{image1} 1956 was an important year for music, as Elvis Presley entered the charts for the first time with "Heartbreak Hotel." Now that year lives on with the Milwaukee band 1956, which plays Sunday, April 17 with The Mercy Kiss at Mad Planet.
An edgy and dynamic rock trio formed in 2001, 1956 comprises Jason Reimer on vocals and guitar, Troy Butero on bass and Mike Mattner on drums. Even though it's only three guys, the sound never lets up.
"We're a three-piece, so there's always space to fill," Butero says. "When we play live people are surprised by the space we fill with only three of us."
And with their sound, the guys of 1956 don't focus on a specific year, but rather a trip down music lane.
"We don't just play one type of music," Butero adds. "Our music is the result if you took David Bowie and distorted it a lot. Or, it's how the Foo Fighters sound drunk on rum and Coke. We like to mix it up, even some Wilco. It's like we throw a wrench into our songs."
Their first disc, "The Great Sleep," was released in 2001 on Coptercrash Records and was followed by "Tonight We Kiss" in 2004. And when not recording, the band gets out on the open road to play. They've been to New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska and, of course, Wisconsin.
But it's not recording and touring that makes 1956 unique, Butero says.
"It's about the three of us. We realize there's a strong chemistry there. We're all co-dependent on each other. Take any one of us out, and it all doesn't work," he says.
"We don't even write songs before rehearsals," Butero adds. "We just plug in and jam, go with it. Now, we make sure to record it because it works so well. There's no outside agenda with us. In the studio, it just hits us like 'boom,' and then the music comes."
1956 plays at the Mad Planet, 533 E. Center St., Sunday, April 17 at 9:30 p.m., opening for The Mercy Kiss. It's a 21 and up show.
The band's Web site is www.1956theband.com.
