"Work hard, play hard" is the motto of choice for most college students, new age hippies and over-the-hill parents trying to reconnect with their inner teen, but it also applies to the local band The Heavyheads. All six members work full-time day jobs but play in the band at nights, weekends and days off.
The Heavyheads' sound is a genre-spanning fusion of classic rock blended with a modern jam band, with blues, soul and pop strewn in for good measure. Bassist Scott Oakes cites The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers and Neil Young as influences.
"We've also been compared to The Black Crowes -- for better or for worse," he says.
Besides Oakes, The Heavyheads consist of Milwaukeeans Eddie Sauer as the lead singer, guitarist/vocalist Tom Joy, guitarist/vocalist Chris Anderson, percussionist Brandon Lorenz and Mickey Lipp on the harmonica. Having six members in the band gives The Heavyheads flexibility, allowing a song with a ripping guitar solo to be followed by a mellower, acoustic tune emphasizing vocal harmonies.
The band's been together for nearly two years and has worked hard and played hard at scads of Milwaukee venues, including Shank Hall, the Up and Under Pub on Brady Street and Linneman's in Riverwest -- the site of its inaugural show. Oakes says these venues, in particular, are especially friendly to local bands that want to do more than cover "Free Bird" or the entire Rolling Stones catalog.
"The music scene in Milwaukee is tough," Oakes says. "It's a very cover-band friendly town and it can be hard for a band that writes original music to make headway. We're still trying to figure out how to do it."
Oakes says the band throws in covers (ranging as old as Bob Dylan's "Meet Me in the Morning" to as new as Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble") out of the necessity to survive, but the bulk of its set list comes from original songs. Most songs are written by the three vocalists of the group -- Sauer, Joy and Anderson. Last May, the band worked with local producer Ramie Espinoza to record its self-titled first album. A single off the album, "The Kitchen's On Fire," got a few spins last year on the WMSE and WLUM.
"To hear the song played on the radio was great -- it was tangible, real validation that the music we're making is getting heard."
In addition to the radio publicity, Oakes says the band has had to rely on its own assertiveness to create a name for itself in Milwaukee -- a task he readily admits has been a tall order. The band is faced with that age-old problem of drawing in new fans while keeping old ones coming back.
"Whenever we play a show we send out a bulletin about it on MySpace. We've also used it to book a few gigs by connecting through other bands that have similar tastes and influences as ours," Oakes says. "MySpace is a great way for bands to get in touch with each other and hopefully have their fan bases grow."
While the band wishes it were playing Summerfest this year, it will continue to focus on publicity, networking and establishing contacts and vie for a spot on the festival's stages next year.
In the meantime, The Heavyheads continue to work and play hard, playing the Milwaukee Ale House on July 28 and a couple of shows during the Wisconsin State Fair on Aug. 5 and 9. As far as the long-term future, the band is saving the proceeds of its shows to record a second album. Oakes hopes to continue to play in Chicago and possibly branch out to other nearby cities.
"We're in this because of the music. We're enjoying what we're doing. If something comes along, all of us would love to see where it takes us. But if not, we still have a great time right now writing our own music and playing in front of our fans."
