Wooldridge Brothers

Milwaukee’s historic Turner Hall Ballroom is an ample old barn right across the street from the Bradley Center, home of the Milwaukee Bucks. This is not Chicago: Parking in several nearby lots goes for just $5.

Turner Hall Ballroom dates from the late 1800s, with warped old wooden stairs leading to the second-floor showplace. General admission seating is at candlelit cabaret tables in the front half, folding chairs in the back half. We sat in the front row of those, and the sound was less than ideal — a bit muddy and boomy, making lyrics and staccato notes difficult to pick out.

The show started promptly at 9 p.m., kind of late for a Thursday night, with the Wooldridge Brothers opening. A great warmup for Alejandro, the six-piece band played a 40-minute set, building nicely to some rocking numbers at the end, bringing the crowd to its feet with Brian Wooldridge’s Telecaster incisions that can rip like Bruce Springsteen and ripple like Dick Dale.

The crowd was primarily white college kids in their fifties, wearing jeans and casual fashions with gray ponytails and wrinkles, and watching carefully for that step on the way to the restroom lest they fall and break a hip. At one point in his show, Alejandro mentioned that his 18-year-old son says he plays “old man’s music … old music for old people,” and we all chuckled uncomfortably at the youngster’s nerve. - MarkCZ.com blog

The music played in Milwaukee and Brian Scott Wooldridge in the nineties a prominent role as the "Wooldridge Brothers. They released three albums and played on almost all festivals in the surrounding neighborhood. The brothers began to act as a duo after the previous band The Squares' which they belonged had gone on the rocks.

For their sound, they created a blend of Americana, pop and rock, and they reflected on musical examples like The Jayhawks, Wilco, Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. Their first album was "Star of Desire" in 1996, followed by "Uncovering The Sun" in 1998. Both records could count on a wide interest of music critics but real success was anyway.

The brothers decided a few years to slow down and to look at their family life to concentrate. Scott moved to Minneapolis and even Brian was left alone in Milwaukee. But at the end of 2008 they decided that long between songs written and they continue to work on a new album to make.

Their newest release is called "Days Went Around" and it's their first studio album after a 10 year long period of absolute silence. The CD is in their own words from pop songs in a pub alt.countrykleedje. Fourteen songs that we sometimes to group "Teenage Fanclub" to think and more often actually 'The Proclaimers', that other pair of brothers from Scotland. Besides Scott and Brian Wooldridge Dave Braun also plays drums too, adding to the existing Julie Straszewski female backing vocals.

In the opener rotcommerciële "Thumbs" swinging the brothers like the plague on the organ played by guest musician riedeltjes Peter Holsapple. Chris Stamey of the band "The dB's" provides backing vocals on the rocking song "Desiree" and he also plays various instruments along with the song "Coffee Spoons.

In "This Rain" sounds the harmonious singing as something that comes from the "Everly Brothers" and show the Wooldridge Brothers vocal that they well may come out of the corner. The songs "Hey" and "The Last Word" at the end of this CD were created in 2004 but remained unfinished until after the recording of this album.

When the brothers' Caledonia Creek "and" A Night Like This "start to sing it seems like the Finn brothers of 'Crowded House' these songs for their album have yielded. The accordion plays a very catchy tune with the beautiful song "Your Habit '.

It will thus be clear enough that we essentially failed to make even a weak song on this album to discover. In that case, we also speak of a strong CD and hope it does not need 10 years before we work on more of the Wooldridge Brothers can count.
- Rootstime.be

The Wooldridge brothers, Scott and Brian wrote all the songs for their album Days Went Around itself and then made a plate somewhere between pop and rock inhangt, with surf guitars and country-influenced. Solid Americana with an emphasis on pop. It all sounds nice and punchy, energetic and fresh. The brothers had previously been a musical career that has stagnated for a time. After ten years it started itching again, and this is the infectious outcome. The brothers sing, play guitar, mandolin, keyboards and percussion, and they invited some guest players such as Chris Stamey (the dB's) and Peter Holsapple (organ and piano Thumbs). Nice songs, well played, and also after each spin in turn better. Excellent idea, the Wooldridge Brothers, the studio back in diving. - Moors Magazine - The Netherlands

