If you haven't heard the Montreal-based band, which has ties to the Broken Social Scene collection of musicians, start with its fourth and most recent disc, "In Our Bedroom After the War," which is top-loaded with catchy and intelligent songs, much like its predecessor, "Set Yourself On Fire," and that disc's remix companion "Do You Trust Your Friends?"
The band loves The Smiths, Prefab Sprout's Paddy McAloon and Momus (whose cousin Justin Currie plays in Milwaukee the same night as Stars are in town), so that should offer you a clue about what Stars sounds like.
OMC: Canada has been a real hotbed of great music in the past few years. There seems to be an amazingly vibrant and productive collective of musicians revolving around Arts & Crafts, especially. What on Earth is going on up there? Is the world just finally paying attention to something that's been going on for a long time?
Amy Millan: It's been growing slowly over the years. It does seem like there are an awful lot of bands around now. We had good music programs in school growing up, so the dream was there to go after. Who doesn't want to be in a band?
OMC: Wikipedia says Stars are from Toronto, the venue press release says the band is from Vancouver and your MySpace page says you're a Montreal band. Why do we Americans have so much trouble getting Canada straight?
AM: I wouldn't be so hard on the peeps of America, it's confusing! We all grew up in Toronto but the band moved to Montreal eight years ago. Torquil moved to Vancouver a few years back and that's where we recorded our last record, but really we live on the road!
OMC: With Torquil and you up front, is Stars something of a supergroup for the new millennium?
AM: A resounding YES.
OMC: Is this the band's first gig in Milwaukee? Do you feel an affinity with us since we're all tagged as beer guzzling provincials?
AM: "Milwaukee here I come from Nashville Tennessee." Do you know that song? Milwaukee knows how to keep it real!
OMC: What can we expect to hear at the gig in Milwaukee? A set based mostly on the latest record? A career retrospective? New material? Only covers?
AM: We like to break out songs from our whole catalogue. We bring the ruckus though, and you might catch a flower.
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.
