There are lots of unexpected surprises on vinyl each year for Record Store Day, but this year there’s an especially unusual one coming.
On Thursday, April 10 – two days before Record Store Day – Miller High Life opens pre-orders for its “Dive Bar Sounds” LP, which claimed to be the first-ever record ever pressed on vinyl infused with The Champagne of Beers.
The vinyl also looks like beer.
What’s on this record, you ask?
Well, it’s part of Miller’s new “Soundtrack to the High Life” music platform and includes weight original tracks – largely but not entirely instrumental – in a variety of styles, overlaid with the sounds of a dive bar – a door creaking, pool balls clacking, people chatting, bottles and cans being opened, etc.
The ambient bar sounds were recorded on location at actual Midwest taverns, according to a source at Molson Coors.
So, it's sort of canned background music and sound effects, created with music composer, producer and engineer Brendan Lynch-Salamon.
At the end, there’s a closing time song (that, thankfully, isn’t Semisonic’s “Closing Time”).
Here’s how they’re describing some of the tracks on the 25-minute LP:
- Welcome to the Dive – an upbeat rhythm built from the percussive sounds of pool balls, with subtle notes of the classic High Life jingle from old ad spots woven throughout, capturing the energy of game night at your favorite bar.
- Regular's Remix – a laid-back track where the familiar murmur of regulars and clinking High Life bottles create the soundtrack to a perfect night at the bar.
- Champagne Nights – an ambient sound led by the signature hiss of The Champagne of Beers being opened and the effervescent dance of bubbles rising to the top.
- Last Call Symphony – a low-fi melody featuring the hum of High Life neon signs and closing time bell that feels like your final waltz out of the dive bar.
You can hear the record online here:
If you need this as the soundtrack to your basement dive bar or want it for your breweriana or quirky vinyl collection, folks 21 and over can pre-order the record for $18 at noon on April 10 at millerhighlife.com/divebarsounds while supplies last.
Limited quantities will be available for pre-order across multiple days: April 10, 11, 15 and 16.
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.
