{image1}Believe it or not, for many years, Milwaukee has been a destination city for Midwestern bands. In the early '80s a virtual exodus arrived here from Kokomo, Ind., bringing bands like the Squares and Joker's Henchmen. A couple years back, the same city sent us Blue Background. And these are but two examples.
The latest band to set up shop here is Peoria's Brief Candles, which now calls Milwaukee home and recently released a self-titled, seven-song EP of airy, edgy, ethereal tunes.
After having hooked up with a like-minded Brew City band, says guitarist and singer Kevin Dixon, Brief Candles -- whose music has aptly been compared to the likes of Pale Saints, My Bloody Valentine, Ride and of a more recent vintage, Doves -- decided Milwaukee would be a good base from which to launch a musical career.
As the band continues to tour in support of the EP and prepares to record a full-length disc, OnMilwaukee.com talked to Dixon about Brief Candles, Milwaukee and the future.
OMC: Can you tell us a bit about the history of the band and it's connection to Milwaukee?
Kevin Dixon: Brief Candles formed in Peoria out of a band called Circle Sky in 1999 after we kicked out the bass player, and eventually the singer/songwriter/lead guitar player, for their sheer laziness. Drew picked up bass duties at that point and a friend, Ryan Sullivan, took on lead guitar and occasional vocal duties. Jeni took on a majority of the vocals. Ryan went his own direction, giving me the opportunity to move to lead guitar and occasional vocals, and adding drumming powerhouse Jake Bohannan to the lineup.
We ended up moving to Milwaukee because we needed a city that had more of a thriving scene than our hometown, the cost of living was similar, and there was promise of jobs. Plus being only four hours away from family is nice. That, and everyone from central Illinois moves to Chicago at some point. We really didn't want to do that. We had met the nice folks in Dorian Gray online and they were very helpful in the process as well.
OMC: Is the group now entirely based in Milwaukee?
KD: Yes, we all have lived here for at least a year and a half.
OMC: In an era when most bands are harder edged or more straight-up pop, Brief Candles have an ethereal, moody quality that feels like a breath of fresh air. Do you find there are a lot of people out there that missed this kind of sound?
KD: Bands tend to take their heaviness and/or poppiness to an extremity. We've never really been into that. We have our heavy traits, we have our mellower side too, but we've never leaned more towards one or the other. We have an intensity about us, but it's not necessarily 'heavy'. It's helped us a lot, but probably hurt us as well that we don't fall into just one specific category.
There are definitely people here who have at least a passing interest in a more ethereal style of music, but whether or not that style will draw huge crowds in Milwaukee remains to be seen at this point. It's just a matter of playing more shows more often and establishing ourselves as a force in this town. It's not as easy as it may sound.
OMC: Is the EP a taste of a full-length to come? When can we expect the full-length?
KD: We've actually decided to just do a full-length release. We've got a lot of solid material that we want to get out there while it's still fresh. When can you expect the full-length? When we're damn well ready to unleash it on the unsuspecting masses, that's when.
OMC: When will the band play in Milwaukee again?
KD: Nothing confirmed as of yet, but things are in the works for the late summer/early fall. We're also planning another tour in November, so we're concentrating on making that happen, as well as the recording.
OMC: Is the scene here good to you; does Milwaukee come out to support the band?
KD: I don't think we play here often enough. The scene here is as good as it can get for a relatively unestablished band. We don't have a ton of draw at shows, but we end up winning over new fans every time we do play, so it's encouraging. The local bands we've met up with like Burbank Cartel, The Silence Project, Dorian Gray, The Cutouts, etc. have all been great to us.
Brief Candles' self-titled, seven-song EP is out now and available via the band's Web site, briefcandles.com.
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.
