WAUKESHA - Just out there to have a good time, 41 North will take the stage at Magellan's on Main for the last night of Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live this season.

41 North is a band that crosses through time and genre with a little bit of something for everyone's musical tastes and memories.

"We built up 41 North around the idea of playing great songs that weren't being played by a lot of bands around here," bassist John Fredericks said.

The band got its start in 2011 and created a name around the highway they take out of Milwaukee to go on vacation.

"That's an idea that we try to carry toward the band: We take it pretty seriously, but always remember that this is fun," Fredericks said. "It's a party; it's a great escape from real life." Fredericks has been playing guitar for many years, but didn't make it a major part of his life until he and his brother, lead guitarist Brian Fredericks, started jamming together in Brian's basement about six years ago.

"The more I played the more I wanted to play," Brian Fredericks said. "This is the first band I have been in that has played out live, and I can't get enough of it." John Fredericks was excited to learn more than just Metallica and the other heavy metal rock music he played in the past.

"I still love the metal, but I needed to learn more, and I was in a spot in life when Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash were more appropriate," he said.

41 North plays all cover songs with the idea that they all have families and jobs, and they want music to be something they can just enjoy. The band also likes to mix its songs, trying to keep away from the typical covers and play a little bit of everything for all the listeners to enjoy.

"And I think that that's a large part of what people like about 41," John Fredericks said. "There's a good band up on stage playing songs that are great songs, just way underplayed."

41 North's set list is constantly evolving, but some of the crowd favorites include the Greg Kihn Band's "Break Up Song," the Gin Blossoms' "Allison Road," Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and the Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See." "Because we don't play one particular genre of music, we can entertain and keep audiences that share our diverse musical interests," Brian Fredericks said.

The brothers said another thing they love about their band is the presence of outstanding musicians. Mike Pavolich on keyboards and vocals has been playing and singing for years and is a crowd favorite. Kevin Lowman on the rhythm guitar and vocals is a Waukesha "scene fixture" who puts his heart into his music. Jake Drahonovsky on the drums and backup vocals has a wealth of experience playing for different bands and "loves to mix things up." "There are no egos," Brian Fredericks said. "We all get along very well and playing together seems natural." As for the two brothers, John described Brian as a "perfectionist" who "throws himself into his guitar.

"Then, of course, there's me," John said. "I'm probably the goof of the group, as is required of a bass player." This is 41 North's first time performing at WFFNL.

"Hopefully, this Friday at Magellans we'll bring our A-game and we will be back as long as we keep getting invited," John said.

WAUKESHA - Big Kenny N 3D, a favorite at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live, will round out the downtown ensemble on the Martha Merrell's and Cuddle's stage for the season's second-to-last week of live music in the streets.

Kenn Anderson plays gretsch guitars, banjitar and vocals along with the 3Ds; Dan Aukofer, percussionist and mixmaster; and Deb Aukofer and Donna Kaufman on acoustic guitars and vocals.

Anderson started playing guitar at the age of 10 and has since played with a number of bands, including Plumb Loco, in addition to playing worship at St. John's Lutheran Church in the Town of Brookfield.

"I was really inspired by the Beatles," Anderson said. "I loved rock 'n' roll. Music is just a great way to express everything, and I do a lot of writing." Anderson started playing through an open mike at the Beautiful Day Café in Pewaukee, owned by Dan and Deb Aukofer. He had a percussion act with bongos, a kick drum made from a suitcase and cymbals, and Deb had "the voice of an angel," Anderson said.

Anderson would pop in to play with Dan and Deb. After Anderson's wife opened up Anderson's Pub and Grill in Delafield, the trio would play back and forth between the two places.

Kaufman would sing harmony with the band once in a while when she came to see them perform and eventually joined the group.

"I said, 'I don't know if I can handle two women in a band,'" Anderson said laughing. "But we tried it, and the harmony's just dynamite." Anderson said Big Kenny N 3D transverse all different genres of pop, rock, jazz and folk, playing favorites from the Beatles, Linda Ronstadt and many others. While Anderson, Aukofer and Kaufman all write, they mix in just a few original songs with mostly covers during their performances. Some of the newer crowd favorites include "Mr. Sandman" and Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Mean," for which Anderson plays on his banjitar.

Anderson enjoys getting the chance to play so much guitar and really appreciates the response from the Waukesha crowd.

"It is the best crowd I've ever played for bar none," Anderson said. "I've played Summerfest and State Fair; very well appreciated, but not like the love from the Waukesha people. They sit down in those chairs and just listen to everything you do. It's just amazing. It's like magic. It's like you get this intimacy with the audience and everybody wants to hear what you have to say, what you have to play, what you have to sing, and it makes you play better." Aukofer, who has been singing since she was a little girl, said part of the reason people love the group so much is the strong camaraderie combined with great singers and talented instrumentals.

