Ear Wars

A long time ago in a galaxy not very far away.......

It is a period of civil disobedience.

Rebel musicians, practicing from a base of hidden

 basements, gig victoriously despite the evil Music Business' empire.

During these gigs, Rebel musicians 

know the not-so-secret plans of the Music 

Business' ultimate weapon, Payola, a bulletproof scheme with 

enough power to destroy the musical creativity of an entire planet.

Pursued by the Music Business' sinister 

agents, members of HWY 13 race to Dino's home 

aboard their used SUV's, custodian of their own plans that can 

save their fans and restore excitement to the local live music scene....

....that being two upcoming gigs, one on Saturday night December 12 at the Route 20 Outhouse opening for Carbellion, Imperial Fall and Black Belt Theatre, and the other on Saturday night January 9 at George's with Krispy Brothers.  Details are in the "Upcoming Gigs" section at the upper-left corner of the blog, right above the "They Said It..." section, which currently shows a great quote by Les Paul.  He was likely asked whether his invention, the electric guitar, would cheapen music because anyone could go to the store and buy one.  His response..."You can't go to the store and buy a good ear and rhythm."... stopped the interviewer in his tracks!

There's going to be a lot of great rebel musicians at these two upcoming gigs, all with electric guitars, good ears and rhythm.  So take your stand against the evil empire of the Music Business by supporting local live music, and set your cruisers for hyper-space (4 mph over the posted speed limit) to our two upcoming gigs.  With HWY 13........great rock & roll you will see!

Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog and keep rockin'!

   

  

             

My Generation

While HWY 13 will keep rockin' as long as our hearts, minds, livers and other moving parts allow, it's nice to see the next generation starting to pull its weight in rock.  Last August at George's we had the next generation (daughter Sara) on baritone sax helping my generation (HWY 13) play one of the hits from the last generation (Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' Shakin' All Over).  She also rocked four HWY 13 originals on bari sax laying down a wicked back beat harking back to the days of "Maximum R&B"  when rock and jazz were still evolving and much closer to their roots in The Blues.  Sara also rocked the flute solo on Jethro Tull's Locomotive Breath with our friends Krispy Brothers (also of our generation), as well as the Rolling Stones' Honkey Tonk Woman and a great new original by Frank Bower on guitar.  It's nights like these that give me hope the next generation keeps this music alive despite what we're seeing and hearing in the mainstream media.

Speaking of my generation, tonight at George's will be a celebration of the life & music of Jeff Lemke on the 10th anniversary of his passing.  Most of the surviving members of Blind Ambition will be playing including Dino on lead guitar, Geff Crowell on vocals, Ron Zicarelli on drums, Dan Buckley on bass, and Danno covering Jeff Lemke on rhythm guitar.  Jeff, Blind Ambition and all the various members were a major part of the glory days of local live music.  It's amazing the number of great young players we gig with who tell me they were inspired to pick-up their instrument and learn to rock properly by watching Blind Ambition perform in their heyday.   On an average night they were the best live rock band in town, and on a good night no other band was even close.  All generations (over 21) will not want to miss this opportunity to celebrate the life of Jeff Lemke, the reunion of the surviving members of Blind Ambition and the 10th anniversary of HWY 13, tonight at George's in downtown Racine just north of the Main Street bridge.

We're also celebrating over 10,000 pageviews to our blog.  We began posting in December 2012 as we recorded our first, self-titled album and since then we've kept you current on our gigs and the recording of our second album, Collision Course.  We hope this has given you an entertaining look at the life of a local live band playing original rock in a night scene full of DJ's, karaoke machines and trivia nights.  One of the things that keeps us gigging is seeing the next generation's fists pumping till the last note is played, while most of my generation had to go home to take a blood pressure pill with a glass of warm milk before going to bed.  Thanks for tuning-in to the blog and keep rockin'!       

     

         

All That Jazz

With jazz, country and rrraaawwwkkk just a few blues beats away from each other, it only makes sense that great music has a little of each in it once in a while, not to mention the occasional 4th chord, melody, coda, etc.  Because mixing-up the musical gene pool definitely helps keep bands...and audiences...healthy, even-tempered and resistant to disease, we've invited my daughter Sara (front row, 3rd from left, lifting a Pabst Pounder) to rock a few songs with us at George's Tavern on the "First Friday" in August (8/7) with Krispy Brothers opening at 9 pm.

If you don't know Sara, she just received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UW-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts with a dual concentration in Jazz Studies and Multiple Woodwinds.   She's a great musician, a good sport, our favorite (only) daughter, and with a new full-time job on top of a long list of paying gigs, she should be our last tenant hopefully.

Throw-in our friends and a great classic rock cover band, Krispy Brothers, and you'll be sure to see rock mixing with country, jazz mixing with rock, classic covers mixing with originals, woodwinds mixing with guitars, youth mixing with experience, and a young professionally-trained musician with a bright future mixing with the rest of us.

So enjoy Racine's downtown scene on the August 7 edition of their monthly "First Fridays" celebration, and be sure to make your way to George's Tavern, 1201 N. Main St., by 9 pm for what could be THE rock & roll show of the summer.  Thanks for tuning in to the blog again, and keep rockin'!  

