It's that time of year again. Time for local bands to prepare to duke it out for a Summerfest gig.
Break into the Big Gig is actually four battles of the bands that take place at The Up and Under Pub, 1216 E. Brady St.
"I have four spots to play at Summerfest 2012," says organizer Roy Henning. "They are main stage spots at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, The Miller Lite Oasis, The Potawatomi Bingo Casino Stage & Pavilion and new stage in the former M&I Classic Rock Stage area. Each band will have to win a preliminary round and the finals to receive a spot to play."
The four battles are:
Battle 1 – March 23, 30, April 6. Finals: April 13.
Battle 2 – March 24, 31, April 7. Finals: April 14.
Battle 3 – April 20, 27, May 4. Finals: May 11.
Battle 4 – April 21, 28, May 5. Finals: May 12.
Bands must play primarily original music, no cover or tribute bands. The event will be covered by on 102.1 FM's new local show, "Neighborhood Watch."
Henning says there are still a few spots open for each of the four battles. So, contact him now.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
