Open Mic: The Championship

By Josh Adams Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Mar 13, 2010 at 10:30 AM

In the latest episode of "Open Mic," Allen Cote and Joe Crockett of Milwaukee's The Championship play a couple of tunes and talk about their musical relationship.

Going back more than 17 years, the two went to school together for just one year in Door County before Allen moved to Austin, Texas. While Joe honed his rhythm guitar and songwriting skills, Allen was learning a different style.

It wasn't until later in life that Joe's band, The Championship, crossed paths with Allen and decided to make him the fifth member. His sounds blended with the rest of the group, and the result is the rootsy, alt-rock sound of The Championship that Midwesterners have grown to love.

"Open Mic" was filmed at 3rd Ward Records in Milwaukee, with the interview taking place at Blackbird in Bay View. "Open Mic" is produced by Mindpool Live.

Josh Adams Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Mindpool Live Producer, Director and Blogger Josh Adams has made a career of following bands around the globe. He spent the first decade of his career as a video director and designer with Tina Turner, Beastie Boys, Barenaked Ladies, Janet Jackson and others. Josh now owns Mindpool Live, a film and video production company nestled in Milwaukee's East Side just steps from OnMilwaukee.com's headquarters.

Josh, along with Mindpool Live Producer Ryan Schaber, focus on the production of high-quality video vignettes that present some of the most intriguing bands in Milwaukee and the world. The Mindpool Live Web video series "Sound Pass" is an interview-based piece giving viewers an inside look at some of the country's most relevant musicians, while "Open Mic" is a intimate performance piece woven together with documentary style interviews -- giving viewers unprecedented access to the inner workings some of the most prolific artists in Milwaukee and the country. "Sound Pass" and "Open Mic" are featured in Josh's OnMilwaukee.com blog.

Josh grew up in South Milwaukee and resides in Wauwatosa with his wife and equally ambitious music connoisseur Sandi Anderson. Josh believes Milwaukee is music industry's best kept secret and hopes it won't be that way for long. "There are artists in Milwaukee and Wisconsin that are doing things that are unique to the whole world and the industry is beginning to notice."

Josh has recently directed or produced video for some of the largest festivals in the world including, Montreux Jazz Festival, ACL Festival, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Milwaukee's own Summerfest. He has also won two Midwest Emmy's for Mindpool's production of Bucks and Brewers programming.

Credits include: