Chicken Wire Empire Ready to Move Mountains in 2019

photo by Hope Piper, MKE Rocks

What Moves Mountains, the sophomore LP by Milwaukee’s Chicken Wire Empire, is a stellar release that positions the quintet as a premier contemporary bluegrass outfit, on-par with many of the genre's best national acts.  Driven by exquisitely precise picking, steady bass grooves, beautiful vocal harmonies and, most of all, a true sense of joy, What Moves Mountains is a record that transports the listener into the epic bluegrass tales provided in the songs.

Like many modern bluegrass bands, Chicken Wire Empire honor the history of its predecessors and push forward by combining originally composed tracks alongside a thoughtful array of reimagined covers on the record. Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers,” Bill Monroe’s “Old Dangerfield,” Bad Livers’ “Lumpy Beanpole and Dirt,” and Woody Guthrie's “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” (which was popularized by the Grateful Dead) are all given clever and honest reworkings by the group.  Original numbers like “Summer and Me,” “Still In Love With You,” and “Reckless,” are foot-tapping, booty-shaking, and head-bobbing treats. The group shows its dexterity with placing those tracks alongside more narrative storytelling tunes like “Maker,” “Rope,” and “Shotguns and Doublewides,”

Chicken Wire Empire is a balanced musical machine with each of the members being given room to groove, sing, and showcase their passion for their craft across the record’s eleven tracks.  The group which consists of Jordan Krueger (bass), Ryan Ogburn (mandolin), Jon Peik (banjo), Ernest Brusubardis IV (fiddle), and Greg Brundage (guitar) has never been tighter and much of the magic of their live sound is masterfully captured on this release.

The quintet recently played a headlining gig at the Cooperage which sold out well in advance.  The evening featured two sets of Chicken Wire Empire where the band showcased their well-timed musical chemistry for a truly joyful and uplifting performance.  First set highlights included a lengthy jammed-out rendition of “Maker” which featured some incredible interplay between Piek and Brusabardis, trading off licks on the banjo and fiddle respectively.  Brundage took on lead vocal duties for the group on a beautiful cover of “Peggy O,” originally performed by the Grateful Dead. For the second set, Ogburn took the helm with an epically jam-filled rendition of “Shotguns Suite.”

Recently we had a chance to catch up with Ryan Ogburn and Jordan Krueger:

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

MKE Rocks: What was it like to make It Moves Mountains?

Ryan Ogburn: It was probably one of the smoothest processes we’ve ever gone through as a group to record an album.  There was a lot of preparation and songwriting sessions and different arrangments and a lot of trial and error that we explored before we even got into the studio.

Jordan Krueger:  I’m really really happy and proud of that album.  The whole process of recording that album was extremely positive, especially compared to recording our first album.  The first day we did a four-hour rehearsal session while our sound engineer was setting tones while we rehearsed. The studio can be a little terrifying, as every subtlely is permanent.  It is very difficult to record an album when you’re known as a live band, but I think we did a really good job and folks are digging it.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

MKE Rocks: As a band that prides itself on improvisation and live performance, how were you able to harness that energy and create that feel on the record? In particular, Shotguns and Doublewides is a jam vehicle live and can go in so many directions… what was it like to record that one?

Ryan Ogburn: Shotguns and Doublewides is actually a very old song that I recorded a long time ago that has gone through a number of arrangements and incarnations.  I tried recording it again on the first Chicken Wire Empire album and it just wasn’t right. It took a while to get it out live, and it has continued to evolve since the record.  We tried to keep it more a little more contained on the record but were able to capture its groove well. It certainly is a fun one to play live.

Jordan Krueger: We recorded most of the album live, so when you’re hearing the record and you think, gosh, this sounds like Chicken Wire, it’s because it was recorded straight in the studio.  A lot of solo sections were done live. On “Old Dangerfield,” that spacey part was all done live. We wanted to make a studio record but really wanted to make sure that the sessions were live so that we could recreate that feel as much as possible. For some of the longer tunes, we cut out some of the parts, so that fans could experience the longer jams live, and also have the experience of having the studio stuff too.  