"We're a very fun band," Aukofer said.

WAUKESHA -  Playing for their 10th straight year at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live, husband and wife duo Mike and Kathy will perform on the Martha Merrell's and Cuddles stage Friday.

Mike Gallenberger and Kathy met in grade school and started singing in the church choir in their early teens. They married when Kathy was 19 years old and Mike 20 years old.

"We've been a duo ever since then," Mike said.

They played in a variety of country and rock music bands, but have always done the two-piece music act. Mike and Kathy originally played in the Milwaukee area, but have been performing in Waukesha County for the last 20 years.

"The quality of people in the Waukesha and Oconomowoc area is so much better," Mike said. "People always come up to you after and tell you how much they enjoyed you." When Mike and Kathy stopped singing for a while, it was Norm Bruce, owner of Martha Merrell's Books in Waukesha, who brought them back.

"I quit singing about 10 years ago," Mike said. "Norm needed a singer. He talked us into singing. We enjoyed it so much, it was because of Norm we started singing. ... It was so much fun and the people downtown Waukesha are so nice that we've been singing the first Friday of the month ever since.

And it's never been more fun for us."

Mike and Kathy play a variety of folk and country music but have recently started adding more '60s songs, which they perform on two acoustic guitars and vocals. They play hits from Buddy Holly, the Eagles, Barbra Streisand and many more. Some of their signature songs include "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and "Desperado." "People like to hear songs they recognize," Mike said. "They really like to hear the cover songs ... the ones they heard when they were younger." Mike and Kathy also own an Internet music business, G Man Music, which sells music products internationally.

"I taught guitar since I was 16 years old," Mike said. "I opened a music store when I was 18 and have owned music stores ever since then. ... I really, really enjoy it." Mike and Kathy also performed in the Lake County's first music competition where Kathy won Best Female Vocalist, Mike won Best Instrumentalist and they both took home the award for Best Duo.

"Kathy's a fabulous singer," Mike said. "She is the best singer I've ever played with. She has a beautiful voice and she's a great musician. ...

WAUKESHA The Ricochettes invade Waukesha, bringing with them British and American rock tunes from the '60s to the Rockin' and Poppin' on Broadway stage at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live on Friday night.

The band traces its roots back to 1963 at the time of the British rock invasion, when two teenagers living across the street from each other in Milwaukee traded in their traditional instruments to start a neighborhood rock band. Ar Kriegel exchanged his trombone for the guitar and Herb Hohnke his accordion for the bass guitar.

"At that time, it was the thing to do," bassist and keyboard player Hohnke said. "The Beatles came around and that was the whole beginning of it all.

We'd follow local bands around town and that was kind of inspirational, but to go do it ourselves was neat." In 1964, they were named "Milwaukee's Beatles" and released a number of singles, including "Come in My Love" which sold over 10,000 copies in the Milwaukee area.

The band stayed together until 1967, playing with a number of big names over the four years, including the Rolling Stones, The Hollies, The Dave Clark 55, The Animals and the McCoys. They broke up to pursue other musical and life endeavors, but got back together in 2008 for a successful reunion concert at Serb Hall.

"One of the members moved back up here and thought it would be fun to get back together for old time's sake and jam," drummer Bob Neuhofer said.

Some of the band members had kept playing during the years apart and were surprised by their rough but talented sound. They decided to polish up and host a reunion concert.

The Ricochettes were overjoyed with the response they received from fans about the "walk down memory lane." Some of the fans even wore Ricochettes memorabilia from the '60s and asked for autographs.

"The British Invasion ... it was a more easygoing type of music," Neuhofer said. "It lifted your spirit. There aren't many stations or bands that play a lot of it. People from the '60s, it takes them back to some of the better times they had during their youth." Hohnke said the music they play gives people a good feeling and takes them back to a time when things were a lot easier, and people were just having fun.

"There are certain triggers in a person's life; you just have great memories about some song and the events in your life that happened while the song was playing," Hohnke said. "To me that style of music is endless. Even other generations have taken an interest in the Beatles music." Original members include Jerry Wollenzien on guitar, Neuhofer on drums, Hohnke on bass and keyboards and Jim Milewski on bass. Newer members are Dale Peterson on bass and tambourine and Dave Topolovec on guitar.

"The quality of the vocals is what makes us a little more unique than most groups," Neuhofer said. "We do a lot of harmony. It's not as easy to do harmony as it is a lead singer with backup." The Ricochettes have been talked about in England and even listed in an English book about American garage bands.

"It makes me proud that I was part of it," Neuhofer said.

WAUKESHA -  The sounds of Germany and Austria will mix with the buttery scent of popcorn at the Rockin' and Poppin' on Broadway stage at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

The Blaskapelle Milwaukee Band is an 18-to-22 member band that plays traditional folk music from areas of middle Europe, including Germany, Austria and Czech Republic.

