By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Jun 27, 2006 at 9:40 AM
Boston's Grant Lee Buffalo had its heyday in the 1990s and lead singer Grant-Lee Phillips went solo in 2000 and has since created a string of estimable discs that feature his melodic pop folk-rock and his distinctive voice. He's even become known as a the street troubadour on television's "The Gilmore Girls."

For his latest effort, Phillips leaps further back in time. "Nineteeneighties" (Zoe/Rounder Records) finds Phillips offering intimate reworkings of songs by The Pixies, The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, The Cure, REM, Nick Cave, New Order and Echo & the Bunnymen. The record has a casual, among-friends vibe, which makes sense since the set is Phillips' tribute to the music of his youth; to the kinds of songs that urged him to play and to write music. He's not mining new territory here, just meeting up with some old friends for a beer, so to speak.

"Word of mouth was how many of us found out about bands like The Clash and the Buzzcocks here in the U.S.," Phillips says. "This and flipping through a quarantined bin at the back of the record shop. ... Sort of like the record buyer's version of that curtained off section of the video store."

Perhaps this means Phillips is working on "Nineteenseventies," a disc of covers of classic punk tunes and/or watching a lot of questionable videos.
Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.