The Wooldridge Brothers are no amateurs, by listening to their latest and 4th album "Days went around" great artists like Counting Crows, Crowded House and The Wallflowers comes to mind and you could be compared to a lot more worse artists. The style can be described as Americana mixed with roots rock and California pop, this album is quite good and songs like "A night like this", "Hey", "Thumbs" and "Connecting to Aphrodite" are warm and super melodic. Check out the free download of the non album track "American luck" at their website. - melodic.net

MIDTFJORD RADIO GREAT COUNTRY - Wooldridge Brothers*--- Thumbs*
Songriver, Omroep IJssel-mond 104.1 FM Netherlands - This Rrain – Wooldridge Brothers – Media Creature.
Radio Compagnie 105.2FM - The Wooldridge Brothers * A night like this * Media Creature Music
Radio RheinWelle Germany 92.5 Wiesbaden - This Rain ** Wooldridge Brothers ** Media Creature
K103 - Göteborgs Studentradio - 103,1 MHz - Götabergsgatan 17 - The Last Word - Woolridge Brothers
RADIOGIRL on Dollard Radio - Oldambt, The Netherlands - Wooldridge Brothers w/ Chris Stamey, "Coffee Spoons"; Days Went Around
ELECTRIC BOOGIE SHOW Episode 153 En El Cementerio - WOOLDRIDGE BROTHERS - Thumbs ['Days Went Around' Media Creature Music]
Playlist Blueprint 479 / Radio Parkstad / The Netherlands - Wooldridge Brothers – Caledonia Creek – Days Went Around
Countrymusic24 Radio - Berlin, Germany - WOOLDRIDGE BROTHERS --- "Desiree"
Days Want Around --- (Wooldridge Brothers)
Playlist Songriver 104.1 FM (prt 256) 22 October 2010 - This Rain – Wooldridge Brothers – Media Creature
Playlist Songriver 104.1 (prt 255) 15 October 2010 - Caledonia creek – Wooldridge Brothers – Media Creature
Euro Americana Chart - Member of the Dutch Roots Radio Ring - 7. Woolridge Brothers- This rain- days went around
RADIOGIRL on Dollard Radio - Oldambt, The Netherlands - Wooldridge Brothers w/ Chris Stamey, "Coffee Spoons"; Days Went Around

- Peter Holmstedt Hemifran

dawn@thepresshouse.com
The Press House
302 Bedford Ave. #13
Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.thepresshouse.com - Dawn Kamerling

Tom Hallett, formerly music editor of Pulse of the Twin Cities, has continued to write about the Twin Cities music scene on his Round the Dial blog on MySpace. The entire review can be found at his site, but a few quotes are below.
Here’s the summary:

“A brilliantly cohesive, perfectly-produced batch of instantly-memorable songs that, despite the length of the album, positively begs for repeated plays- and one that's undeniably meant to be listened to in the spirit of old-school vinyl releases: Start at track one, let the album roll, rinse with your beverage of choice, and REPEAT! Essential listening.”

Also – and this is my favorite part of any review yet released—

"‘Does She Love Me Loud’ is the obvious radio pick here—an uncharacteristic, raw slice of brutally honest rock n' roll salaciousness, the song stands out from the rest of the album like a shadowy, horny alley-punk in a crowd of skinny tie-wearing new romantics. It's no exaggeration to say the average casual listener would be hard put to figure ‘DSLML’ was written and performed by the same band that penned ‘Thumbs’ and ‘Coffee Spoons.’

“This inherent ability to suddenly morph from a silver-tongued, harmony-heavy pop group into a lethal, growling hoodlum garage band is one of the most inspiring, refreshing twists to come down the musical pike since the glory days of bands like the dB's themselves.”
- Tom Hallett

They live in different states, and they're coming off a 10-year layoff, but the Wooldridge Brothers are back with a new album and set to play the biggest concert of their careers Friday at the Turner Hall Ballroom.

