brand of self described "geek power pop."

J’Naut drummer "Joey G" describes power pop as "a song craft that has pop sensibilities that’s probably a little bit too hard for the radio to play because people might think it’s a little too hard or heavy." He adds, "We’re not a metal band, but we do a lot of shows with metal bands because we think its fun and we appreciate what they do. Our music seems to carry over to that audience too."

Following the departure of members Chris Jackson and John Kleven, The Jaggernauts are showcasing a different lineup of late, but this isn’t deterring fans or sending the J’Nauts off track.

"I was really happy because our fans embraced our change and additions. They didn’t look at it as the new guy (referring to the addition of guitarist Matt Florence). I heard so many positive things," said singer Noel Hanson.

Florence joined the band in November of 2006, and has helped the Jaggernauts preserve its quirky blend of rock, while adding his theatrical performance style and a dash of edge. Florence proved to be a great addition to a lineup that already included several of the area’s most respected and seasoned musicians.

"I’ve heard a lot of people say that we’ve gotten a lot heavier and it’s kind of neat because we also have a lot more keyboards now. The nucleus is still the same and that’s the important part, the vision part. Matt’s style blends right in with what we’re doing and we’re having such a good time," said Hanson.

According to Hanson, the band is named for a cross between Mick Jagger and an astronaut. The Jaggernauts formed about three years ago, but according to Hanson says the name was born long before the band ever played out and he feels that the band embodies all that is Jaggernauts.

"Going along with the name, or the traditional usage of juggernaut, the unstopping machine that keeps going forward I’d say that it fits pretty good. It’s fun. To me, The Jaggernauts sounded like a band that you would go see and have a great time….it’s a strong name and we’re a strong fun band, we enjoy playing," said Hanson.

While the Jaggernauts maintain a high level of musicianship and likeability, don’t be mistaken, these gentlemen don’t take themselves too seriously. On March 9, the band played the House of Rock’s Decadent Cabaret and rocked their own version of the Genesis classic abacab featuring keyboardist Chris Ramey on vocals that was rounded out with an unforgettable front man/guitarist dance routine courtesy of Florence and Hanson.

"Performance-wise, whenever I look out into an audience this feeling that I get is really exciting but at the same time you can’t really see anyone because of the lights, you can see like the first row but whether there’s five people or 500 people, it doesn’t make any difference you try and throw your a game in and have a good time," said Florence.

The Jaggernauts most popular song is called "Lucio Fluci" and is about a scene from a horror film depicting a shark and a zombie battling it out. The song quickly became a favorite amongst fans and with a new lineup the band now plays a metal version that they have coined Motley Fluci. Crowbar is another popular tune and has fans shouting gleefully "Jaggernauts across your head with a crowbar." "Lucio Fluci" is off of the 2004 LP of the same name, while Crowbar comes from the 2006 EP The Jaggernauts.

"The writing process for the Jaggernauts begins with Noel Hanson, he brings in the majority of the material and him and Chris work very well together. Chris helps to arrange the songs and he also comes up with melodies," said Gunderson.

Of the writing process, Florence says, "It’s very democratic; you just throw things in when you want. A lot of times Noel or Chris will come up with something and then Joe and I help round it out, essentially."

The Jaggernauts take to the stage on May 3 at the House of Rock, May 4 at Mr. Heavy’s in Menomonie and May 5 at Triple Rock in Minneapolis.

"If there’s more shows booked and more demand for the band to be seen, the people within the band structure tend to go a little more out and want to focus on creativity and writing," said Gunderson. The bands that I’m involved with we just like to play music for the love of music. We don’t do it to get famous or to sign a record deal with anybody, we do it because we like to do it and it’s a way of expressing ourselves creatively and it’s a nice release from the everyday lives that we lead. You work your day job or whatever you do in life and then at night you can go hang out with your friends and create and write music that you can play on weekends in front of people that’s all your own and nobody is telling you how to do it, and that’s the most fulfilling thing for me.

The Jaggernauts have a follow up to their 2006 EP in the works, and are shooting for a fall or an early winter release. The full length disc with feature all new tunes.

"Everybody that you play with brings something different out of you as a musician and as a performer," said Gunderson.