Band founder Andrew Hacker studied music education at Carroll University while teaching as an assistant band director in the Waukesha Catholic school system. After graduation in 2010, Hacker worked at Waukesha North and is currently the band director at Waukesha South High School. He plays tuba, bass trombone and the euphonium in several ensembles around town.

"My family's very active in the German society of Milwaukee and is very active in the folk dancing and folk music side of things for the Bavarian clubs in Milwaukee," Hacker said. "I've been a part of that since I was born, basically. My grandpa on my dad's side brought over his father's folk instrument from Austria, and just sort of kept the culture going and my parents passed it on to me." Hacker became especially interested in this "bright and happy" music after playing with a band director in northern Wisconsin with a similar band, and he decided he wanted to recreate something similar.

"I really liked the brass music being a tuba player and I really thought this was sort of a unique niche," Hacker said. "It's not something that gets publicized very much and it doesn't have much of a knowledge base around here. But it's really a fun time to listen to and to play and to meet people and travel." On a school trip to Europe, Hacker visited several music stores and eventually stumbled upon one where a group was playing the sort of music he liked.

"I went to Europe and purchased a whole bunch of sheet music," Hacker said.

"I brought it back and I just asked a bunch of my music friends if they could sit down and read the music with me so I could see what it sounded like for real. And it just kind of spun up from there." The Blaskapelle Milwaukee Band officially began in 2006 and plays a variety of venues, including Oktoberfest, wedding anniversaries and church festivals. They also expanded recently to include some jazz numbers.

Along with the instrumentals, there are three members who sing harmony in the traditional languages of the written pieces. The members dress in traditional southern German attire with the men in lederhosen and the women in dirndl dresses.

"It's a very engaging type of music so people can dance to it, they can sing it." Hacker said. "It's a feel-good type of music." Over 2,000 listeners at German Fest definitely felt good listening to the Blaskapelle Milwaukee Band. Hacker said people were having a great time on the dance floor, going for a beer, and then coming back to listen and dance more.

WAUKESHA - Cross to Kingdom, better known as C2k, performs Friday night at the Allô! Chocolat Stage for the 12th week of Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

C2k is part of a ministry that began three years ago by president and band singer Phil Schank and his wife and vice president, Kym Schank.

"The band formed with the intent to create music that glorifies God," Phil Schank said.

Eventually, Phil got together with other church members and friends and started writing music, and eventually produced a CD.

"We just love worshipping God," Phil said.

Besides Phil on vocals and acoustic guitar, the band also includes electric guitarists Jim Taugher and Tim Bedore, Kris Faulls on bass, Ryan Radtke on drums and Andy Nitka on keyboards. C2k band performs mainly original and cover Christian rock music.

Phil said one of C2k band's missions is to educate the current generation of youth about Jesus Christ in a culturally relevant way without having to change the message.

"We want to teach kids that God isn't this huge, cosmic kill-joy trying to take all of the joy out of their lives," Phil said. "He has something way more abundant for them than they can ever imagine. One of the ways we can do that is through music." The band is just one of the components of the C2k ministry. C2k initially sprouted from the service work Kym began 14 years ago in Mound Bayou, Miss.

Kym said Mound Bayou was one of the first towns established by slaves and gained a reputation as a well-known cotton gin area. However, after cotton prices dropped, the town went down with it. High illiteracy and unemployment rates are currently characteristic of Mound Bayou.

Kym fell in love with Mound Bayou after visiting her brother who was completing service work in the area. Several years ago, Kym and Phil started taking teenagers with them during the summer to assist in the service work.

One of the programs Kym is beginning in Mound Bayou is called RE:Direct, an after-school program.

"My goal is to help them get better grades, to get them prepped for ACT and SATs, and hopefully help them find a trade for something where they can go further in their education or career," Kym said.

Kym also plans to provide dinner for the kids, as they usually only receive breakfast and lunch. Along with this, she plans to teach them about family-style dining and table skills.

The C2k ministry also hopes to involve tutors from Delta State University to help with the programs, as well as hopefully start a church on the Delta University campus.

As an added component of C2k ministry, Phil also started an event called "One Church, One God," where teens from all around the Lake Country area get together for one night of worship each quarter. This event typically features a band and speaker, along with testimonials from some of the participants.

The C2k band is involved in bringing awareness to others about this ministry work.

"Music is part of our ministry," Phil said.

Phil and Kym plan to move to Mound Bayou full time Sept. 5 during the school year, and Phil will travel back and forth to stay involved with the C2k band.

WAUKESHA - Finian McCoy will spread folksy, Celtic rock sounds to Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live during a 6:30 p.m. show Friday night at The Steaming Cup, People's Park and Almont Gallery stage.

Band members Ron Kral, Bret Schweitzer and Bob Schellinger formed Finian McCoy after volunteering to play at a church fundraiser event.