In the '90s, Brian and Scott Wooldridge were among the most successful music acts on the Milwaukee scene. They were featured artists on the local Don't Records label, recorded a series of critically respected albums and kicked up a little national dust, landing tunes on several TV series including "Party of Five," "The Young and the Restless" and "Nearly Famous." Their stuff even showed up belatedly on several episodes of Anna Nicole Smith's reality series. They found a place on the Bruce Springsteen tribute disc, "One Step Up, Two Steps Back," and were compared respectfully with such jangly brethren as the Jayhawks.

But then, as it so often does, life intervened. Don't Records folded. Scott moved up to Minneapolis, while Brian stayed in Milwaukee. Both men started families and day jobs outside the music business. After '98, there were no new albums. But there were new songs - we just didn't hear them.

"We always continued to write songs, but our focus was on our families," Brian says over coffee. "We didn't have a band, but we liked the new songs. We felt it was time to start again. Everybody was potty trained."

So it took a couple of years to put together, but now there is a new album, "Days Went Around;" a new publishing deal; a new band; and the high-profile gig at Turner Hall with Texas friend and former Milwaukee resident Michelle Anthony. (After Scott packed off to Minnesota, Brian spent some time playing bass for Anthony.)

The new disc was recorded locally at The Exchange and Remote Planet with mixing help from Chris Stamey and Ric Probst.

The early radio reaction from RadioMilwaukee 88Nine and WMSE-FM (91.7) has been positive, and with a new publishing deal with the Los Angeles-based Media Creature, there's hope of getting back into TV and the movies. If the Turner gig goes well, the brothers hope to nab some festival work this summer.

"I guess my goal would be to get the album to the world," Brian says, "establish a niche like the John Hiatts of the world. Get the music on films and TV. My goal is to have a bigger artist cover one of the songs."

http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/40514237.html - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Wooldridge Brothers were one of Milwaukee's popular alternative bands from the early '90s. They have returned with a superb new album filled with witty and evocative lyrics and tuneful melodies embedded in solid arrangements. Some of the music seems grounded in the roots of alt-country or influenced by new-wave pop. Mostly it can only be called good song-driven rock. Several tracks reflect on time's passage. "Thumbs" playfully expresses frustration with a younger lover who communicates through texting. "Connecting to Aphrodite" looks sadly into the loneliness and lust of cybersex. Along with familiar local guest stars, Days Went Around includes contributions by Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple of the great lost '80s band The dBs.

The Wooldridge Brothers' CD release party takes place March 6 at Turner Hall Ballroom. Michelle Anthony and Mike Benign will open.

http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5689-wooldridge-brothers.html - Express Milwaukee

If it has been nearly a decade since the last Wooldridge Brothers album, then it seems like it's been nearly a lifetime since the duo relocated to Milwaukee from Kokomo, Ind., to form The Squares, the noted jangle-pop band that was an East Side presence in the late-'80s.

These days Scott Wooldridge lives in Minnesota, which makes for a long commute, but he and brother Brian nonetheless recently released the album Days Went Around. Friday's CD-release gig at the Turner Hall Ballroom found an expanded lineup onstage before a packed house, as the Brothers played a set top-loaded with songs from the new album.

Opening with Scott's meditation on texting-madness, "Thumbs," they would later address lust and longing in virtual reality with "Connecting to Aphrodite." Yet for the modern subject matter, the Wooldridge Brothers' strength always lay in their heartland rock and in Scott's timeless songwriting. Charged by the twin telecaster twang of Brian and Jeff Benske, the guitars offered a wide range of dynamics, from Benske's volume swells on "Coffee Spoons" to his ripping solos on "This Rain" and Brian's sci-fi effects on "The Jungle."