Here's a clip of the Jaggernauts at the House of Rock.

Flags May Be In Your Basement

Flags Will Cover The Coffins
By Rachel Wick

No venue is too foul and no topic too taboo for Flags Will Cover The Coffins as the band carves its niche as Eau Claire’s most prominent punk-thrash metal band. The songs rattle ear drums indiscriminately whether the music is screeching out of a beer soaked basement or at a more traditional venue like the House of Rock.
Nate "Bones" Knoeck serves as the band’s key lyricist; Joe Larkin contributes bass and some vocals, while Brad Pecka brings the thunder on drums to round out this raucous trio.

The controversial name of the band stems from a song by crust/hardcore punk band Aus-Rotten and refers to soldiers coming home from the war in coffins.

Bones states, "I write about political stuff, some bands maintain such a "PC" mentality on and off stage and I write about social political stuff because that’s like real punk music, that’s what it’s about."
"I’m not going to just write about partying, I like to put a little more into it than that, but some bands just over kill it. The lyrics are simple at to the point; it’s a form of expression.

Since playing their first show in May of 2006, the band has played several underage shows and have found a different degree of energy and often a greater attention span with it younger fans; whether at Nate’s Dungeon in Altoona, or the Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center.

"There is a higher energy than at the House of Rock, I’d say, because you get a bunch of high school kids there…I love playing all-ages shows, because those kids can have a better time than a lot of people. Playing the House of Rock is fun, but a lot of people are just sitting and drinking, kind of half watching the band; when kids come to the shows, they are there to see the band," said front man Nate "Bones" Knoeck.


Although Flags has played on notable bills since its inception, the band marks a show they played with Swedish band Wolfbrigade as the biggest moment for them so far as a band.

"I saw them play in Minneapolis on Monday, and we got to play with them here (at the House of Rock) on Sunday. It blew my mind to be honest, to be able to share the stage with those guys, they are one of my favorite bands," he said.


A Midwest tour is on the horizon this winter and in the coming months; the band plans a follow-up to their first disc Wisconsyndrome. Wisconsyndrome was recorded DIY in the fall of 2006 and sold out quickly. The band hopes that the coming tour and disc will broaden their ever increasing fan base. Bones attributes a portion of the band’s success to local music connections and networking done on MySpace.

"If it wasn’t for MySpace, I don’t think that we would be half as far as we are now by meeting connections and setting up shows," Bones said.

For more information click on http://www.myspace.com/flagswillcoverthecoffins and to personally discuss punk metal or NBA basketball jerseys with the band, they can typically be found stumbling down Water Street on any given weekend reeking of booze.

Warning: Green Mountain Rebels May Cause Dancing!

The Green Mountain Rebels Shine
By Rachel Wick

Reluctant dancers out there be warned, because The Green Mountain Rebels If It Don’t Shine will leave even the most tentative music lover, dancing around their apartment like a maniac. Note: I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to any neighbors who had to witness my "dancing" while I was listening to this CD.

All joking aside, The GMR’s disc has a plethora of soulful tunes that can’t be boxed into any specific genre. The Green Mountain Rebels sound is a stellar fusion of influences from blues, country, rock and blue grass. If Bob Dylan and Lucinda Williams were to integrate their sounds and added a splash of bluesy harmonica, they might sound like the GMR’s.

The band formed in the summer of 2004, and have had toes tapping at their live shows ever since. They received local acclaim in 2005 by winning the 2005 Miller Genuine Draft Battle of the Bands; this earned them a set on the Harley Davidson stage at Summerfest in Milwaukee.

Among the band’s distinctive qualities are the impassioned vocal harmonies of Elizabeth Christianson and Jered Shaw against the strong back drop provided by David Koenig (lead/rhythm guitar), Chuck Caldwell (drums) and Matthew Staudenmaier (bass).
"The Sweetheart Dance" showcases Shaw and Christianson belting out the age old tale of when good love goes bad, and reveals scorned lovers waging war over who has been more wronged. Christianson sings "A good man well you know, he’d take me out, and he’s show me what being a woman is all about" with such force, that its as though you can hear a woman in the background shouting "girl, that’s what I’m talking about!"
"Sunrise (East Winds Gonna Blow) begins with blue grass influenced harmonica and guitar rifts that build to a climax as Shaw sings with such fervor that you think his soul might actually explode from his body.