"Originally, there were five of us," Kral said. "I think we had three songs, and we played the same one over four times. And I don't think we got it the same each time." All three band members had put their instruments on the back burner for quite a few years, but after the church event, they decided to get together and play more often.

"We all want to be rockstars," Kral said with a laugh.

While Schweitzer consistently plays the bass guitar, Schellinger plays the six- and 12-string electric guitar, as well as the Irish drum. Kral goes back and forth between the bouzouki, penny whistle, Irish wooden flute and the gaita, a Spanish bagpipe.

"We're kind of mixing and matching and bringing in different instruments and songs," Schweitzer said." I think that's what makes it kind of unique. Two of these guys are jumping back and forth between different instruments while we're playing." The band's style is more folksy rock with Celtic influences from Ireland and Scotland.

Kral especially became interested in this style of music after seeing the band the Great Big Sea on PBS. They also draw influence from such groups as Old Blind Dogs and Gaelic Storm, and they refer to their music as "music for your inner leprechaun." "We truly make it our own," Schweitzer said. "Traditional Celtic goes back hundreds of years, and we try and give it more of a modern edge. It's somewhat folksy in a way, but also we try to turn it up and make the tempo a little higher and just make it fun." "I just find the rhythms very unique," Schellinger said. "I've always found the Celtic and Scottish music have a different feel to it. It's got this earthy feel." "None of us are Irish," Kral said. "We just really have a great time with it." In addition to cover music, Finian McCoy also plays its own original music, including a theme song for the Steaming Cup that includes audience participation. They play often at the Steaming Cup, as well as at fundraisers and some community events. Finian McCoy prides itself on its relaxed style.

"We play because it's fun," Kral said. "We don't take ourselves too seriously. There's that one song we continuously mess up, and people get into it. We don't get excited about it. We just say, 'Oh well, we messed that up again.'" "It's nice to get away from some of the other stressors for a while," said Schellinger, whose day job is a family physician. "It's kind of fun to be out there playing and the audience doesn't know I do this as a side thing." This is Finian McCoy's second time performing at WFFNL.

"To see it totally revitalized and see families having a good time is just so much fun," Schellinger said.

WAUKESHA - Ian and the Dream are rockin' and rollin'.

The band was named best Milwaukee band at the Bodog's Battle of the Bands this year, propelling them to larger performances at the Metro and House of Blues, respectively, in Chicago.

Songwriter and guitarist Ian Ash won "top singer" at the Waukesha County Fair last month and opened for the Beach Boys.

Ian and the Dream got the chance to work with Grammy award-winning record producer Stephen Short at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas. Short helped them to hone in on their musical strengths and best songs to develop a self-titled extended-play recording; an EP contains more songs than a single, but less than a full album.

It was those recent experiences that Ian and the Dream hope will propel them toward the ultimate goal of a record deal.

"We want to play as many cities as possible and get our music heard by as many people possible," bassist Chivo said.

"We want it all," Ash added.

Waukesha-area music fans will get a chance to hear the band play at the Rockin' and Poppin' on Broadway stage at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Ian and the Dream all but got their start when Ash and fellow bassist and band member Matt Chivas, better known as Chivo, grew up in the same neighborhood.

"We played basketball together," Chivo said. "And eventually we started playing music together." Ash started playing piano in the second grade and fell in love with The Beatles in the fourth grade, eventually picking up the guitar. Ash and Chivo both attended Waukesha West High School and played a variety of shows and videos at school.

After going their own way for a few years after high school, the two rejoined and went through a couple of different band names before becoming Ian and the Dream in 2008. It's a name that referenced their lifelong dream to play music and make it their livelihoods.

"It became more of a business and less of a hobby," Ash said.

Ian and the Dream play a selection of original music, as well as some cover songs that transverse through time. When they play live, Ash and Chivo are joined by guitarist Blair McLaughlin and drummer Brian Farvour.

Much of their music is influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as The Beatles. Some of their covers include "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones and "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys.

"We try to play everything that's inspired us," Ash said.

Ash and Chivo primarily enjoy performing their original music, written by Ash.

"I've always enjoyed Ian's songs," Chivo said. "He wrote such cool songs, even at a young age." Ash focuses on creating melodic and uplifting music. He ensures that each part of song delivers and consistently carries a melody.

"It's not enough about the melody anymore," Ash said referencing modern music.

It's usually the melody that comes to Ash first and then the lyrics, which usually correspond to issues occurring in his life at that time.

"It's the song that transforms you," Ash said.

WAUKESHA -The voice of award-winning singer and songwriter Becca Richter will fill the streets of Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live at the Allô! Chocolat and K-Love 105.3 stage on Friday night.

Waukesha native Richter has loved music since she can remember, and began taking piano lessons at 5 years old. She also worked hard from a young age to overcome partial hearing loss.