Peaking with an anthemic version of "Last Man Standing," the muscular rhythm section of Jack Rice on bass and Scott Gorsuch (late of the Carolinas) on drums shone brilliantly, while Julie Straszewski-Wooldridge added vocal counterpoint and percussion and Matt Meixner keyboards.For their finale the band welcomed back openers Mike Benign and Michelle Anthony for a courageous reading of John Lennon's "Instant Karma."

http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5784-the-wooldridge-brothers-a-turner-hall-ballroom.html - Express Milwaukee

In the mid-1990s, the Wooldridge Brothers parlayed their unique blend of jangly alt-country and rootsy, guitar-driven pop into extensive regional radio exposure and musical appearances in numerous films and TV shows. By combining tight, hooky melodies and sharp, introspective lyrics, Brian and Scott Wooldridge carved out a niche alongside fellow Milwaukee legends like the Violent Femmes and the BoDeans. Though the brothers continued writing after Scott moved to Minneapolis in 1998, Days Went Around is their first album in several years. The album, featuring some of the siblings’ most shimmering songwriting to date, is at its best when Scott and Julie Straszewski Wooldridge team up to deliver breathtaking vocal harmonies on gems like the hopelessly optimistic “This Rain� and the road-weary “The Last Word.� This taut, mature exposition of alternative pop subtlety at once evokes nostalgia for the Femmes era and adds an impressive chapter to this one. (Kevin Kosterman)

http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/insider/default.asp?newmessageid=24604 - Milwaukee Magazine

The Wooldridge Brothers enjoyed an album perfect storybook beginning. Brothers Brian and Scott moved from Indiana to Milwaukee after hearing about the city’s vibrant music scene, and quickly garnered major label success at Windswept Pacific/EMI in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. That included several highly praised albums, and several songs placed in films like Contact and TV shows like “Party of Five” and “The Anna Nicole Show.”


Like a lot of bands, though, they found that level of success hard to maintain. While it hasn’t discouraged them from making music, busy lives, family commitments and Scott’s move to Minneapolis have made it tougher for the two to get together, and thus a special treat when they do.


These days the brothers have more modest goals—regional airplay, successful shows, and making good music—but above all they want to reap the most returns possible with each decision.


So when it came to finding a place to release their split vinyl single, featuring The Wooldridge Brothers’ “Drive Through Summer” off their forthcoming album set for release later this year and “Winter’s Walk” off singer Scott Wooldridge’s solo album released in January, they picked Anodyne Coffee to play one of the venue’s free “Sweet 16” birthday music events.


“We wanted to do something different this time,” Brian says. “We want the bigger bang for our buck. I like supporting the small business guys that are really trying to do something in Milwaukee, much like myself.”


The joint single is part of their multi-faceted Kickstarter project, which helped fund both the new Wooldridge Brothers album and Scott’s solo album. The first batch of Wooldridge Brothers songs were produced by John Munson, best known as a member of Minneapolis bands Trip Shakespeare and Semisonic. They also worked on songs in Milwaukee and Rockford, Ill.


While they recorded their previous album, 2009’s Days Went Around, as a duo with a hired drummer, Brian says they wanted to “do something more as a band” this time. The band also features Scott Gorsuch, Brian’s wife Julie Straszewski Wooldridge and Jack Rice.


“It’s not going to be your standard Wooldridge Brothers affair type record,” Brian says. “We’ve been classified as this jangly pop, R.E.M.-type band. We like R.E.M. and come from world of Big Star, but this album will have a hint of us paying respect to our roots from some of the bands we love from the ‘60s, like The Kinks and The Beatles. It’s definitely a rock album and full band. It’s a different kind of outing for the Wooldridge Brothers and I think people will be pleasantly surprised.”


The Wooldridge Brothers album will be more electric and rocking than Scott’s more singer-songwriter oriented record, but both share similar themes.


“I think the common theme between the two albums is the experience of getting older; looking both backward and forward to the different parts of life,” Scott says. “And I think there’s a fair amount of social commentary going on in my songs.”


Juggling a solo career and the band has been an “interesting challenge,” Scott says, but he’s enjoying participating in projects with different musical identities.


“If you listen to the joint single, for example, you’ll hear a much higher production level on the WBs song, while the Trio song is more raw and live-sounding. I think it’s a nice contrast,” he says.


The Wooldridge Brothers play a free show Thursday, Aug. 6 at Anodyne Coffee, 224 W Bruce St. Copies of the 7” blue vinyl single are available at Brenner Brewing and will be on sale at the show. - Shepherd Express

Just a few months after frontman Scott Wooldridge issued his solo debut, his fraternal band, The Wooldridge Brothers, has a new blue vinyl 7" 45 out and is embarking on a mini tour of Wisconsin.