If It Don’t Shine wraps with "Heading Home" a song that will resonate strongly in the heart of anyone who has traveled the long and sometimes treacherous road home. It is a lovely acoustic tune showcasing Christianson’s crooning and Shaw’s gravelly twang as they meld into the tones that transport listeners to the journey’s end.
The Green Mountain Rebels achieve a rare thing in this album; channeling the limitless energy and soul of their live shows onto a recorded medium.

On May 25 the GMRs will perform in WAXX radio’s Big Star contest. The winner will open for .38 Special and will play an hour set at this year’s Country Jam. To get additional information regarding the contest checkout the WAXX website or the band’s website http://www.myspace.com/gmrebels.

Jason Craft Q-tet Jazzes Up The Stones Throw Monday Nights

Dave Whitman banging the skins

By Rachel Wick

Anyone who thinks that jazz clubs are solely for bigger cities like Minneapolis or Chicago is mistaken.
The Eau Claire bar, The Stones Throw, transforms into a jazz club every Monday night with the music of The Jason Craft Q-tet and the intimate ambience of the building adorned with stain glass windows.

"It's the best live music on a regular basis in Eau Claire," said Cliff Montzak, a frequenter of Jazz Night.
The Q-tet consists of Jason Craft on piano, Graydon Peterson on bass, Dave Whitman on drums and Tom Krochock on the trumpet.
"I think that the simple fact that a town like Eau Claire has something like Monday night jazz is really representative of a very healthy music scene. Towns this size don't always have something as beautiful as Monday night jazz," said Whitman.

Music enthusiasts may choose to kick back with a few martinis and take in the music or at times will take it to the dance floor and sway for a song or two.
"I'd like to think that jazz at the Stones Throw is the kind of place where a person, who has never listened to jazz before in his life, can come down and be absolutely amazed at what he's hearing onstage and not even realize that it's jazz," said Whitman.

Craft has a music degree from UW-Eau Claire and currently does freelance piano work in Minneapolis, Minn.
Peterson also has a music degree from UW-Eau Claire and is a freelance bass player in Minneapolis in his spair time.

"To be able to play with musicians like Jason, Graydon and Tom is actually really inspiring in and of itself," said Whitman.

Whitman currently takes lessons in New York with a drummer named Joe Morello of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
He also studied two and one half years with David King of the groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple.
Krochock is also attending UW-Eau Claire working his way towards a music degree.
Members of the group have also played with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and musical theater in the Twin Cities.

"Individually or as a group we have played with some of the best jazz musicians in the world.
"Often times this is the most fun gig that we have because it's a place where we can get together and really play the kind of jazz that we want to play.
"It's funny every time I play on a Monday night I leave more excited to play than when I got down here. I have such a good time onstage," said Whitman.

The group started around four years ago as the Andrew Neesley Quartet with Peterson and Craft as part of the group since it's beginnings, while Whitman has been a part of the group for almost three years.
Guests such as singer Jamie Howard and Neesley will sometimes pop in and play a few sets with the band. Area saxophone player John Timmers has also frequently played with the group.

"I think jazz is enjoyable to play because it's easier to make a connection with the audience," Whitman said. It's feeding off of the people in the audience who provide us with our direct inspiration when we're onstage, which gives a chance to express ourselves more fully than any other type of music can."

The Q-tet makes a point of not playing the same songs every week and enjoys mixing up arrangements of songs to produce a more unique sound.
"We have our own arrangement of "God Bless the Child" (a Billie Holliday song) that we like to do, we have our own arrangement of Miles Davis' "Footprints," but we really don't have a favorite song and we really don't have anything that we play too often," Whitman said. "Half the time we don't know what we're going to play until we play it, and then when we do play it, it just comes out amazing. We surprise ourselves really every time that we come down.
"There is something to be said for The Stones Throw, this building and this bar. Especially at night when the light comes through the windows, it makes you feel like you are in a big city, a truly cosmopolitan, urban area," said Whitman and Montzak agrees.