   

April 20 Update

April 20 and it's high time for another update from HWY 13.  Last week it was our honor to open for Texas Hippie Coalition along with Damage Theory at the Route 20 Outhouse. As usual, the house was awesome thanks to Steve Hawkins at the controls, and as usual, we greatly appreciate all our fans who came to support us.  What the crowd got was three major hits of fantastic hard rock...all without the short-term memory loss. Short, early sets are a "sweet spot" in our live act, and by all accounts we nailed it last Friday night.  Here's hoping we get another crack at opening for them the next time they're in town, but either way, Texas Hippie Coalition is a band you'll want to follow if you like you're rraawwkk southern-fried.

We also hashed-out an upcoming gig Saturday night May 2, opening for Electric Revolution at McAuliffe's Pub, 3700 Meachem Rd. on the south side of Racine.  Not that we needed a reason to open for this power trio of local rock legends, but this gig's to help them finance the making of an album(!), which as you may already know, has superior fidelity.....and the covers make a great work surface.  This is our second gig with Electric Revolution at McAuliffe's Pub and you shouldn't miss this pass when it comes around. On May 2 you'll want to take in the music.....hold it.....and let the coolness get into your vertebrae.

Thanks again for tuning in to the blog and keep rockin'!    

Texas Hippie Coalition

Our next gig is a big one, opening for Texas Hippie Coalition at the Route 20 Outhouse, 14001 Washington Ave., Friday night April 17 starting at 8:30 pm.

http://www.route20outhouse.com/perfomance-details.aspx?perfid=387

With the release of their fourth full-length album, Ride On, Texas Hippie Coalition serves up some of the hottest southern-fried, blues-based, hard-rockin' metal you'll see this side of the Pecos.  They'll be bringin' it with influences from the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and Pantera, and the house is sure to be rockin' like a Texas tornado.

Also, the local FM station sponsoring this gig, 95.1 WIIL, may be playing Collision Course on their daily special featuring local bands, the 420 Homegrown Hit of the Day. This Wednesday April 15, be sure to tune in at 4:20 and if you hear our song contact the station and vote to hear more HWY 13 on the air.

Thanks again for tuning in to the blog, see you at the Route 20 Outhouse this Friday night the 17th and keep rockin'!

     

Heatwave

The annual Thoughts for Food musical extravaganza of a fundraiser www.thoughtsforfood.org for the Racine County Food Bank rocks downtown Racine this Saturday night...and after this winter the forecast high of 40 degrees is going to feel like the Bahamas!  Our January gig at the Metal Grill in Cudahy was a 10 below zero night, and we officially dubbed it the start of our 2015 (expletive deleted) Winter Tour.  We shouldn't whine as we got about 14 inches of drifting snow at last year's January gig at the Metal Grill and  it was about 10 below zero...but I digress.

Getting back to Thoughts for Food, the temperature of the beer ought to be about 45 degrees, the venues should be about 70 degrees, and the brats should be about 250 degrees right off the grill at the food stand between the Eagles Club & George's on the corner of Hamilton and N. Main in Racine this Saturday night March 7.  We'll be rockin' downstairs at the Eagles Club with a great lineup of Rude Rooster opening at 7:30, HWY 13 at 9:15 and Not So Innocent at 11:00, all of whom are about 98.6 degrees...give or take. For example, Danno's battling a congestion-type cold/flu so he could in fact be a little north of 98.6...but again I digress.

Tickets are available in advance and at the door at all venues, and a shuttle service is available to all venues.  All proceeds go to the Racine County Food Bank and all musicians are donating their time & talent.  In addition to the cover charge fans are strongly encouraged to bring 2 non-perishable food items, which obviously means it can last a long time in storage.....drum roll.....at about 70 degrees.

Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog, hope to see you at Thoughts for Food and keep rockin'!        

Rock in the Forecast

January gigs can be a roll of the dice with the weather.  Last year we played The Metal Grill on a brutal night in late January with drifting snow and gusty below-zero winds out of the north.  Despite the weather and opening for two newer bands just getting started, we still managed to pull a decent crowd of hearty souls that wouldn't let shit weather stand in the way of some great rock at a great venue.

If you ever had trouble deciding whether or not to go see a live band because of bad weather, the right question to ask is not...."How bad is the weather going to be on the way to the live rock?".  As most of us grew up in this god-forsaken climate, drive front/all wheel drive vehicles and have enough sense to bundle-up when it's cold, the right question to ask is....."How good is the live rock going to be if I go out in this weather?".

Well I'm happy to report the forecast for our next gig Friday, January 9 at The Metal Grill is for heavy RAWWWK, with Bray Road opening at 9, Doctor Snake Oil at 10 and HWY 13 closing at midnight.  Aside from that the weather should be cold & dry so it should be safe enough to back an old Ford Pinto all the way there to see us.

Either way, it'll be about 70 degrees & rockin' inside with The Metal Grill's great hall, stage, PA, lights & bar service to boot!  Bray Road and Doctor Snake Oil will be warming up the house big-time with a mix of original and classic metal & hard rock, and if you still need an extra layer of clothing, we'll be bringing a fresh supply of our new-logo HWY 13 "RAWWWK!" t-shirts for sale along with our CD's.

http://www.themetalgrill.com/

Thanks again for tuning in to the blog, hope to see you at The Metal Grill on the 9th and keep rockin'!