The tour kicks off Thursday, Aug. 6 at Anodyne Coffee in Walker's Point. The free show is part of Anodyne's Sweet 16 birthday music series. For Scott and Brian Wooldridge, the gig is the first of three in a row in the Badger State.

The band plays McAuliffe's on the Square in Racine on Friday, Aug. 7, and two performances Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Mile of Music Festival in Appleton.

Why the flurry of gigs for a band that due to geographical challenges – Scott lives in Minneapolis, Brian in Milwaukee – and rarely plays even two in a row?

"I booked the Mile of Music show early on and I thought it would be fun to play Milwaukee the night before," says Brian Wooldridge. "When I called Anodyne that Friday was already booked but they offered the Thursday – the start of their Sweet 16 series. I thought (opener) Adam (Levy) would be fun, so I pinged him and he was up for it. Racine just fell in there nicely with the help of Paddy Fineran.

"It all came together with the single being released in July."

The single features a breezy a-side – "Drive Through Summer" – produced by John Munson (Trip Shakespeare and Semisonic bassist) with its season counterpoint "Winter's Walk," a solo performance by Scott – on the flip. - onmilwaukee.com

If any Minneapolis record-store clerk and not Jack Black had taught “School of Rock,” then Wednesday’s concert at First Avenue would have been the ultimate class – and the movie might have been called “Higher Fidelity.”

The group onstage was billed as Big Star Third, featuring the lone surviving member of the 1970s cult heroes Big Star, some indie rock all-stars and several Minnesota favorites playing Big Star’s “Third,” its obscure but beloved 1974 chamber pop album in its entirety. And, for good measure, the ensemble delivered selections from Big Star’s 1972 debut “#1 Record.”

What looked like a music geek’s dream actually turned out to be a musically triumphant evening.

“Third” is not for everyone. Sort of an ambitious Mid-South answer to Brian Wilson’s “Smiley Smile,” the Big Star album is downcast in sound and depressing in content. However, a parade of vocalists managed to bring variety and nuanced emotion to the material.

Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner rocked in a way that made one appreciate him anew. Matt Wilson, Josh Grier of Tapes N Tapes, Ken Stringfellow of the Posies and Brett Harris brought high-voiced fragility. Skylar Gudasz brought a sweetness, Mike Mills of R.E.M. fame brought a sense of fun. Drummer/singer Jody Stephens, the sole surviving member of Big Star, brought a direct connection and authenticity to the project.

Local musicians – a horn section, string quartet and oboist -- complemented the touring core band, providing a chamber pop sophistication and moodiness that was not appreciated when Big Star presented the album to record labels back in 1975.

But history – and music geeks (First Ave was filled with local musicians and record-store clerks, present and past) – have corrected that.

Props to music director Chris Stamey of dBs renown. He and Stringfellow helped organize and orchestrate the smoothly running program. (Stringfellow pointed out that each performance of “Third” is different because it features a primarily local cast of singers.)

After the hour-long “Third,” the band and cavalcade of vocalists delved into more familiar Big Star material. The highlights included Pirner and Jim Boquist rocking out on “When My Baby’s Beside Me,” Grier and Harris roaring through “Don’t Lie To Me” and the pretty and precious “Thirteen” by Stamey, Gudasz and Harris. - Star Tribune

Big Star’s third album has always existed ambiguously, down to its very title. Differing variations of the album have floated around since the band’s attempt at recording a third studio album in 1974. There has never even been a concrete, canonical track listing, despite numerous well-intended attempts. Depending on who you ask, the record is called Third, 3rd, Sister Lovers, or Third/Sister Lovers.

The record is a longstanding enigma, having more in common with Elliott Smith’s posthumous From a Basement on the Hill than other lost albums such as Smile or Lifehouse. It is an album that will never be fully understood, or even presented in a a fully understandable fashion. Under this logic, it makes sense that a version of the record recorded by other musicians could stand as a perfectly valid version of the record.