"I didn't let that stop me from singing," Richter said.

When Richter was 7, she wrote her first instrumental song on the piano, and at the age of 12, completed her first piece with lyrics. In addition, Richter performed solos in elementary school and traveled all around the country as part of the Children's Choir of Waukesha. She also picked up the guitar several years ago.

Now 18, Richter carries a hefty list of achievements under her belt, including winning Video of the Year in Season 3 of Teenage Rockstar, which allowed her to travel to Austria and work with the band Papermoon.

After only a couple of guitar lessons, Richter composed the original song "Taken," which earned her the 2009 People's Choice Award at Delafield Idol.

Richter's song "Favorite Place," was the grand prize winner of the 2012 Teen YobiSing contest. She also debuted original music in Nashville, Tenn.

Richter's inspiration for her music comes from life experiences, as well as things she reads or notices around her.

"It just comes to me," Richter said in reference to her songwriting.

Singing within a variety of genres including pop, country, jazz and contemporary Christian, Richter performs at an assortment of venues in the area. She just opened for Craig Morgan at last weekend's Waukesha County Fair Miller Lite Stage.

Her performances include mostly original music along with covers from artists such as Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and even the Beatles. Her first album, "Little Things," debuted this year.

Due to her enormous talent, Richter was awarded the 2012 Distinguished Young Woman of Waukesha, a national scholarship program that honors scholastics, leadership and talent. She also earned a 2012 Wisconsin Area Music Industry "Rising Star" nomination.

"Music is an outlet to express myself," Richter said. "I love being able to share my music with other people." Aside from her musical endeavors, Richter is a worship team leader for Elmbrook Church High School Ministry and Campus Way and served impoverished families on a mission trip to Guatemala, where she wrote the song "You Write My Life Song." She plans to attend college in Mobile, Ala., and earn a degree in worship leadership with an emphasis in music business.

"I hope that my music will take me somewhere, but if that's not in God's plan..." Richter said.

Other WFFNL favorites, El Rey and the NightBeats, as well as Katie Mack and the Moan, will perform for the last time this season at WFFNL.

Anyone in the mood for classic rock and blues can check out the energetic Katie Mack and the Moan on the Magellan's stage, while EL Rey heats it up on the Rockin' & Poppin' on Broadway stage.

WAUKESHA - Some of the world's most famous musicians have taken on a moniker, enjoying the mystique generated by an interesting name.

Sting, of The Police, was born Gordon Sumner, but "Sting" holds much more intrigue. Billie Holliday was born Eleanora Fagan Gough.

"I took the name 'Nitros' from an old blues book," Steve Nitros said.

He said Nitros was the name of a bandleader in New Orleans about 30 years ago.

"A lot of our music comes from Louisiana, Texas, Kansas City, Memphis and Chicago." He leads the Steve Nitros Trio into downtown Waukesha for an appearance at the Magellan's on Main stage at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

Nitros started playing professionally when he was 18 years old, but he had already been playing guitar when he was 5.

"I got serious with my guitar when I was 12 years old," Nitros recalled.

His uncle helped get him a loan for his first guitar, a bass, which he played at the time.

"I purchased a violin-shaped base made by Vox," Nitros said. "Paul McCartney played a similar style bass with the Beatles." The guitar quickly became a fixture in his life: "I'd ride my Stingray bike with my guitar in one hand, holding the handlebar with the other." Born in Milwaukee, his family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and then moved back to the Milwaukee area. Nitros said the music base in Milwaukee is strong and the proximity to Chicago is exciting.

"We're so close to a wonderful musical history in Chicago," he said. "The people here in the Milwaukee area are awesome, very supportive." As a kid, he spent a lot of time playing in garage bands.

"We'd go to someone's garage and jam all day long," Nitros said. "I came up in a poor family, but we always seemed to have a job." He'd also run to his grandparents' house after church and play the music he loved. Once he caught the musical virus bug, Nitros knew there was a slim chance for a cure.

"My dad played at a pizza place in Racine on a regular basis," he said.

"That kept my interest in music."

His father was an engineer who studied at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and played his music on the side.

"He taught me a few things," Nitros smiled.

Nitros is musically trained and versed in theory. "I can play in any key; a lot of guitar players have trouble doing that," he said.

Nitros said he doesn't read music anymore, preferring to "feel" the songs.

"I play a lot of gospel music every weekend at my church," Nitros said.

"It's very gratifying. Everybody from my church is from Mississippi except me. We've got a 5-year-old drummer that's as good as most drummers out there." The Steve Nitros Trio also includes Rex Probe on the bass and Andy Blochowiak on drums, and they've been together for more than 18 months.

"I like a lot of holes in my music," Nitros said. "It gives us room to breathe, not every space is taken up by a note." Nitros said if musicians are too tight it can take away from the spontaneity of the music and detract from the magic.

