"Simple and sad with a shot of scotch."
The only problem with singer / songwriter Sara Lov's own description of her debut solo disc, "Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming," is that is suggests more grit than there is to be found on this softspoken 10-song disc.
Lov was formerly the lead singer of Devics (Bella Union labelmates of Milwaukee's Stephanie Dosen).
But that's OK, grit wouldn't have added anything special to Lov's sometimes simple and straightforward, sometimes dreamy pop music.
The fact that the sound -- and the lyrics -- are bittersweet could be due to Lov's own life story. At age 4, Lov -- a Hawaii native -- was kidnapped by her father, who took her to Israel and later Minnesota before landing in Los Angeles where she lived with her uncle.
She says, however, that her father is responsible, in part, for her work.
"My father really encouraged me creatively," she says, adding that youth has been a touchstone in her work.
"It's easy to get jaded and lose your sense of idealism. So, to find that thing that brings you back to your 'young eyes' or that thing that makes you feel excited to be alive again even though you are seeing it through seasoned eyes ... even if just for a moment, it's a beautiful thing."
Lov's almost breezy melancholia has struck a few chords around the world, leading the NME to call her disc, "honeyed," and The Sun said it was haunting. Longtime friend Sea Wolf invited her to join his seven-week U.S. tour which stops in Milwaukee for a gig at The Mad Planet on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Port O'Brien also performs.
Lov will bolster her guitar and voice onstage with a vintage record player.
Some other shows on the books this week include:
The Rave is alive with the roaring sound of music this week with The Dear Hunter, Empires and The Felix Culpa on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.; The Academy Is..., Mayday Parade and three others on Wednesday at 6:30; Secondhand Serenade on Thursday with Parachute, Evan Taubenfeld and The Rust at 8; Umhprey's McGee at 9 p.m. on Saturday and KMFDM on Sunday at 8 p.m. with AngelSpit.
On Wednesday, the Miramar might feel a little like Madison Square Garden as ZoSo: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience rocks the old theater at 8 p.m.
Canadian folk rockers Great Big Sea return to Brew City on Thursday for a show at The Pabst Theater. The band recently reissued all its previous discs -- and issued a new one in '08, "Fortune's Favour," on Great Big Sea Records in the U.S.
Reggae harmony group The Itals -- Ronnie Davis, Keith Porter and Lloyd Ricketts -- performs at the Miramar on Friday at 9 p.m. The long-running trio recently released a new CD, "Let Dem Talk."
Folk punk rocker Frank Turner -- who toured earlier in the year with The Offspring -- returns Stateside for a jaunt with Gaslight Anthem. The tour stops in at Turner Hall (natch!) on Sunday. Epitaph re-issued Turner's second disc, "Love, Ire and Song," back in July.
The Austin Chronicle called Turner "Billy Bragg by way of Joe Strummer," which seems redundant since Bragg himself was Billy Bragg by way of Joe Strummer, wasn't he? Riff Raff, Texas, Wiki it. Also on bus is Murder By Death, which completes the Turner Hall trifecta.
Veteran rockers UFO land at Shank Hall Sunday at 8 p.m. Also on board: The Tom Fuller Band.
Maine's own melodic pop rocker Howie Day hits The Pabst on Monday, sharing a stage with Colbie Caillat. Day's latest disc, "Sound the Alarm," landed in shops three weeks ago.
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.