MKE Rocks: 2018 was a great year for you all, capped off with a show opening for Horseshoes and Handgrenades at the Pabst.  What was that experience like?

Ryan Ogburn: That show was really kind of a celebration of a lot of what we had accomplished throughout 2018.  It was so beautiful how it all came together. We have been wanting to play with Horseshoes and Handgrenades for a long time and have been on similar paths.  Adam, from Horseshoes and Handgrenades, really helped us out with encompassing the folk music revival across the country and in the upper midwest.

Jordan Krueger: Horseshoes and Handgrenades are old friends, so we’ve known them for a while.  Playing the Pabst felt like a whole new level for us. We were pretty in awe when we were introduced at the Pabst, while we were standing on stage and our emcee rattled off a list of legendary names who played the Pabst.  It made us feel pretty good thinking about all of the names before us and then standing on stage feeling like, "Man, I’m so glad to be here." That same night was the official release of What Moves Mountains so it was a really great night and kick off to the new year.  That whole shebang was prettty awesome.

MKE Rocks: As a musician familiar with the Milwaukee scene for some time now, you’ve had a chance to play in many bands and watch bands break past the shores of Lake Michigan and beyond.  Can you comment please about your thoughts about the Milwaukee Americana scene with acts like Chicken Wire Empire, Dead Horses (which you play with), Buffalo Gospel (who (Ryan) used to play with), Joseph Huber, Nickel and Rose, the list of awesome talent goes on and on!

Ryan Ogburn: I feel like we are really blessed to be existing and thriving during this time. There is so much talent circulating around this immediate area.  I feel like Milwaukee has really grown in that, and potentially rivals other big music cities with its vibrant scene.

Jordan Krueger: We just played the Wisconsin Bluegrass Festival in Madison.  We made round two, which shows that the scene is really thriving.  The bluegrass scene is amazing because everyone interacts and works together.  The scene is amazingly collaborative, friendly, and supportive. We all love each other and the scene is really great here.  It is so positive and so unique for a music scene to be like that.

MKE Rocks (to Ryan Ogburn): Is it hard for you as a musician to balance time between acts (such as playing with Chicken Wire Empire and Dead Horses)?

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Ryan Ogburn: I feel like we all are very connected as a community with multiple members that intermingle.  Buffalo Gospel is a supergroup with all amazingly individually talented musicians. Same with Dead Horses… Dan and Sarah as a duo just crush it and then they choose from an array of Midwestern musicians and beyond.  I really see this as another notch to the thriving midwest music scene. They (Dead Horses) could pick up players from Nashville, Los Angeles or Seattle and do just fine, but the talent from the northern midwest is just so great.  It goes back to Trampled by Turtles and that whole group and there is really a rich music scene that reaches beyond to groups like Field Report and even Justin Vernon. It is really coming to the surface for me as a musician seeing what talent we have here in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the rest of the northern midwest.  We truly have so many amazing and wonderful musicians.

MKE Rocks: What does 2019 hold in store for CWE?  The sold-out Cooperage show was clearly a highlight.  Any big plans for you and the band?

Ryan Ogburn: We have a lot of big plans.  Getting ideas together for the next album is a the forefront of what we’re doing these days.  We have been invited to be part of several festivals including Blue Ox, Moon Dance, and we’re headlining Larry Fest and having a bunch of really great regional festivals that we have been working towards for many years and with all that momentum, we are really excited to write and arrange a lot of new music to get into the studio as soon as possible.  We have great gigs coming up all over the midwest, and we’re also super pumped to play the Rock the Green Earth Day event with Lex Allen this year on April 27th.