"Rex is a ball of energy. The only human being on the face of the earth who makes handmade synthesizers. We're lucky to have him," Nitros said.

These days he plays a Fender Telecaster, what he calls a working man's guitar. Some of his musical idols include Les Paul, T-Bone Walker and Jimmy Vaughan.

"I was sitting at the bar in a club about 10 years ago and the bartender told me that was the seat Les Paul used to sit in when he came there. That was special." The band plays mostly blues and some old rock. "We like the upbeat, authentic stuff," Nitros said. "Somebody like Mark Knopfler is amazing. He can just blow your head off, musically speaking." Nitros said he's looking forward to Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

"It's going to be crazy," he said. "An hour and a half outside, then we move inside for another hour and a half. We'll lay our very best music on them."

WAUKESHA When you call up 19 of the most musically talented people you know, you end up with Jazz Express, a 20-member ensemble that will perform at the Waukesha Freeman's Friday Night Live on Friday night.

Glen Lunde, a band founder and spokesperson for Jazz Express, said the group is comprised of trumpets, trombones, a rhythm section, a pianist, a saxophonist and a singer.

"When people hear the force of big band sound, they quickly realize that a power like that can only come from a large group of musicians," Lunde said.

"It's not something you can do with a trio." Lunde has been the lead trombonist and manager of the Jazz Express since 1980, with his roots stretching back to the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha.

"Mark Helgert plays the saxophone with us, and is a conductor and a very fine composer and arranger," Lunde said of one of the founding members.

"Mark Levy, who plays trumpet, were also colleagues." When great music is made together, people often share strong bonds and friendships, something that has taken place here. Those connections translate to the audience.

Jazz is a huge category and can include big-band sounds from the 1940s, bee-bop and swing. "We do have quite a palate of different styles of Jazz," Lunde said. "We cross a lot of borders." Each of the band's sections has a rich sound, he said.

"Many folks know and fell in love with the sounds of Guy Lombardo, Sam Kenton, people who had roots in the '40s." Lunde started playing the trombone when he was in the seventh grade. "It's my instrument," he said with affection.

He went on to study music and became a band director.

"When I was in junior high school in the mid-70s, jazz band was not part of the curriculum like it is today," Lunde said. "I just kept in touch with the sounds through college. Unfortunately, (the) Milwaukee schools have dropped their jazz programs." He said both he and Helgert love playing concerts for schools, both middle and high schools. "He is always contributing more books of music," Lunde said of Helgert.

The band rehearses year-round to keep in tune and for their own enjoyment.

"We're constantly adding new charts to our repertoire," Lunde said.

For those who don't know what a "chart" is, Lunde said it's a song.

"We'll say, "Let's play number 35, which is "In the Mood.'" He said he and his band-mates particularly enjoy playing in Waukesha because "it's nice when you see a lot of local sponsors get involved with music." With such a large contingency of musicians, logistics at the venue can pose a problem on occasion.

"I try to check out the site beforehand," Lunde said. "Sometimes the venue will tell us were in a spot that just can't fit all of us, so we make some adjustments." Lunde has been a music teacher for a long time and said when kids get a taste of their music, they seem to enjoy it. "I see the look on their faces," he said.

Playing a variety of bluegrass and gospel-bluegrass music, the Burie Family includes siblings Bethany, age 19, Rebekah, 17, Joe, 15, and Nathaniel, 13, as well as their mother, Tiffany, occasionally on vocals, Neil Greenwald on the banjo and dobro and father John Burie handling sound.

The group began singing at nursing homes with their mom, who played on guitar along with them.

"We took the kids to a bluegrass festival at the Washington County Fairgrounds several years ago and they listened to the music and saw the people singing, and they said, 'We want to do that,'" Tiffany said.

The Burie children were very young at the time, but they were already starting to learn classical instruments.

"We worked on singing at home, and some of the kids had taken private lessons on their bluegrass instruments and some of them kind of just picked it up," Tiffany said.

In the early years, the Burie family continued to perform just at nursing homes and in front of family members and friends. At one specific family gathering, the family set up a stage for the children to do their first real stage performance.

Then about four years ago, they had their first public performance at an antique car show.

Throughout the last four years, the Burie family's fame has grown. They earned a 2011 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Bluegrass Band of the Year nomination and Christian/Gospel Artist of the Year in 2012.

They are also a favorite at the KSMU Youth in Bluegrass competition for the past couple years at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., and they are continuously invited back to the East Troy Bluegrass Festival.

"We look at this whole musical entity as from the Lord," Tiffany said. "Our main goal is to inspire other people and put a smile on their face for an hour or so." The band began to write its own music over the last couple of years and will release a new album Saturday with partially original songs. Rebekah, who plays the fiddle, and Bethany on the guitar and mandolin, write the majority of their original tunes, while Nathaniel, who plays mandolin, guitar and banjo, has lent a hand in some of the original instrumental composition Bethany started writing about two years ago and draws inspiration from different people in her life or just strangers she passes on the road, as well as objects that surround her. "Old Wooden Cross" is an original song on their new album.

