-----------Cover Story • Rage on the River ---------- Rock on the Water By Chris Hupe for their upcoming sophomore effort, tenta- tively scheduled for an early 2012 release. In As you walk through the city, you can a recent interview with Revolver magazine, feel the anticipation. Hale said, “The new songs sound amazing! No, it’s not anticipation for the upcom- We’re experimenting with different guitar ing football season, although that anticipa- tones and pushing ourselves outside of our tion is obviously sweeping through the city comfort zones so there will be many weird as well. The anticipation we’re talking about is for the Rage on the River all-day concert at HALESTORM Headwaters Park on August 20. Sponsored by the soon-to- be-opened downtown club New York, New York, Rage on the ---------------- Feature • The Tossers --------------- River features six national rock bands along with one nationally known local band and two local bands with a lot of upside po- tential. It’s a full day’s worth of rock worthy of cities twice the size of Fort Wayne, but taking place right here in our own com- munity and without that dreaded A Side of Brogue two-hour commute home. According to event organiz- By Mark Hunter Though not really looking for a replace- er Dino Zurzulo, one of the great ment on the violin, Pawula said he and his things about Rage on the River If you like your music fast and furious bandmates had just finished a gig in Madi- is that it’s not just another rock with a side of brogue and maybe a whiskey son, Wisconsin and were at a party when a concert; it actually fills a need. or two, then The Tossers are the band for student from the University of Wisconsin “There haven’t been any rock you. Hailing from the Irish neighborhoods introduced herself. shows scheduled downtown for dotting Chicago’s south side, The Tossers “We met her and everyone liked her,” he a long time. We thought there pile traditional Irish music into a blender, said. “We weren’t really holding auditions, should be. We have Country toss in healthy dollops of punk and rock and but she told us she was a fiddler and we Fest, tribute bands and the oc- hit puree. What pours out is a flavorful con- asked to come on down and play. She really casional rap or hip-hop show coction that will surely get your feet moving worked out well.” downtown, but rock seems to in ways you didn’t think possible. Rebecca Manthe, now in her ninth year have been missing for a while. The Tossers bring their Celtic/punk fu- We wanted to fill that void and sion to the Botanical Roots Outdoor Con- THE TOSSERS at the same time give people an- cert Series Friday, August 19. Local Celtic/ w/The Staggerers other reason to punkers The Staggerers open. come downtown Named for the Shakespeare-era term for Friday, Aug. 19 • 8:30 p.m. for a day.” RAGE ON THE RIVER little nuances “throw-away” (the word also means com- Foellinger-Freimann This isn’t feat. HALESTORM, SICK PUPPIES, and surprises mode, drunk or the bunk British currency Botanical Conservatory Zurzulo’s first ALL THAT REMAINS, NONPOINT, for you!” the Irish rejected after their independence shot at present- As for a cov- in the 1920s), The Tossers got their start in 1100 S. Calhoun St., Fort Wayne ing a rock show. POWERMAN 5000 & REDLIGHT KING ers album being Chicago in 1992 when lifelong pals Tony Tix: $6, children under 12 free He also runs the w/Downstait, Kill the Rabbit & Soma released so early Duggins, who plays mandolin and sings, Original Beer into their career, and Bones, the band’s drummer, decided with adult, 260-427-6440 Tent on Colum- Saturday, Aug. 20 • 12:00 p.m. Hale says it’s to team up. They quickly pulled in bass/ac- bia Street that Headwaters Park, Fort Wayne all part of the cordion player Dan Shaw and began playing with The Tossers, is the only member of the brought Egypt Tix: $25 thru Ticketmaster and process for the bars and other venues around Chicago. band without Irish roots. Aaron Duggins, tin Central, Rico- band. “They just started playing out wherev- whistler and brother of Tony, rounds out the chet and several Boudoir Noir “It’s amaz- er they could,” guitar player Mike Pawula lineup. The band used to have a banjo player others into an ing how much told me in a recent phone interview. “They too, but he left to start a family. outdoor setting last year. This is the basi- you grow as a musician and a songwriter played some all-ages clubs and eventually The Tossers are often linked with