Australian singer Sia Furler got her start singing with the likes of Jamiroquai, Massive Attack and Zero 7, so the fact that her third and latest solo disc, "Some People Have Real Problems," has a mysterious undercurrent should come as no surprise.
But Sia's not working strictly in R&B, trip hop or electronica. Her music is rockier, folkier than the outfits she's previously worked with. But a track like the record's opener, "Little Black Sandals," draws enough on her past alliances and influences to basically avoid easy categorization.
That should help her popularity and indeed, with her disc for sale in Starbucks and radio play coming from a variety of formats, Sia can draw as much from the World Café crowd as from fans of Nelly Furtado.
If you wanna see what the fuss is all about before picking up the record, check out Sia when she plays at Turner Hall Ballroom Wednesday night at 8. Tickets are $20. Also on the bill is the considerably harder to define Har Mar Superstar.
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.