Her most influential inspiration, though, is from the Lord.

"It's the best inspiration you can get," Bethany said.

Bethany cherishes the moments when listeners come up to the band after a set and tell them that their songs cheered them up or made a difference.

"I love just seeing how our music affects people," Bethany said. "You can see it on their faces when we play." Nathaniel and bassist Joe really enjoy being able to travel throughout the Midwest.

"It's a lot of fun because we get to see a lot of places and meet a lot of really great people," Nathaniel said.

And of course, what could be better than playing with family?

"It's uplifting and it kind of holds the family together a lot," Joe said.

WAUKESHA - Vitrolum Republic, a band with no specific category and a language of its own, will perform on the Steaming Cup, People's Park and Almont Gallery stage on Friday night at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

Although listeners may hear hints of classically infused folk music in the band's original songs, said band members Nick and Jordan Waraksa, Chuck Lawton and Benjamin Schaefer, they just love doing what they do and playing what they want to hear.

"Categorizing our music is not something we like to do," violinist and guitarist Jordan Waraksa said.
 

Starting young

Brothers Nick and Jordan grew up playing together and hold degrees from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, as well as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"About six years ago, we started writing our own music," said Nick Waraksa, the group's piano and accordion player. "We grew up taking lessons our whole life, and eventually we just wanted to make it our own." Eventually bassist Lawton joined the band, and the addition of percussionist Schaefer has put the group in a whole new direction.

Vitrolum Republic earned awards at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, as well as at the Milwaukee 48-hour film festival.

"When we come together as a group to write music, we don't look to particular genres of music to decide how we're going to arrange something or what chords we're going to use," Lawton said. "We don't box ourselves in. We look at what's going to be right for this song or these lyrics."
 

Behind the music

Unlike other bands, Vitrolum Republic doesn't just draw inspiration from other artists and bands. They draw inspirations from different instruments they pick up or videos they've seen.

"Inspiration comes from so many different sources. I think inspiration for an output of music can come from visuals," Jordan said. "We try to also give some imagery and visuals with the music we make." Jordan and Nick write the first draft of many of the band's original songs.

After they bring them to the band, the songs evolve in new and interesting ways, both on stage and off.

"There's a lot of improvisation with our tunes," Jordan said. "They're open-ended with some of the instrumentals that we have in different parts of the songs. If we're just going out there playing the same thing, it's not exciting, and it's not fun." One of their newest tunes is written for people in Milwaukee and carries a "you've-gotta-bring-it-to-find" theme. It's titled "Don Pravotchka," a made up word from the band.

"It's the language of the Vitrolum Republic," the band said with a laugh.
 

What's in a name

The word "Vitrolum" is also a word the band created to represent a "conduit of expression," and the addition of the word "republic" adds a communal feeling to the band.

Nick Waraska noted that the communal feeling is especially evident when performing live and the whole band creates something on the spot and speaks its own language, forming a connection.

"There's this amazingness, when we're all in tune with each other," Lawton said. "And that's something you can't rehearse.

Vitrolum Republic performs at a variety of venues.

"We're always chasing the unique experience," Lawton said, citing their recent performance at Gesu Cathedral in Milwaukee.

WAUKESHA - Singer Kim Marie will dazzle Waukesha with her talented voice Friday night on the Mia's stage at Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

Marie began honing her singing skills as a child, performing on amateur television shows as well as in variety shows at her high school.

Since high school, Marie has performed at different venues and shows across the country including Las Vegas, New York, Florida and, of course, different local venues around the Waukesha and Milwaukee areas.

One of Marie's favorite singing experiences was singing with a band called the Legends in Waukesha. She also credits one of her most valuable and memorable musical endeavors to working with famous Italian-born jazz saxophone player Vido Musso in Las Vegas.

"He really helped get my music going," Marie said.

Marie prides herself on music from country to pop to rock 'n' roll to jazz.

"I just love all kinds of music," Marie said. "I do every venue except opera." One example of Marie's classic rock covers is "Dancing in the Streets." She also sings covers from Wynona Judd and Reba McIntyre, as well as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Marie loves singing music that people can always enjoy, even selections that are more soft and mellow.

"Just singing a variety of music pleases a lot of people's ears," Marie said.

Marie sings with several shows in the Orlando and Ocala area in Florida, as well as her band the Oldies But Goodies Spectacular, a Milwaukee-area 10-piece rhythm and blues and old rock horn band.

According to Chuck Travis, one of the three Oldies But Goodies singers, a horn band includes trumpet, saxophone and trombone players in addition to other more common band instruments, as well as several front singers.