other cally same thing but on a much larger scale. by learning some of the greatest songs ever got more and more exposure.” Celtic/punk/folk bands such as Flogging “We’re going to have vendors, food and written. What I’m applying to our new re- The band released a couple of tapes (as Molly, Dropkick Murphys and The Popes, booths to create a festival-type atmosphere,” cord is the resistance to settling and the in cassette tapes, for those of you too young bands that came along after The Tossers. Zurzulo said. “It’s an all-ages event, so we confidence in knowing that there really is to recall such ancient technology) in ’94 and Pawula said The Tossers’ version of Celtic/ want there to be something for everyone to no limit to how much you can actually pull ’95, when they signed with Thick Records, a punk is more roots-based than those other do. It’s not just a beer tent. It’s one of the off.” Chicago label. bands. “When it comes down to it we could biggest parties of the summer.” Though no new songs are likely to be Pawula, who joined in 1999, said the play everything like the traditional music. Headlining the event are Fort favor- played at this show, you can count on Hale years between the band’s formation and We are more in line with traditional Irish ites Halestorm. Hailing from Pennsylvania, bringing one of the best voices in rock to the roughly 2002 saw a number of lineup fluctu- music than some of the other bands. We feel Lzzy Hale and company have played Fort stage and melting many faces while she belts ations. “There have been a lot of life changes very true to it, but, of course, we let our own Wayne several times, even before the release out “I Get Off,” “It’s Not You” and possibly in the last 18 years,” he said. “People started influences permeate what we do.” of their 2009 self-titled debut album. Now Skid Row’s “Slave to the Grind.” families, moved, that sort of thing. But since In 2007, they opened for The Pogues on touring in support of their live CD/DVD, Also on the bill are All That Remains, about 2002 the lineup has been the same. St. Patrick’s Day in New York City. But the Live in Philly, and their EP of cover songs fresh off their Piere’s appearance opening That’s when our violin player left and we called ReAnimate, Halestorm continue to got a fiddler.” Continued on page 8 grow their fan base and build anticipation Continued on page 27 August 11, ’11 ------------------------------------------------------------------ www.whatzup.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------5 Wooden Nickel -----------------------------------------Spins --------------------------------------- CD of the Week John Minton $9.99 The Hills Are in Bloom BACKTRACKS Melvins $4.99 I have a very long and extensive love for metal, so when I first popped Bullhead (1991) in The Hills Are in Bloom, the CD from Indiana University professor From the opening riffs in “Boris,” John Minton, I thought, “Oh boy. an- you stumble and crawl around this au- other boring bluegrass disc.” But my dio battlefield for eight minutes trying early childhood ears were saturated to figure out who they sound like. Is it with bluegrass and country music, Sabbath or a slowed-down version of and I have a very open mind, so I gave it a shot. I’m glad I did. The Deep Purple? It doesn’t matter; most Hills Are in Bloom is a very polished production, and John Minton Melvin fans don’t care if you can’t fit them into a genre. I don’t is a masterful songwriter/lyricist with a grand vision and killer sense think it matters to the band either. of humor. The CD is loaded with lots of witty phrases and one-liners Formed in the mid-80s, these were the guys who started the throughout. grunge revolution in the northwest United States. Bullhead, their On this, his third solo album, Minton takes everyday, mundane third release on Boner Records featured Dale Crover on drums, ELEPHANTS IN MUD subject matter and crafts it into something fun and, at times, a bit Roger ‘Buzz’ Osborne on guitars and vocals and Lori ‘Lorax’ unusual. He spins every track on the disc into a short story that can Black on the bass. About the record: it’s really, really good. After HOW THE HELL ARE YOU? easily be played out and seen in the mind’s eye – kind of like a little “Boris” you are treated to the usual two- to four-minute Melvins Elephants in Mud play a brand of music movie. Minton covers everything from DUI’s to greed to heartbreak songs that you are more accustomed to.