Cold rain and snow can't stop great music from being made... check out Chicken Wire Empire and Lex Allen at Rock the Green's Earth Day Celebration Saturday, April 27th from 12-2 at Estabrook Park, Picnic Area #8.

Steve Gunn- 4/18/19, Cactus Club

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Masterfully blurring together aspects of country, folk, blues, jazz, and psychedelic rock, Steve Gunn’s guitar work has earned him the reputation of being one of the best performers in the business today. However, Gunn’s songwriting and lyrics, especially on his latest release The Unseen In Between, which dropped this January, have helped establish him as an amazing singer-songwriter act who has the power to transport his listeners on a journey that defies both time and space.  Gunn is touring in support of The Unseen In Between, a nine song record that showcases his finest songwriting to date-- taking listeners on a cross-country trip punctuated by Gunn’s keen observations of the characters and experiences he’s encountered along the way.  There is something universally relatable and simultaneously transcendental about Gunn’s music. His lyrics often leave lots of room for interpretation, allowing listeners to insert themselves into Gunn’s tales. This is seen particularly on the track, “New Moon,” which leads off The Unseen In Between with the lines, “I see a glimmer, across the wall, through the mirror, out past the streets, beyond the weather, to that place no one seems to know.”  There is a masterful intracity between Gunn’s lyrics and singing and the guitar work that creates a rich fabric of timbres. Gunn’s music, songwriting and expression cannot be confined to any one style or genre, and through his songcraft and performance, Gunn has become a “can’t miss” live performer.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Recently Steve Gunn packed the storied Cactus Club in Bay View, Wisconsin with droves of fans clamoring to hear Gunn’s songs and guitar stylings lined-up at the doors of the jam-packed venue.  Gunn is an unassuming presence live who lets the strength of his music do the talking. Donning a denim jacket, bright red Chuck Taylor’s and low-key grin, Gunn performed a masterful set to kick off the US leg of his tour in support of The Unseen In Between. Joined on stage with a killer backing band that included Paul Sukeena on guitar, TJ Maiani on drums, and Liam Cunningham on both upright and electric bass, Gunn entranced the audience from the first notes of “Wildwood,” a track off his 2014 Way Out Weather LP.  From there he launched full-throttle into The Unseen In Between with the stand-out “Vagabond.”  Other choice cuts from Gunn’s most recent LP like “Chance,” and “New Moon,” were on-point live.  The set highlight, however, was a spellbinding rendition of “Lightning Field,” dedicated to everyone who showed up to the show.  The jam in the middle of the track and guitar solo hold up as some of Gunn’s most nuanced and catchiest work to date. After a rich seventy-five minutes of music, Gunn closed his show with a beautiful encore of “Morning is Mended,” which featured Steve solo on stage with just his acoustic guitar and mad-scientist board of effects pedals.  The band then came back to join him for a vintage jam on “Way Out Weather,” also from the 2014 Way Out Weather record.  Steve Gunn is an amazing performer that you need to experience live.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Mdou Moctar- The Cooperage; Warm-Up Party for Psych Fest VII 4/5/19

