"After we shot the grizzly,
after the airship crashed,
after we lost the compass,
after the radio went dead,
we shot and ate the horses,
we marched through deadly swamps,
inside a limestone cave, I found a human skull.
Yes Mary, I found a human skull."
Sort of like a Nick Cave- or Louvin Brothers-scripted episode of "Lost." And all with a somewhat cheery Hawaiian guitar figure behind it.
The duo is really a family group, with husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks, and has really hit its stride on this disc. The lyrics are top, as you've seen, Brett Sparks' baritone voice is perfect, especially when matched with his George Jones-style phrasing and the instrumentation -- which includes saws, bowed wine glasses and brass -- well-tempered.
Sparks says that he loves the the process of recording.
"It's the luxury of having a studio at home, You can take as long as is necessary to capture the sounds that are in your head. If I want to want to have, say, a mandolin rhythm part, I can actually learn to play the mandolin, record the part piece by piece, and then edit it so it sounds like I know what I was doing. Yes, I love the recording process -- it's the most fun and satisfying part of my job. Truly a joyful pursuit. I could be happy just recording. To me, it's a very time-consuming, seriously obsessive hobby."
He adds that studio improvements have helped bolster the new disc, too.
"The new record sounds better because we really beefed up the studio, making it almost pro. Great mics, new computer and other gear. On this one I really got into making sounds from hybrids; like a fake synth sound and a real sound combined to form a beautiful third sound, digital and analog, modern and old recording techniques."
The Sparks fly at Shank Hall, 1434 N. Farwell Ave., Tuesday, July 11 at 8 p.m. You also get the Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood for your $12.
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.