Travis has been singing with Marie since 1974 and described her as a "colorful" person with a great voice.

"She can sing every artist there ever was," Travis said.

Marie has been doing karaoke at Mia's for years and made her debut at WFFNL last year. Marie loved the outdoor setting and ambience of WFFNL.

"I love the town and the businesses," Marie said.

WAUKESHA Longtime Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live musician Peter Llanas performs at the Rockin' and Poppin' on Broadway stage at 6:30 p.m.

Friday night in Waukesha.

Llanas has been performing at the Rockin' and Poppin' on Broadway stage since the very beginning of WFFNL, both under his own name, as well as with the band The Notebenders.


Peter Llanas will perform at the Rockin’ and Poppin’
on Broadway stage Friday.

"He has been my rock since I have started WFFNL, and (he) still continues to be a big part of it," said Katheryn Garcia, owner of Poppin' on Broadway.

"If it was not for him, I may not have 'tried' for the WFFNL stage. Man, I was so nervous with the first one, (but) he coasted me right, though. Ever since then, he is the No. 1 band that plays on the Rockin' & Poppin' stage." Llanas came from a musical family and got his start with music at a young age, taking guitar lessons from Floyd Jester in Waukesha around the age of 8.

"He (Jester) really taught me a lot of different things," Llanas said.

Llanas would get together with other local guys who played and formed neighborhood bands. He was able to get jobs playing at high school dances and eventually gained more gigs throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois with the use of booking agencies.

"I got to see a lot of different venues and clubs," Llanas said. "It really expands your knowledge." Llanas plays at a variety of venues, as well as in different groups. He belongs to a four-piece electric band called the Notebenders along with Dennis Stevens, Lorrenzo Ripani and Jeff Moylan, who will also play at WFFNL this summer.

Additionally, he plays in an acoustic group called Rosewood and Steel, and performs solo at venues such as Heaven City in Mukwonago.

On Friday, Llanas will perform on guitar and harmonica along with JP Slater and Dennis Stevens. They will play folk and ballad songs, along with some country rock selections from Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and the Byrds.

"I enjoy playing that kind of music," Llanas said. "Those are the original songwriters, the rock icons." The Notebenders also have a few of their own CDs that include originals influenced by blues and rock, as well as some of their favorite covers.

WFFNL continues to draw Llanas back for the fun family-friendly atmosphere.

"We have small kids just having a gas in front of us dancing and twirling," Llanas said. "And the parents love watching." Llanas considers music his "therapy" in life and is so thankful to all of the people he's played with in the past, as well the club owners who have asked him to perform. According to Llanas, his life is a musical a journey that is constantly evolving.

By Shannon Venegas
Special to TimeOut
06/07/2012

WAUKESHA Local "American Idol" contestant Scott Dangerfield and his fellow band members of Crash County take the stage outside of the Steaming Cup for the second week of Waukesha's Freeman Friday Night Live.

The band originated in the Green Bay area and eventually moved down to the Milwaukee-Waukesha area to attend college at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Carroll University, respectively.

The members of Crash County have been together for seven years, but only three of the years has the band been under the current name. According to Dangerfield, they produced two albums under their original name Hillcrest Road.

The band split up for a short period of time, but came back together with a new sound and new strength. Along with Dangerfield and Bartel, Crash County includes drummer Patrick Gonyo, and guitarists Jacob Brenwall and Aaron Cox.

"We reformed our music in a big way," Dangerfield said." Dangerfield writes the majority of the songs, but the band members all get together and bounce ideas off each other in a way that Dangerfield described as "creative and constructive." Their originals include everything from love songs to break-up songs, to songs that address serious issues.

"We are first and foremost an original band," Bartel said.

However, due to Milwaukee's high demand for cover bands, Crash County also does a number of cover songs during its performances, including hits from Queen, Bruno Mars, Stevie Wonder, the Black Keys and the Temptations.

"We transverse through genres and times," Dangerfield said.

Dangerfield's publicity with "American Idol" helped the band gain new momentum.

"I come from a very musical family," Dangerfield said. "I grew up singing.

We would all sing together at family gatherings." He tried out in Season 10 of "Idol," but decided to drop out to finish his student teaching for college at UWM. In season 11, Dangerfield continued on into the top 42.

"We built a pretty big following," Dangerfield said, noting fans in different areas of the world, namely the Phillippines.

Bartel said the band really carries a solid chemistry that is evident at their performances.

"We bring a high energy when we perform," Bartel said. "We're very well received." "We take ourselves very seriously," said Dangerfield, who added that Crash County has played at a variety of venues, including the Milwaukee Ale House, acoustic shows at the Steaming Cup and a halftime show for the Milwaukee Mustangs.

Crash County plans to release a debut album, "Home," at WFFNL on Friday and the Milwaukee Ale House on Saturday.