Enter: the Big Star’s Third touring project. The project’s members have varied over the years, but have largely centered around Jody Stephens (the final surviving original Big Star member) and Chris Stamey of the dB’s. Minneapolis was lucky enough to be one of the cities visited by the traveling revue, as Big Star’s Third performed at First Avenue on Wednesday night—with support from the local Four Voices String Quartet. (The band members also visited our studios to perform a few songs and talk with Bill DeVille.)

A terrific assortment of guest musicians took the Mainroom stage over the course of the evening, starting with the billed performance of Third in its entirety. I was prepared for any variation on the track listing, even going so far as to carry a copy in my pocket to check off the songs as they were performed. Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner launched the proceedings in raucous fashion with the ever-paranoid “Kizza Me,” but as Matt Wilson took the stage to perform “O Dana,” it became apparent that we were going to be jumping around in order—and really, it was the most fitting way to present these songs.

The most riveting moments of the night were probably the performances by Jody Stephens: seeing a Big Star member perform Big Star songs is an opportunity I’m guessing most of the First Avenue audience had not had before and may never have again. Stephens took the lead on “For You” and “Blue Moon,” two quiet standouts from Third.

The thrills seemed to keep coming in succession; each guest performance was worthy of recognition in its own right. Tapes ‘n Tapes’ Josh Grier delivered a terrifically emotional “Nightime”; Chris Stamey perfectly executed two of Third‘s most dire songs, “Holocaust” and “Kanga Roo”; and Mike Mills (!!!) did it all, belting out “Jesus Christ,” bouncing a basketball during “Downs,” working with guest drummer Linda Pitmon on “You Can’t Have Me,” and adding solid bass for the troupe’s entire performance.

One moment that stood out for me in particular was Ken Stringfellow (of Posies fame, and a member of Big Star during their 2000s revival) performing “Stroke It Noel.” I thought of the influence that a band like Big Star had on artists like the Posies, and I thought of the countless hours that an artist like Stringfellow has sung these songs, whether on stage, or singing into a mirror at home, and the deep, sentimental importance all of these songs have for each one of these musicians.

The Third segment wrapped up with an all star “finale” performance of “Thank You Friends,” which was met with raves from the First Avenue audience. As if hearing all the music from a classic record wasn’t enough, the band returned to the stage to perform another mini set of music from Big Star’s other studio albums, as well as the Chris Bell solo tracks “I Am the Cosmos” and “You and Your Sister.” While it was undeniably fun to hear these songs performed, without the unifying album concept, this section took on more of the feeling of a jukebox musical. The set’s momentum waxed and waned, especially because everyone knew it was all building up to “September Gurls” at the end (on the final day of September, no less!).

Big Star Third was an opportunity to hear the music of Big Star, performed by the musicians who drew upon its influence and projected it forward into entirely new generations and genres of music. As this revue is only scheduled to perform two more California shows in the year 2015, it was a rare treasure for this Minneapolis audience, and a night we will not soon forget.

Set list
Kizza Me [Dave Pirner]
O Dana [Matt Wilson]
For You [Jody Stephens]
Nightime [Josh Grier]
Jesus Christ [Mike Mills]
Take Care [Trapper and Tanner Schoepp]
Big Black Car [The Wooldridge Brothers]
Stroke It Noel [Ken Stringfellow]
Blue Moon [Jody Stephens]
Femme Fatale (VU cover) [Brett Harris]
Downs [Ken Stringfellow]
Dream Lover [Skylar Gudasz]
Holocaust [Chris Stamey]
You Can’t Have Me [Mike Mills/Linda Pitmon]
Kanga Roo [Chris Stamey/Brett Harris]
Thank You Friends [“All Star Finale”]
/
Thirteen [Skylar Gudasz]
You and Your Sister [Brett Harris]
In the Street [Mike Mills/Schoepp Brothers]
Don’t Lie to Me [Josh Grier]
When My Baby’s Beside Me [Dave Pirner/Jim Boquist]
Back of a Car [Dave Pirner]
Way Out West [Jody Stephens]
I Am the Cosmos [The Wooldridge Brothers]
Give Me Another Chance [Matt Wilson]
September Gurls [Mike Mills/Cast] - The Current