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Some call him the Jimi Hendrix of the Sahara.  Others compare him to Prince (after all, he did star in a Tuareg remake of “Purple Rain,” titled, “Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in It” ), but after seeing Mdou Moctar live, he is an artist like none other; a unique entity with a style, stage presence, and sound all of his own. Mdou Moctar and his band, consisting of Ahmoudou Madassane on rhythm guitar, Soulemane Ibrahim on drums, and Mikey Coltun on bass delivered a wall of psychedelic guitar-focused music to a packed house at The Cooperage for the preview party for Milwaukee’s Psych Fest VII.  The band has been touring almost non-stop these days, bringing the psychedelic sounds of the Sahara all across the United States and beyond. Amidst all of Mdou’s guitar prowess, it was the pure joy that emanated from his music that made him an incredibly engaging performer and one who is primed to soar in today's music scene.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Currently hailing from the Saharan city of Agadez, Niger, the epicenter of the increasingly popular Tuareg guitar sound, Mdou Moctar’s back-story story is an uplifting and gripping one.  As a young person living in the village of Tchintabaraden and then in the uranium mining town Arlit, playing music was not widely accepted in the culture. Mdou taught himself how to play a homemade guitar created from a piece of wood strung with bicycle brake wires.  Despite this, Mdou’s songs, which are steeped in honor, respect, and tradition gained favor amongst the local village and religious leaders. Mdou gained recognition for playing weddings in his home village and began to develop a strong following.  With the help of the digital age and artists trading music in the Sahara region via Bluetooth technology and memory cards on cell phones, Mdou’s music reached the ears of Christopher Kirkley, who, with his label, “Sahel Sounds,” helped introduce Mdou Moctar to audiences around the world, exposing the Tuareg artist to a plethora of new fans.

Mdou Moctar’s latest record, 2019’s Ilana (The Creator), is a guitar lover’s dream, and a record that is poised to make many "end-of-the-year, 'best of' lists."  The nine-song record transports listeners on a jam-infused journey to the desert region of northern Niger, the land of Mdou’s Tuareg people. Recorded live, the album has a groove-driven vibe and original face-melting guitar sound that hooks the listener upon the first spin and makes them want to come back repeatedly for more, finding a new takeaway each time.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Live, Mdou’s jams often take on a palpable, hypnotic sense of surrealism.  A perfect artist to headline the warm-up party for Milwaukee’s Psych VII, Mdou’s songs took on a life of their own, showcasing his incredible range as a guitar virtuoso and vocalist.  His backing band provided a deep groove to support the layers of guitar solos and jams that Mdou delivered. The set drew heavily from Ilana (The Creator) with a fair amount of improvisation and deep jams that made the songs smoothly flow into one another.  With big smiles and a warm demeanor, Mdou and his band left the fans at the Cooperage mesmerized. Mdou Moctar is clearly an artist on the rise and we can’t wait to see him again next time he comes through Milwaukee.

Liz Cooper and the Stampede- The Back Room of Colectivo, March 10, 2019

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Liz Cooper and the Stampede deliver a sonic wall of psychedelic-Americana music that is unique, genre redefining, thought-provoking, and above all, interesting and fun.  The Nashville power trio comprised of Liz Cooper (guitar and vocals), Grant Prettyman (bass and vocals) and Ryan Usher (drums and vocals) create introspective, observant, and simultaneously face-melting tunes, while putting on one heck of a live performance.  Their stop at the Back Room at Colectivo on a late winter’s Sunday in Milwaukee proved their power as a headlining act.

From the moment you entered the Back Room at Colectivo, Cooper and company had surprises in store, including cardboard cut-outs of the band, as well as faux floral arrangements on stage, alongside Garfield stuffed animals, rubber chickens, a stuffed dog, and even a plastic dinosaur.  Liz Cooper and the Stampede opened their show by taking the stage to John Williams’s “Hedwig’s Theme” from the Harry Potter movies.  This unique opening was most fitting as fans in attendance were truly about to experience a magical evening of music.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

The band drew heavily off of their stellar 2018 release Window Flowers, opening with the first track of the record, “Sleepyhead,” and wasting no time getting into a jammed out rendition of “Dalai Lama,” early in the set, which drew huge applause from the capacity crowd, and featured Cooper shredding through the nearly ten minute track on guitar.  Other set highlights included a groovy, laid back version of “Motions,” a fantastically harmonizing version of “The Night,” and a rousing and raucous set-closing “Hey Man.” The trust between band members was evident as the set went on as Liz Cooper and the Stampede seamlessly flowed songs into one another.  Drummer Ryan Usher is an incredibly engaging performer on stage and a virtuoso percussionist who anchors Cooper’s tunes along with Prettyman’s steady and powerful bass licks.

