I recently reviewed the excellent CD, American Anthems, Vol. 1 from The Milwaukees. If you haven’t had a chance to give the band a listen, they are making it easy. For the month of October, if you visit their website and sign up for their mailing list, they will direct you to a page where you can download three free songs. I loved this CD and highly recommend any fans of rock to give them a try.
From my review that appears here on Blogcritics: “The Milwaukees are a rarity in the modern music scene, a genuine rock and roll band. American Anthems is the band’s latest, and easily one of the best records of the year. Being known as one of the best live bands in Jersey brings up the inevitable comparisons to The E Street band, but while the Milwaukees may show some of the influence of The Boss, they are far too good to be any kind of imitation. This is a great sounding, straight-up rock album, eschewing any kind of preachy wordplay or faddish message-driven lyrics.”
Sure, they might not be making the same splash as Radiohead with the free-Internet music thing, but The Milwaukees are looking to harness the power of marketing without bowing to the big record companies. The band’s guitarist, Jeff Norstedt, founded his own record label, City Desk Records, to release Anthems.
With their own label the band can focus on connecting with fans and developing a durable career, rather that cranking out schlock and moving units. And when you listen to their self-produced CD, with production values far above many major label releases, you know these guys are serious about their music. The Milwaukees / City Desk Records philosophy is simple: keep growing the fan base and good things will happen with or without the help of “the industry.”
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