The band also tested out new material, including a new number, "Je Taime," written at “The Refuge,” a former monastery turned artist-retreat center in the Appleton, Wisconsin area.  From new numbers to old, there is a genuine joy and passion that is palpable while enjoying Cooper’s music live.

Recently we had a chance to catch up with Liz Cooper to talk about touring, performing, her cardboard cutouts and plans for 2019.  

MKE Rocks: Last year has been a great year for you, with your exceptional record, Window Flowers, which was one of our favorite records of the year on MKE Rocks.  When we first saw you perform it was in support of Phosphorescent this past December. What was that tour like for you?

Cooper: It was amazing. It was great because you really got to know everyone from the other band.  Everyone was super inspiring and a lot of fun. We meshed really well. We are doing all these shows now that we're touching the markets we played with Phosphorescent and seeing a lot of similar people coming out who saw us play with Phosphorescent.  It’s been really fun.

MKE Rocks: One of the things I loved about your show was the cardboard cutouts on the stage of you and Grant Prettyman at the start of the show.  I thought that was clever and kind of funny and interesting. I had never seen anything like that before. Do cardboard Grant and Liz come out for all shows, or was that a special occasion last time at Turner Hall?

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Cooper: Setting up Cardboard Grant, Cardboard Liz and now Cardboard Ryan on stage is a really fun thing to do when we are opening for other bands.  As the opening act, we set all of our stuff up and get it ready, and the first thing that the audience sees when they come in are the cardboard cutouts.  It is a nice and seamless thing to have at opening shows and people enjoyed it.

For headlining shows, it would be weird to have the cardboard cutouts on stage with another band opening up for us, so we do not use them in that capacity on this tour.  It is fun to have quirky things on stage, and as we grow that too will grow, and we’ll have different things to add as we go along.

MKE Rocks: You are in the midst of a very extensive tour, taking you all over the country.  What do you enjoy the most about touring and bringing your music to new audiences?

Cooper: I am really enjoying seeing who’s coming out to these shows.  A lot of people are new to seeing us, but a lot of people who have seen us play other shows are now coming and bringing their friends, and that is really amazing.  On this tour, we’re testing out new songs and playing them for people for the first time, which has been a lot of fun too.

We have never really played headlining shows on a big tour.  It is very different from opening and a totally different vibe.  It has been a really good learning experience People are coming and shows are selling out and in advance.  This is the first time we’ve had that, and it’s been really amazing. Having that kind of support is so inspiring and makes me want to work harder and play the very best we can play and make it a real experience for people.

MKE Rocks: What’s your favorite thing about performing your music live?

Cooper: Playing music, really.  We’re sitting in a van all day, so having the time to do what we love to do is so important.  We could be having an awful day and all of that goes away when we start playing. We change the set a lot and it’s really cool to experiment with that.  We like to come up with new things on the fly as a band and the interaction with us and the audience members are awesome too.

MKE Rocks: Do you have any big plans for 2019, aside from the massive tour that you’re on?  Anything you’re especially looking forward to?

Cooper: We are working on new music and making our second record and constantly writing.  I’m really looking forward to going on tour with Dr. Dog and Shakey Graves this fall.  I’m a big fan of those bands and can’t wait for that experience.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

MKE Rocks: It seems like right now is a particularly exciting time for women in the indie singer-songwriter scene with artists like Margo Price, Phoebe Bridges, Lucy Dacus, Courtney Barnett, Sharon Van Etten, Amanda Shires and yourself in that mix.  As an artist, what is your take on the scene at the current moment?

Cooper: I think women are rising up!  There are a lot of really powerful women with a lot to say. I think we are dominating the music scene, and that is really amazing.  Margo Price is just someone to look up to and is very supportive of other women in Nashville and has been a mentor to a lot of my friends.  I think it’s really important for women to help each other. What’s best about all of this is that people are paying attention, not because there are a lot of talented female artists, but because there is a lot of amazing music being made.  People are doing amazing things and it’s their sound that’s important. In addition to the artists you mentioned, I want to throw Lilly Hiatt, Natalie Prass, and Erin Rae in that group as artists who are doing just amazing things too!

MKE Rocks: Speaking of good artists, anything that you’re listening to right now that you're particularly enjoying?
We listen to everything, really. Right now I’m really enjoying Amen Dunes, Childish Gambino and  Stereolab. Grant is always listening to Dawes and Vulfpeck. Ryan listens to a lot of Rhye We’re always listening to anything that stands out to us.

Setlist: Sleepyhead Outer Space Dalai Lama Motions The Night Fondly and Forever Mountain Men Je Taime Hey Man Encore: Feeling Good (Liz solo) Lights

Tyler Ramsey and Carl Bromel- SPACE, Evanston, IL 2/22/19

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

There was a palpable feeling of excitement, enthusiasm, and above all trust in the air in the cozy and intimate confines of SPACE in Evanston.  Walking through an enthusiastic and adoring crowd together, two marquee songwriters took the stage for what would be one of the most special and collaborative performances I've had the pleasure of experiencing in recent history.  Tyler Ramsey, previously a co-songwriter, guitar player, and multi-instrumentalist for Band of Horses, and Carl Bromel, best known as the guitarist for My Morning Jacket, joined forces to showcase their solo material in a collaborative show that saw both musicians accompanying one another.   Bromel is touring in support of his finest solo release to date, last year's Wished Out, and Ramsey has his new solo record, For The Morning, ready to drop on April 5th.  The comradeship and synergy between the musicians was so tight that it was often difficult to determine who was the primary song-smith for any given tune.  The harmonizing between the two men was on point and often both players would trade off solos and jams.  Bromel played acoustic and electric guitar along with pedal steel, whereas Ramsey played acoustic guitar, keyboards, and harmonica among other instruments.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Bromel's solo cuts from Wished Out were well-received live.  He wasted little time getting into the record, opening with "Dark Matter," Wished Out's infectiously contagious first track.  Another standout included Bromel shredding the axe with a super jam on the title track, "Wished Out," which got crowd revved up into a frenzy as if they were seeing Carl jam hard at a  My Morning Jacket concert.  Older tunes like "Snowflake," and "4th of July," were also set highlights and showcased Bromel as an accomplished solo songwriter and player.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Likewise, Tyler Ramsey had many occasions to showcase his craft as an exceptional songwriter.  There is a sense of wonder and the beauty of nature that perpetrates a lot of Ramsey's compositions. Like Bromel, Ramsey jumped into some of his finest material early in the set.  Ramsey performed songs from his 2011 solo record, The Valley Wind, including the heart-wrenching title track.  Other highlights included "1,000 Blackbirds," and "A Long Dream."  Ramsey's finest work, however, might be on some of his narrative and well-crafted tunes from his forthcoming record, For the Morning, which drops in early April. Ramsey's first single "A Dream of Home," is a great anthem about fatherhood and growing that resonated with the audience, including myself. "Breaking A Heart," another new track from For the Morning was also well-received and whetted the audience's pallet for Ramsey's new material that will be released soon.

While both musicians have styles that are both similar and uniquely different, the two-person show showcased two friends and a trusting audience enjoying an extremely special evening that will not soon be forgotten.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Trapper Schoepp Delivers His Best Work to Date with Primetime Illusion

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Trapper Schoepp is modern rock 'n roll's, consummate good guy-- an artist who cranks out amazing tunes time and time again; a songwriter who truly cares about environmental and social issues; a musician whose tunes relate to fans ages 3-103; a guitarist who constantly strives to innovate and progress while holding true to his bluesy roots; and a performer who brings his best every time, winning over audiences with his warm, kind and honest demeanor.

If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing Trapper live- you know what we’re talking about.  If you haven’t seen him live, you need to. Trapper and his band are simply that good… invoking the spirit of narrative rock singer-songwriter legends like Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Segar, while putting his own unique stamp on the rock ‘n roll genre.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

As a young man in his mid-twenties, Trapper clearly is a songwriter who is wise beyond his years.  With his new album and third LP, Primetime Illusion released this January, Trapper emerges with his finest work to date… crafting songs that try to make sense of our world in our current times- recognizing modern challenges that we face while simultaneously evoking a sense of eternal optimism, joy, and hope. Recorded last spring at "Wire and Vice" in Milwaukee with Wilco multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone serving as the producer,  Primetime Illusion showcases Trapper as an artist who continues to grow in his lyrical craft, while keeping his infectious rock grooves at the forefront of his songwriting. Album opener, “Shakedown,” is a great example of this, as is his first single, “Freight Train,” a track that Trapper has performed regularly as part of his live set.  In addition, Trapper stretches the bounds of his sound more on Primetime Illusion with tracks like, “What You Do To Her,” which features backing vocals from Nicole Atkins and tackles the topic of sexual harassment and misogyny in our culture.  Moreover, the standout track, “If All My 9’s Were X’s,” is a great example of Trapper telling a gripping story, using a bowling metaphor, while all-the-while leaving room for his listeners to fill in bits as well.  Front to back, Primetime Illusion is an album that hooks the listener with its first spin and keeps them coming back for more with new disoveries after each subsequent listen.

This past summer, we had a chance to catch up with Trapper about his new record, his robust touring schedule, and his diverse performances.

MKERocks:  Trapper, you have a really full tour schedule and are hitting a boon of festivals, music series, as well as gigs opening or large international touring acts like Frank Turner and Rhett Miller of the Old '97's.  Your show last summer at Cedarburg Summer Sounds was a great example of a fun local show. How do you approach these performances and what makes them special for you and the band?

Trapper: I've spent years on the road as an opening act playing 30-45 minute sets and looking at my watch worrying that we don't go over our allotted time. It's great to stretch out and have the whole night to ourselves at shows like Summer Sounds. These types of gigs allow for more spontaneous detours within the set. I love breaking down that fourth wall.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

MKERocks: I hear you have a new album in the works.  Can you share a bit about this project and when it's set to come out?

Trapper: We recorded the album with producer Patrick Sansone from Wilco in Wauwatosa. It'll be out in early 2019. The songs have a lot of deep grooves and space. It's inspired by 70s acts like Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, and Jackson Browne.

MKERocks:  Recently you did a series of shows where you performed a Tom Petty tribute.  Listening to your music over the years, there is definitely a link between your music and Petty's with both of you channeling what I'd call "All-American Rock."  Could you share a bit about Tom Petty's influence on your sound and about that performance?

Trapper: For me, he set forth the blueprints for a five piece rock n roll band. My dad had Full Moon Fever in his Suburban growing up so those songs are deeply ingrained in my psyche. It was cool to play his and my music back to back as it showed to me how much he's influenced me.

MKERocks:  The Milwaukee music scene has really seemed to be taking off of late with many great acts, including you gaining more attention both regionally and nationally.

Trapper: We have a nice melting pot going here. It's helped that the thriving coffee, beer and radio scenes have all helped elevate the arts. I moved to Milwaukee a decade ago and it's been cool to watch the city as a whole have a new life. Let's just hope Milwaukee doesn't lose its edge. Spoiler alert: it won't.

photo courtesy of Brian Norman

MKERocks: One of the highlights of your show in Cedarburg was seeing you play with your guitar students-- Ben and Abbey Norman.  Can you please comment on this experience from your point of view?

Trapper: Folk music is all about extending the line through song and passing things down to the next generation. I see teaching guitar as being apart of that whole idea. It's, of course, special for me to be able to share the stage the someone who has started to learn a craft from me.